Is James Wisdom Literature? An argument with a commentary

Dr. Douglas Moo is a brilliant NT scholar, I remember him well from seminary class on biblical interpretation (exegesis) some years ago.   So it was with interest that I began to read his commentary on James in the Tyndale NT Commentary series:  James, Douglas J. Moo, 1985, 2002, Eerdmans.

As I am reading the introduction (you know the part we prefer to skip that talks about authorship, dating, and other academic flotsam and jetsam) and start noting in the margin all the things that indicate that James is very much like O. T. Wisdom Literature.  For example: James seems to organize his material “randomly” using catch phrases and repeated words to move from topic to topic; the use of vivid imagery (waves, fire, mirror, ship, etc); borrowing from other sources; the ethical (as opposed to Theological) emphasis; warnings against dividing life from belief; two discussions of wisdom (1:5; 3:13-18), the tongue and word choice, and the use and abuse of money.

I am thinking: “this is Wisdom Literature!” Then in the paragraph on Wisdom Moo says, ” In Jewish writings, wisdom was sometimes identified with the law and the torah, and too on more metaphysical connotations.  James shows no contact with this background.” p. 53

This is not denying that James is much like Wisdom Literature, but Moo seems to be denying that James is much interested in speculative or mystical Wisdom streams in Judaism.  Ok, point made. However, I think we can understand James better as a writer if we consider that he uses the literary style of the Wisdom tradition.  His theology may not go where all of those others went, but his style is quite definitely influenced by Wisdom .

I did think that Moo’s concept that James was structured like a pastoral homily made up of excerpts from sermons he had given to his congregation.  This is also a helpful way to read the Sermon on the Mount (did Jesus only preach for the 15 minutes it takes to read that passage?)  There again Jesus teaching us similar to Wisdom literature in his use of parables and proverbial sayings.

I posted the cover of Moo’s book, but remember bit of Wisdom: You can’t judge a book by its cover.

Exiting Warp Speed – textually speaking

Sometimes we read or teach at a rapid pace.  In Narrative we need to keep the story’s internal momentum intact, so excessive discussion of the meaning of seven stones or the weight of Goliath’s spear only encumbers the drama in data.  However, some passages deserve a reflective slow read.

I was switching gears from Advent/Christmas to Romans 12 for 2012.  This was inspired by New Years day being on a Sunday.  Now it was possible to bust up that chapter into 5 or 6 weeks. Or it was possible to take Chapters 12 to 15 in that same time frame.  But as I was reading the text, it became obvious that I was hurrying it and missing the details.

Romans 1-11 is the doctrinal/theological foundation of the book, and chapters 12 to 15 are the application passages – though one has to be careful with those distinctions.  One can apply all along the way in Romans 1-8 in particular.  And the application has to be clearly connected to the doctrinal.  (see “Therefore” in Romans 12:1).

It will be a good time for us to take a new year, and a new phase of the churches ministry (having tied up a major building project) and ask what it is we ought to be doing with this gift of righteousness discussed in the earlier chapters.

Romans 12 is as close as Paul comes to Wisdom Literature – the verses have a proverbial quality, a number of phrases are rich for reflection and connection to life.  Consider “Love must be sincere” and “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

John Stott pointed out in his book on Romans the many allusions in this chapter to the teachings of Jesus. (Romans; God’s Good News for the World, IVP, p. 317-319)  This is interesting for those who say Paul took Jesus and turned him into Christ (i.e. he dogmatized a spiritually fluid tradition.)

So this is what we will be Freshly Reading for the next two months.

Quotes: Scholarship and Wisdom

From Witherington:

“Notice that the way  ’virtue’ is inculcated in most of these sayings is not by direct command or imperative but rather by setting examples before the listener’s ears and letting them discern and decide which examples to shun and which to follow.  Proverbs are basically a form of moral persuasion, not authoritative command.”  P.  26

 

 

 

King, Priest, and Prophet: A Trinitarian Theology of Atonement; Robert Sherman, T&T Clark, NY/London, 2004

This book is about a complete theology of the Atonement, tying the atonement to Trinitarian Theology.  I got it for a sermon series this fall, “Prophet, Priest, King and Sage.”

“…To be sure, I am an ‘academic theologian’ and the book exhibits a number of standard academic trappings…but my motivation for writing ins pastoral.  I am convinced that theology written for the academy — or, more pointedly, just for other academic theologians – misses its original and true calling.  That calling is to serve the church by helping it better understand the full meaning and implications of the gospel it proclaims in its preaching, liturgy, counseling, catechesis, and evangelism.  I offer this book in hopes that it may make certain biblical themes and theological traditions more accessible and powerfully present for ministers in their diverse pastoral work, to the end that the church’s work my be faithfully enriched and strengthened.”  p. ix

“Jesus the Sage” by Ben Witherington III

I just purchased this book, used, and am looking forward to it.  Ben Witherington III (Asbury Seminary) published this work in 1994.  It traces out the trajectory of Wisdom Literature from the Ancient Near East, the Old Testament up to Jesus, ending with discussion of Jesus in Matthew and John.  I am looking forward to this study and will post a few notes as I go.  This is for a short sermon series “Jesus: Prophet, Priest, King and Sage” in September.

Jesus the Sage: The Pilgrimage of Wisdom, Ben Witherington III, 1994, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis.

Patience – sermon clip

This quality of patience become part of the wisdom we live by.  We have popular proverbs that remind us of the importance of patience:

Rome was not built in a day.

            The mighty oak was once a nut (like you.)

            Haste makes waste.

 

The Bible has a number of sayings that remind us to be patient.  Here are three from the book of Proverbs.

