Nick Ng working on his masterpiece during the arts village. |
At a Glance
Theme:
Passion: Christ’s Death and Our Life
Faculty Speaker:
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics
Lectionary Texts:
Isaiah 52:13-53; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18
Reflections on the Lecture
Stanley Hauerwas is known for speaking bluntly to the church about its failure to faithfully teach and live the Gospel. Such plain speech was in abundant supply Friday as Hauerwas addressed the DYA community. Students responded with a range of emotions, from gratitude for what they perceived to be a truthful (if harsh) message to angry dissent.
The problem, Hauerwas said, is that the church has lost the ability to distinguish Gospel from competing cultural values and has fallen prey to misplaced loyalty to the nation and a sentimentalized distortion of God’s love. Jesus’ own refusal to make these values primary (as noted in the temptation narrative) is what finally gets him killed, says Hauerwas.
In other words, Jesus was put to death not because he “preached love” but because he threatened the powerbrokers of his day. The kingdom he proclaimed and embodied inverts the social order—the last become first, the hungry are fed, the captive set free—in ways that threaten directly the Herods and Pilates of the world.
This is not exactly good news to Americans sitting atop the planet at present. Indeed, according to Hauerwas, the greatest irony is that American Christians willingly participate in the violent means our nation employs to ensure its continued power and status—precisely the kingdom of this world that Jesus’ kingdom overthrows.
- Dr. Fred Edie
A couple of Dr. Hauerwas's quotes...
“Most of the time when we say, ‘I love you’ it means you fit into my interests.”
“Why did Jesus have to die – he had to die because he refused to do what we wanted.”
“Would we be in Iraq if their major crop was broccoli?”
“The problem with the film, The Passion of Christ is it starts too late. You can’t separate the person from the life. The crucifixion starts in the manger.”
Overheard in the halls of the divinity school...
“That was the two most important hours of my summer.” – Jake Shapiro after sitting through Dr. Hauerwas’ lecture
In fear of being a little irreverent in their skit, one student commented, “Do you think this will bring down the wrath of Elizabeth (DYA Assistant Director and ‘the heavy’) or God?”
What's ahead...
The weekend brings a trip to the fields to glean collard greens, mentor group skits, rest and Sabbath time and the DYA talent show. Not to mention the opportunity to sleep late! God is good.
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