disseminating the word a deconstructive reading of mark

8/2/2019 Disseminating the Word a Deconstructive Reading of Mark

1/12

P. I .HARTINDISSEMINATING mE WORD; A DECONSTRUCTIVE READ[NG OF

MARK 4:[9 AND MARK 4:13-20

Prd""", obrc wiIh r_ ... " " , 0 0 : 1 ~ p ' d ~ < k .. p'clim;"., .. . pn:ambk:s. proIopcs,aDd prokgolD< .. . h'''' ' ' ol...)lI b11 ",",""" . . . 'alhe. loratollo, lhe p'.'.... .t i.. ptoducticwl, and, ill Ofdc, to f"Il W",. lhe ruder', qeo ..hoi ir vWbIe, ioobliged 10 ,put. l


2/12

P.J. HARTINsimply applied as a means for acquiring Ihe rigbl imerp relalioro. I have endeavou r


3/12

DEUlNSTRUcnON

hefsbc Is the f.ther/mother of the text give5 bim/ber 110 spceial.utbority withregard to the tu t and illl inte!pTl:tation.

In reading or rewriting.ny text tbe approacb Is not to unwver tbe biddenmeaning rWlling: within. text. l/lStead ~ r y ta t is viewed as plural."T1Iio doeo;__ .s t Ib t ;. ..... _ 0 1 . . . . . . . . . . bill ..chet .iIa. iI . . . cMa pIooraIiIy of........ J ~ " iI ......,.. -01 ,0 .. . ; . , . ~ Q,a,.I iI ...,. be, II1II10 .. . apIc>-..... 1j. . . . . o . . m n.e T.. pIuroliIJ does _


4/12

P. I. HARTINA parable I. nol, as in the mind of tbe supporters of the historical-criticalmethod, 10 be secn as rontaining an archimedes point wbich it is 11K: task of theinterpreter to discover and 10 unlod,. Inslead, one IIrives 10 sec bow thesignifiers prescot in Ihe slOry point beyond tbemselves 10 the horizon of thepass.:lge.

pvobk oM lK painliaj dnw the t". ........ 01. Wl/lIIIy ....arced oo/t ioaIO 0 . 0b-ject. . . lK to lK borim. hrw- of...ioio:lo tJ..- objoo:ts pill tbcir P '- oMfoea. Th.., lK abjoects Ia !be previously ,dc&ocd . . . o:ccD: the CJtlject 0111.tuIiooI. bIll wit. .. _ " " " " ' " ud WId.,pdcd ODd plOIe


5/12

P. J. HARTINThe puroble is relold in an alD1O$[ idendea.l way in each of the Gospels with onlyminor differe nces. The lext slaru wilh the slatemenl thaI Jesus is teaching inparablel (Mk 4:2). The aemunt opens with the pieture o f. farmer sowing seedin his [and.The feeling of expectation i$ engendered by the description, but im-mediatdy this is met wi th the frustrations and the fai lures that this laion encountcti. For the by$l&nden the feeling of expectation is replaced by !he fee linaof futi1ily. Comra.m:d 10 the oatural fecling of the IJy5randcn is lIIe feeling ofconfidence betrayed by Jesul. He shows Ihe ultimale result as the production ofaharvest whlch is beyond compare.

2.1.2 A &:constructive: approaclt to Ute panlbleNo cxplanalion is given here 10 Ihe acoouni. II is presented as a parable, andhence requires the hearer 10 use her/his mind 10 search Ihe account for an ClI-pl anation: 'He who has can to hear, lei him hear' (Mt 4:9), Reading lhisparabl e in lertulually with otbe r parab les , one sees how so many of theeomparisons init ialed by l esus in his parables concern the kingdom of God.While no direct reference is made here 10 the kingdom of God. one sees thetrace of Ihe expectation of Ihe coming of the kingdom of God appearing anddii-appearing Ihroughoul Ihis parable ....hen it is read in[enenually wilh the restof the parllbles in [his chapler (Mk 4).

At the commena:ment of lhe parable 1he e:.pc:Clation of the establisllD'ltcnt ofGod'5 kingdom is in the forefront. II is awailed eagerly.jU51 as one awail$ witheagerness Ihe sower's mulu from his $OWIng of the seed. Faced willi Initial badrelllts from the sowing of Ihe seed, a feeling of failure emerged, which can betraced as weI! inlo the comparison with lIIe establishment of God's kingdom.Bul. fina lly . th is fee ling of failure is replaced by a fee ling of confidence aDd joyin 1M; final success thaI is anained. ll1st as the outcome m the harvest suipusesall expeclat lons aroused at the beginning. so [00 Ihe kingdom of God Is 10 beawaited ",;[h Ihe certainty and assurance Ihal far liIIipasse5 every expectation.

