Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: When the Nonhumans Guide Us to the Divine
Dong Hyeon Jeong
We live in a world of anthropocentrism; humans are the center of the world, or at least that is how we think of it. The Bible seems to be subscribing to such a worldview. And yet, in life and in the Bible, we see glimpses of the nonhumans (animals, plants, and inanimate entities) showing humans the ways of the divine. They teach us; they even heal us. Humanity’s presentation and view of the nonhumans might not always be positive and reconciling. Nevertheless, ecologically engaging the nonhumans in the Bible guide us to the divine and do otherwise.
Commentary
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This passage narrates the consequences of David’s horrific actions. It was not enough for David to kill one of his most loyal and hardworking soldiers, Uriah the Hittite. After Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, ended her period of lament, David took her and made her bear him a son (11:26-27). As Bruce C. Birch asserts, kings like David “often imagine that they can define reality in their own terms” (1998, 1294).
David’s actions angered the Lord. So, the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to condemn David. Nathan met David and told him about a story of injustice: a rich man with plenty of animals stole a poor man’s one and only ewe lamb for his party (12:1-4). Not knowing that this story is about him, David ordered this rich man to die (12:5-6). Nathan told David that he is the rich man in this story for killing Uriah the Hittite and raping his wife, Bathsheba (12:6-9). For this, the sword will never depart David’s house (12:10-15).
Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, is depicted as a little ewe lamb in 12:3. Yes, the ewe lamb in this narrative is metaphorical; Bathsheba is not a literal lamb. And yet, one can see how Bathsheba and the ewe lamb are treated the same: property to be taken. Suzanna Millar raises this intersectional dynamic in which Bathsheba and the ewe lamb are likened even ontologically because of their animalized and domesticated conditions (2023, 371-72). That is why David had no qualms in taking or raping her, as humans do with factory-farmed animals.
Even today, many (cis/trans)-women still go through what Bathsheba went through. In the dichotomized hierarchy created by anthropocentrism and speciesism, women are apparently inferior to men as nonhumans are inferior to humans. Here, an ecological reading of this passage admonishes us to unearth the suppressed and shunned voices of those who are neglected: women and the nonhumans. The passage is about two powerful men (David and Nathan) discussing the plight of the oppressed (Bathsheba and the ewe lamb).
What happens though if we re-read this passage from the perspectives of the oppressed? What would Bathsheba say and/or do? What responsivity do we see with the ewe lamb? Millar invites us to be in alliance of care with the nonhumans. Millar invokes how the poor man cared for the ewe lamb: “He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare and drink from his cup and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him” (2 Sam 12:3). Of course, we cannot be this sentimental and personal with every animal in our care. And yet, a lesson we can learn from this passage, as Millar suggests, is to live together as “kin” (2023, 377). That is, we are encouraged to treat the nonhumans relationally, with respect and dignity to all of God’s creation.
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This passage echoes 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, the accompanying lectionary passage above. This Psalm reflects David’s inner torment, his anguish, and plea for mercy from the Lord. David asks that his sins be forgiven as he desires to become justified and be restored in God. Sounds amazing; words and sentences perfect for hymns and praises.
Verse 7 provides an entry for an ecological reading of this passage. It says: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
Hyssop are used as antiseptic, cleansing herbal medicine (Ghasempour, et al, 2022, n.p). It is widely used for chest ailments and even leprosy during ancient times. In other words, it is a popular remedy for healing and cleansing during the time of David until today. David also seeks to be healed and cleansed from his iniquities with the help of hyssop (literally and figuratively).
Also, I wonder if the hyssop that he uses will remind him of Bathsheba. David was reminded of his sins with the story of a little ewe lamb. Perhaps, the hyssop’s healing and cleansing capacity will remind him that repentance requires reparation with the victimized. Repentance is not just a solo-act; it is a communal act in which the perpetrator seeks forgiveness from the perpetrated. Psalm 51 does not say anything about Bathsheba or Uriah. It seems that David wants to purge the memory of Bathsheba and Uriah (Ps 51:9). And yet, Matthew 1:6 never lets us forget Uriah’s wife and the mother of Solomon, Bathsheba. It seems that David’s transgression is told and retold from generation to generation in order to remind everyone that the oppressed will not be forgotten. That the dispensable ones such as hyssop and Bathsheba will always remind us of divine justice.
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This passage seems to be about humans and God. From the first chapter to the last, this letter is asking the church of Ephesus to walk in a manner of their calling (4:1). There is one love, one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God (v.2-5).