A patient man has great understanding,
but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

 Pv 14:29

   We wait.  Not because we are unable to decide or because we are afraid to act.  We wait because it is smarter.  Sometime the situation out there is clearer with time. Sometimes our own thinking gets cleare with time.  So when we wait, the offense itself is seen to be small.  Or maybe the offender changes his ways.

 

Better a patient man than a warrior,
a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

Pv. 16:32

            Soldiers have to be able to charge a hill or take a city.  But often it is wiser to wait.  President Eisenhower when against every general on his council when he decided NOT to invade China.  They thought it would be easy, he knew how hard it is to invade a continent.  One man with patience outweighed many soldiers.

A man’s wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Pv. 19:11

            Patience has a kind of Glory – the glory of those who do not need to always be #1, but are willing to be vindicated by time.

(bonus: what does the photo have to do with the topic?)

Ancient Stones – Proverbs 22:28

“Don’t move the ancient boundary markers, put in place by your ancestors.”  Pv 22:28

See this article on CBSNews.com – http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/06/501364/main20051370.shtml

(AP)  

MIYAKO, Japan – Modern sea walls failed to protect coastal towns from Japan’s destructive tsunami last month. But in the hamlet of Aneyoshi, a single centuries-old tablet saved the day.

 ”High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants,” the stone slab reads. “Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.”

 It was advice the dozen or so households of Aneyoshi heeded, and their homes emerged unscathed from a disaster that flattened low-lying communities elsewhere and killed thousands along Japan’s northeastern shore.

 Hundreds of such markers dot the coastline, some more than 600 years old. Collectively they form a crude warning system for Japan, whose long coasts along major fault lines have made it a repeated target of earthquakes and tsunamis over the centuries.

 The markers don’t all indicate where it’s safe to build. Some simply stand — or stood, washed away by the tsunami — as daily reminders of the risk. “If an earthquake comes, beware of tsunamis,” reads one. In the bustle of modern life, many forgot.

How Far Would You Go? Magi vs Scribes

For fun I Google mapped the distance from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  It was about 5 miles – though Google Maps could not trip route it.  Then I Googled Babylon (Iraq) to Jerusalem, and it was about 500 miles (as the crow flies), but again Google could not trip route that distance.

The Magi travelled, most likely from Babylon (in current day Iraq) by the roads of the Fertile Crescent – well over 500 miles.  That is because of a Star and the memory of a prophecy of a King.  The Scribes did not bother to go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, though they had the text in front of them, and some interesting travelling companions – it was only 5 miles.

How far are you willing to go to find wisdom?

Wisdom and Blessing – Mt 5:1-11

The Beatitudes

This week i am attending a workshop for pastors on preaching the Wisdom Literature.  My texts to prepare are Matthew 5:1-11 and Psalm 1.  These share the concept of a Blessing. 

Matthew 5:1-12 –  ESV
    Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
    [2] And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
    [3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    [4] “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
    [5] “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
    [6] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
    [7] “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
    [8] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
    [9] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
    [10] “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    [11] “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. [12] Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 Some see a progression of the individual in the “Beatitudes” of Matthew 5.  Each blessing is seen as a step in the path.  The interpretation has a long history, but it seems weak to me for three reasons.  First of all, there is an “inclusio” the 1st and 8th beatitudes share the same goal “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  So a circle or switch back is happening here.  Second, is the goal of the disciple to be persecuted?  Third, the words are plurals (those who mourn, etc), so the progress of the individual soul appears to be an import.

I have experimented with a chiastic structure.  Verse 1-2 and 11-12 are Intro and Exit (teacher/disciple; prophet as example) then the beatitudes break out in this pattern.  B = Beatitude

A A’  v. 1,2, 11-12      Intro/exit – Teacher/way

B B’   v. 3,10               Poor/Persecute

C C’  v. 4,9                  Mourn/Peacemaker

D D’  v. 5, 8                Meek/Pure

E E’   v. 6,7                 Righteousness/Mercy 

The E/E’ verses at the center might then be the emphasis – and that gives the follower of Jesus the goal to seek Righteousness (or Justice) and to give Mercy.  All of which is an echo of

Micah 6:8
    He has told you, O man, what is good;
        and what does the Lord require of you
    but to do justice, and to love kindness(mercy),
        and to walk humbly with your God?

   I will let you know how this develops.

Planning for Fall

So the summer is the time to make plans for teaching, preaching and study.  So the FR columns will start to take shape as well.  Currently planning a Word-Study series of messages in Ephesians 1:3-14, entitled Free Stuff.  “Blessed be…God…who has blessed us…with every spiritual blessing…” In the adult class we will be studying Keeler, The Reason for God, which is not biblical theology directly, but may yield some fruiful coments.  On Sunday evenings, we are discussion Walter Kaiser’s Promise Plan – we managed to get through 2/3 of the OT.  I also plan to do some serious writing for an undetermined project on Wisdom in the Streets – the concept of wisdom literature as a bridge language to people unfamiliar with the biblical narrative.  

FR

Wisdom at a Funeral

At a recent funeral, conducted with people who are not actively part of the church community, I decided to start with a passage from Ecclesiastes and speak of the ability to enjoy simple gifts.  This is the passage:

Eccles. 2:24-26
    There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, [25] for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? [26] For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

   Interestingly this lead to a pleasant conversation at the graveside by a friend of the family regarding work, possessions and taking time for rest and for God.

The gifts God gives are spiritual in nature (wisdom, knowledge and joy) and the material things of life are a “Heaping up” of stuff that we can not keep.  It reminds me of the comment I once heard by a Mennonite believer who was a truck driver by trade,

“I’ve never seen a trailer on a hearse.”