On Inherited Truth (Tradition! Tradition!)

(Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring)

I am currently working my way through Proverbs, and this morning I was struck by these verses:

"My son, keep your father's command

and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

Bind them always on your heart; 

fasten them around your neck.

When you walk, they will guide you;

when you sleep, they will watch over you;

when you awake, they will speak to you." (6:20-22)

First, I am struck by the similarity of the language of Deuteronomy 6, "These commandments...are to be on your hearts...Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."  I am also reminded of the language of the blessed person of Psalm 1, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked...but whose delight is in the law of the LORD."  

The common idea that is highlighted by the beginning and end of this passage from Proverbs concerning the wisdom/instruction/teaching is that it is handed down and therefore is alive and personal.  It is given by the teacher or parent (as throughout Proverbs), from someone who knows and has walked the path.  It therefore has a voice ("they will speak to you").  The voice is to be heeded and impressed upon the heart and mind, whence it can be recalled. It is the grass of the cud.

This inherited tradition is what begins the human being on the journey of dialectic questioning.  We must have something to question. We must have a truth to kick around, probe, and attack, just as the clam must have an initial irritant or invader to begin to form the layers of the pearl.  It is in this sense that the blessed man "meditates on his law day and night." The rabbinic literature is full of rabbis and their students asking questions about the nature of cleanliness, shabat rest (and work), and the nature of idolatry and art.  It is these very questions that are often brought to Jesus. As teachers (and students ourselves) we have to be constantly ingesting the wisdom of others and hearing the voices of the greats of the past. We must then begin to chew on it, to fight it, to argue against it if we are to be nourished ourselves. We must let our students undergo this same process day in and day out. 

Grading (part 1 of ?)

I was listening to an interview of Jordan Ellenberg on NPR, and he makes a comment that when grading students' work he will only take half points off if the student tells him that "my answer is wrong, but I can't find my mistake" when the answer is nonsensical, i.e. "Suzy has -4 oz of water in her cup".

I like his idea of encouraging students to be aware of what they are doing, rather than just being breathing calculators. However, I'm not quite sure about the low level of expectations of students that giving half credit for knowing that they are wrong communicates.  However, if we look at it theologically, perhaps "apophatic mathematics" is closer to the way to go, "not made", "not possible to not sin".

On Metaphor and Gardening

Well,

One thing that I've promised is that with a move to a new state and new position is that I would be writing more. So here I am. I'll be trying to do 2 posts a week, even if they are just reaction pieces to someone else's article.

I was listening to a piece by Ken Myers (https://marshillaudio.org), and he was talking about when he first got a mentor.  I don't remember the exact lecture, but he mentioned that his mentor told him that of first importance for spiritual, personal, and (or?) professional growth was to get a hobby that involved him using his hands, such as gardening or woodworking.  I thought this was quite interesting, and it came back to me today while working outside weeding, digging a border and working outside at our new house.

As I worked I began to think about Christ's metaphors for the kingdom, including seeds, farmers with weeds, parties, and trees.  What I began to question is the common response we all get when we think about the images Jesus used. We wonder, "Why did Jesus talk so much about farmers, tenant workers and a day's wage, wicked servants, and birds in trees?"  The answer we have heard and pass on says, "Because Jesus lived in an agricultural context, so, as a good rhetor, he addressed his audience where they were. he used farmers and laborers as illustrations of the Kingdom so that those who worked in fields could understand him."

I wonder if this is so. Consider: in Matthew 22 Jesus tells of a wedding feast that a king is throwing for his son. Now, we don't have kings in America, so would Jesus simply change his metaphor? Perhaps President Obama would throw a party for a daughter? Perhaps the narrative would shift to rave at the coolest club in downtown Chicago?  Or, consider the many agricultural images used, "the flowers neither weave nor spin..." and "the birds of the air..." Would Jesus shift, or perhaps better, could Jesus shift to using images of computers, cell phones, and automobiles?

My question is this: is there something inherently more Kingdom of God in the natural world that is simply not present in the world of technology and science?  What if in order to better understand Christ in his context, and Christ in our day, we need to get our hands dirty in creation? What might this mean for curriculum and homework? Wood shop? Hunting and fishing class? A school garden?

**Update: it may have actually been a piece by Andrew Kern.