Nevertheless, Ephesians 4:6 provides an ecological interpretive possibility: “one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” It continues Eph 1:10’s theme of interconnectedness, as the Earth Bible Team expounds, of all creation: “as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Christ gathers up or anakephalaiosasthai (“to gather under one head”) all of creation, making Christ the head of all. We, humans, are not inheritors of this world. Rather, as Elmer Flor argues, we have the “custodianship of creation” (2002, 144). This adds a more expansive understanding of the composition of the “body of Christ” (4:12). That is, we see glimpses of the nonhumans lurking between and behind this heavily human-centered passage and letter as a whole.
If God is above all, through all, and in all, then is God with and in nonhumans too? If so, then this is panentheism: God is in all things. In other words, God is in the animals, plants, and inanimate entities. For those who adhere to strict Christian Orthodoxy, panentheism might be problematic because the creation’s fallibility might determine the omnipotence of God. And yet, an ecological reading of this passage provides an image of the divine who is more relational and less concerned about perfection. Following this panentheistic theology helps us value the nonhumans beyond secular reasons – albeit they are good in themselves. The nonhumans manifest the divine. That is why we nurture and care for the nonhumans not for their utility but for their inherent divinity.
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A word of caution in reading this passage: please do not jump into anti-Semitic conclusion(s). That is, it is easy to fall for a binary reading of this passage in which Moses-Manna-Judaism equals earthly-decaying-lesser. Meanwhile, Jesus-true bread-Christianity equals the replacement of the decaying Judaism. This is supersessionism or a misunderstanding of the role and place of Judaism in Christianity. Let us remember that Jesus and the early church are Jewish. Christianity as a religion did not exist yet. The author of the Letter to the Ephesians is inviting the Jews and the non-Jews of the Ephesian church to believe in Jesus as the long-await Messiah. In addition, Peder Borgen (1965) sees that John 6:24-35 is a midrash, a Jewish interpretive technique that studies the sacred text in order to understand the contemporary, of the manna tradition such as Psalm 78:24.
With that in mind, John 6:24-35 is about believing in Jesus, the one who God sent (v.29). Believing in Jesus is the work that must be done (v.28-29), the sign given to humanity (v.30). If God gave the ancestors manna, then God is also the One who will provide the true and everlasting bread, who is Jesus (v.31-35).
An ecological entry point for this passage is the ontological connection between Jesus and bread/manna. According to Exodus 16:31, manna was “like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Moreover, Numbers 11:7 said that manna looked like “resin.” What is fascinating is that the Gospel of John uses images that are familiar and ubiquitous in describing Jesus, the Son of God. Instead of highfalutin concepts, John helps us understand who Jesus is in the (processed) vegetal, or as Stephen D. Moore calls it, “vegetable byproduct” (107, 121-24). Here, the image that Jesus is the bread of life intersects the spiritual and the nonhuman. Jesus the Son of God who is the Logos and with God since the beginning of time became vegetal so that we could fully appreciate who Jesus is. In other words, John understands that the bread, eternal or otherwise, can lead us closer to God. The vegetal can lead us closer to Jesus.
Teaching and Preaching Ideas
David and Bathsheba: Repentance and Remembrance
Preaching 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a and Psalm 51:1-13 together makes sense because Psalm 51 is a lament Psalm that stems from 2 Samuel 11-12. Here, preachers could focus on the importance of repentance. As David cried out to God for mercy, we should also find it in ourselves to repent for our sins.
Psalm 51:10-12 is sung by many Christians as part of our confession and repentance. It is beautiful; it is renewing. The verses are liberating because they seek God’s mercy in re-creating a new heart and right spirit within oneself. The yearning for newness is for the desire to be with the divine and be restored in the joy of God’s salvation.
Also, the homily cannot end here. 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a and Psalm 51:1-13 are focused on David. How about Bathsheba? How about the voice and plight of those who are suppressed and marginalized in real life and in the literary? If Jesus was sent to bring hope for the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19), then we must not end the homily without raising up the presence and plight of the oppressed. The Gospel brings hope and justice to all, humans and nonhumans. Preaching about repentance must discomfort the perpetrator; it cannot be shrouded in melodic stanzas that gently comforts the atrocity. Remember Bathsheba, remember the little ewe lamb. Is there a hymn for them? Will someone write a Psalm of lament for them? Perhaps, your congregation could have a Bible study in which the stories of the women who are neglected are remembered, commemorated, and celebrated.
Preaching in a Garden
Imagine preaching Ephesians 4:6, “one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all,” in the middle of a garden or in a vegetal surrounding of one’s choosing. I would invite the congregation to look around the plants and the trees, to listen to the bristling of the leaves, to the chirping of the birds, and to feel the living pulse of the ground. Then say: “God is above all, through all, and in all.”
