MNO Synod Bishop's Message

Can Cultural Exegesis move us away from Spiritual Exile?

It’s funny how some words stick in your mind and you can roll them around
trying to make sense of them, trying to find a place within your own context
to understand them. Two phrases were expressed to me recently and they
have been sticking in my consciousness until I could find an outlet for gaining
understanding of them. Here’s what came to mind.

The first one is “cultural exegesis”. For those who have studied theology
and biblical interpretation the word exegesis is familiar. It is what you take
out of the text that informs your understanding of the meaning of the text
and of the context in which the text was written. It is what you take out
of the text before you do the interpretative work that will reflect how the
text applies to your own context. Some of the exegetical work is around
the use of language, genre, history, culture, etc.

The phrase “cultural exegesis” brings a new understanding to how we do mission and how we see our place in God’s mission in the world. Congregations need to do their homework on their own context before they commit time and money and gifts to certain aspects of ministry. For example, has your congregation developed a congregational profile which gives a history of the congregation and an understanding of who they are in their community before the congregation calls a rostered minister (diaconal or ordained) to lead them? Do you want to expend resources calling a leader only to find out that your ministry has changed in the past three years and you really need a completely different kind of leader? Taking the time to “exegete” your context informs your decision making and may lead you in a new direction.

The second phrase is “spiritual exile”. The author who used this phrase was speaking to the fact that the church is struggling because people have, in their context, set parameters for who they are and who they want to be, so much so that God isn’t getting the work done through them. The claim is that we have personally exiled ourselves from what God is calling us to do. What is something that is keeping your congregation from truly being who you are called to be? Some may say the building and our insistence in maintaining buildings of the past are keeping us from finding new and better ways to do mission. Others would say that our ties to the past glories of the church are what keep us from doing God’s work out in the world.

Some would say that setting the parameter of being a church in mission involves dealing with only certain specific issues, such as standing for or against the blessing of same gender couples. Others would say that in times of exile we need to hoard and safeguard our resources of gifts for ministry; keeping to ourselves the ideas needed to revitalize and renew our commitment to God’s mission. The thinking is that we need to keep the gospel close to our own hearts and not expend precious energy spread the message beyond our own doors.

The theme our church has embraced “In Mission for Others” gives us an opportunity to exegete our own context, and identify where we have spiritually exiled ourselves from God’s mission to bless the whole world. I hope that when all is said and done we have opened our hearts to the possibilities that God has set before us- to heal the sick, feed the poor, and share the good news.
If we do our “cultural exegesis” by God’s wisdom we can be moved from “spiritual exile” to a ministry and mission that truly is for others.

To view Bishop Elaine's blog click on the link below:
mnosynod.wordpress.com