Discerning the presence of dignity 2 Kings 5: 1-19a

Dignity  Dignity demands a presence (and a response).  James Scott (1990), Domination and the arts of resistance  All forms of asymmetrical power “routinely generate... practices and rituals of denigration, insult, and assaults on the body”.  Domination “particularly leaves its mark on personal dignity – if not on the physical person”.  The dominated “have a shared interest in jointly creating a discourse of dignity, of negation, and of justice”.  “They have, in addition”, Scott continues, “a shared interest in concealing a social site apart from domination where such a hidden transcript can be elaborated in comparative safety”.  “Discretion in the face of power requires that a part of the ‘self’ that would reply or strike back must lie low”, but it is this self “that finds expression in the safer realm of the hidden transcript”.

Contextual Bible Study  Contextual Bible Study is a response to dignity’s presence.  In South Africa, CBS emerged as a response to the apartheid in general and the state- sponsored violence that wracked the KwaZulu- Natal province in the mid-1980s in particular.  Socially engaged biblical scholars were called to offer their resources as we struggled together to hear God speak.  The CBS methodology emerged from this reality, and continues to be shaped by the new forms of struggle that characterise our context.

CBS: a collaboration of academy and community  Uses the See – Judge – Act frame  See: social analysis ‘from below’, which generates a thematic entry point  Judge: ‘hearing’ the detail of scripture, discerning ‘God’s project’  Act: constructing an action plan, to bring contextual reality into line with God’s project  CBS consists of 4 commitments: Context, Community, Criticality, Change

The CBS ‘Sandwich’ Contextual Bible Study begins with the reality, experience and resources of the community … … and ends with the reality, experience and resources of the community. In-between we re-read the Bible, slowly, carefully and closely using the resources of biblical scholarship Bread Meat/jam Bread SEE JUDGE ACT

CBS ‘process’  Begins with reality ‘from below’.  Uses facilitation/animation type leadership.  Creates a safe and sacred ‘sequestered’ site.  Affirms dignity and agency of participants.  Equalizes power relationships.  Shares ‘reading’ resources.  Enables articulation and owning of local embodied theologies.  Requires local control of action plan.

An example: 2 Kings 5:1-14  1. Listen to the scripture being read dramatically. What phrase or image speaks to you?  2. Who are the characters in this portion of the story, and what do we know about each of them from the text?  3. What the main episodes of this story? Draw a cartoon- strip version of the story, using no more than 5 frames.  4. There is more than one story within this story. Even though “the young girl” is a key character in this story, her story remains untold. What might her story be? Share this in your group.  5. What are the untold stories within our communities that this young girl’s untold story brings to mind? Share these stories in your group.  6. What does ‘re-membering’ these untold stories mean for the life and work of the church? How will you bring these stories to remembrance and ‘incorporate’ them into the liturgical fabric of your church? Construct a liturgy in which such untold tales are told.

Dignity inhabiting text and context  1. Listen to the scripture being read dramatically. What phrase or image speaks to you?  2. Who are the characters in this portion of the story, and what do we know about each of them from the text?  3. What the main episodes of this story? Draw a cartoon-strip version of the story, using no more than 5 frames.  4. There is more than one story within this story. Even though “the young girl” is a key character in this story, her story remains untold. What might her story be? Share this in your group.  5. What are the untold stories within our communities that this young girl’s untold story brings to mind? Share these stories in your group.  6. What does ‘re-membering’ these untold stories mean for the life and work of the church? How will you bring these stories to remembrance and ‘incorporate’ them into the liturgical fabric of your church? Construct a liturgy in which such untold tales are told.  Community  Text  Community

Textual detail and dignity  Are we doing violence to the text (mis- reading the text) by telling an untold story, or does text invite this telling?  Compare verses 2 and 14.  Same word is used to describe the “girl’ and “Nathan” = “qaton” (“little/small/insignificant”)  The story of the “little lad” and the “little maiden” are linked, by the text.