Then silence. Instead of us, humans, talking, the preacher invites the congregation to listen to the homily of the earth. Silence. Then the voices affectively encounter us. With the permission of the nonhumans, we reflect upon the gifts of wisdom they have bestowed upon us. We listen to their understanding of the divine. Here, an important reminder is to not anthropomorphize the vegetal; instead, let a bit of mystery guide our words. We do not have to have a full scientific analysis of a plant; instead let the affective encounters take us closer to the divine. Let the animals and inanimate entities become our guides to the divine and to the ways of being and becoming with one another.
This is a great chance for the congregation to worship outdoors during a sunny August Sunday. It could become another Earth Day Sunday in lieu with upcoming harvest festival and other Fall festivities. Many Asian communities celebrate harvest festival around August and September. It would be a lovely gesture to have this kind of worship service if your church has Asian descent members.
Local Vegetal Eucharist
John 6:24-35 is ripe with ecologically attuned preaching. This passage reminds us of the Eucharist. That is, the (processed) vegetal bread represents the body of Christ. Such representation speaks volumes ecologically because we are invited to reflect upon not just the metaphorical and theological signification of the bread but also the earthly and the vegetal ontology of the Christ.
In certain sense, the bread manifesting the divine’s body might be perceived as trivial. And yet, for most of the people in the congregation, we live day by day, one bread at a time, working day and night just to have the capacity to buy the bread that sustains. That is why for Christianity to depict the divine with bread and wine shows the world that our God is with the mundane and quotidian. The bread, as simple as it seems, gives us life. This is how we are invited to know God: in the simplicity of the bread.
Also, bread is cultural. It is the staple of the Levant. For Koreans like me, bread is not part of our diet. Rice is. And so, it makes so much sense for Koreans like me to celebrate the Eucharist with rice cake. In the rice cake we see how God is with us in our mundane and quotidian. Here, we also celebrate the vegetal of our land. Inasmuch as I eat and appreciate non-Korean food, there is something to prioritizing local produce and diet. Jesus did so by choosing bread and wine. So, if your church is composed of persons from various race and ethnicity, this might be your chance to celebrate the Eucharist both with the joy of the ecological and the bountifulness of cultural diversity.
A word of caution in reading this passage: please do not jump into anti-Semitic conclusion(s). That is, it is easy to fall for a binary reading of this passage in which Moses-Manna-Judaism equals earthly-decaying-lesser. Meanwhile, Jesus-true bread-Christianity equals the replacement of the decaying Judaism. This is supersessionism or a misunderstanding of the role and place of Judaism in Christianity.
Sources and Resources
Borgen, Peder. Bread from Heaven: An Exegetical Study of the Concept of Manna in the Gospel of John and the Writings of Philo. Leiden: Brill, 1965.
Birch, Bruce C. “Books of 1 and 2 Samuel.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, edited by Leander E. Keck, 947-1383. Volume II. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.
Flor, Elmer. “The Cosmic Christ and Ecojustice in the New Cosmos (Ephesians 1).” In The Earth Story in the New Testament, edited by Norman C. Habel and Vicky Balabanski, 137-147. The Earth Bible 5; London and New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002.
Ghasempout, Masoumeh, Maryam Hosseini, Mohammad Sadegh Soltani-Zangbar, Roza Motavalli, Leili Aghebati-Maleki, Sanam Dolati, Amir Mehdizadeh, Mehdi Yousefi, and Javad Ahmadin Heris. “The Impact of Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) Extract on Activation of Endosomal Toll like Receptors and their downstream Signaling Pathways.” National Library of Medicine (2022): 15:366. Website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9742021/. Accessed June 20, 2024.
Millar, Suzanna. “The Poor Man’s Ewe Lamb (2 Sam 12:1-4) in Intersectional, Interspecies Perspective.” Vetus Testamentum 73.3 (2023b): 360-86.
Moore, Stephen D. Gospel Jesuses and Other Nonhumans: Biblical Criticism Post-poststructuralism. Semeia Studies 89. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017.
National Council of Churches. New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue). USA: National Council of the Churches of Christ, 2021.
Contributor Bio
Dong Hyeon Jeong is the assistant professor of New Testament Interpretation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL). He is an ordained Elder with the United Methodist Church. His book is titled, Embracing the Nonhuman in the Gospel of Mark.
Image Description
Watercolour painting of a Cotswold Sheep by Victoria Marie. A light brown sheep faces toward the viewer with its legs folded underneath its body. Its wool is long and curly. Underneath the sheep is yellow-green grass. Behind is a cloudy sky of blue and pale grey.
The Cotswold is a British breed of domestic sheep. It originates in, and is named for, the Cotswold hills of the southern midlands of England. It is a large long-woollen sheep, and is kept as a dual-purpose breed, providing both meat and wool. It is a rare breed: in 2021 it was listed as "at risk" on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
Rev. Dr. Victoria Marie is a Catholic Worker, a Roman Catholic Woman priest, and a late blooming eco-artist.