It is in Ihis contrasl of fee lings that a Irace of the absence-pre5.Cnce of tbeldngdom is ~ r c e M d the actllal evenl of sowing lhe pre5.C1lCe mlhe kingdom;s upec[ed as imminent. but this presence is upe rienced as absence in Ihefailures that are encounl ered. The feeling of confidence and certainty on thepari ofJQUS re-awakens the trace of the presence of the kingdom. The presenceof lbe kingdom is seen 10 be something lhal is inevitab le. notwithuanding everyfailure lhal appears \0 re-inform i15 absence.

'" "


6/12

OECON5"IlIUcnON'"

22 The appliCQI;OII of the parabk 0/ The SoIlV (Mwt 4;/4-20) (with MOl/hew13;19-13 and 8.-11-15 /U wotan )

Much more of a difference is evident in the application of the p


7/12

P. 1. HARTIN

SOWER SOWSn lE SEEO ( _TIlE WORO) IN n lE IlEAREfUi

M . : M.llhew 1l:I'JoD l..\Ikcll:l1i$TIlE IlEARRS EXrI.ANA170.v EXrlANA170N EXl'lANA170Ni.uc.. d. . palb ~ u 1 " ' " n ) ' EtliJDM_""...il Rod:r If'J'II'd hnm D


8/12

DECONSTRUcnON

2J Mark 4:3 JOand Marl< 4:1J20ar intertau

Eyu ....6Di.tM:d, 'be 'u , I!. . 'ptrm... ' .,Ol.",orpil""" ' . b i < ~ "....,,,,. .. reader i.,o.1II.bor &lid .1II.bor iMo


9/12

P.l. HARTIN

Wt . . .u e.q;. . . .h oboe=. wilh , ~ . " " " . wi...... ..,.rtwioo 0I1he obo,e..,. oIwo . (,).ADd "'" ",,,".t...,a willi .biooilc. . . . . IIil ........ btu, ...... bow:oboe""" ptneau. TbtR"",."oll _. oce .haI: .... word Is ............... pt . . . . . . ud poeoc . . . K", (T.ylor1\1820:1:101).

In the parab le of The Sower no reference is made di rectly to the kill&oom ofGod. vel)" absence is willi! makel iu trace present. Through the intetlem ofthe other parables recorded in Mark 4 appears the contrast tbatthe parablelarc preliC nted i i i a means 10 iIluWate by way of StD')' what 'the! kingdom of Godis like._.

'A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed ..'. The prelCnce of the sowersoon hecomel an absence. The sower is not mentioned again In the parable, forthe f O C \ l ~ of attemion falls upon the fanen su d; ....he is mentJoned atlbe S\llrtand thereafter ignored. The parable is aOOlI1 loCed ...Or, ifone prefen, it is aboutthe absence and departure, the ncoess.ary IoClf-nega tion of the sower' (Crossan\980:50).

The presenu of the seed on Ihe palh, on rocky ground, and among thorrubroughl aboul dealh and absellOC. The presence of tho seed in good soil uhim:llely brought about grOWlh into a magnificent harvelt. The prCleIlCe of thewil in the absence of a receptive foundation led 10 its annihilation, while !.be ab-sence of any hindrance to Ibe $011 led to prClence In superabundance. Ulli-matc:\y the immen.e harvest comC$ as a surp rise: il is a miracle (Crossan1913;5 1). The kingdom of God romes as a gift. ils presence cornel as a surprise.i1 is worked by a mirade.

The kingdom ofGnd is absent in Ibe parable: il is nOI mentioned. Yet. as ha.sheen indicated, Ibe itltertens draw a!lenlion to the compariwo of I.be kingdomof God in all the parables. Ultimately tile silence of the kingdom gives birth toits presence in the utraordinary harvest that arrives. The advent of the kingdombelm prescot through miracle and gift.

The trace of tbe kingdom is taken up again in the in tertut of the a1leaolY ofthe SO\\'er as the lUI of Ihe parable is rewritten in the early church. Once againthe SllWer dis.appeiU"5 int


10/12

DECONS'TlI.UcnON '"IIeaw of tbc ud DOl doer. boo ; ' i1c. _ ...... abocna bio liliiii'01 '- ; . alllirror;r.... ... kase" lad JOCI ' ~ 1 ODd . . "" " r.....c.... ,", be _ 1iIIc. B . ~ lit. .....,Ioob;'to 1.b.e penteI '" beiot DO Ioeuu tlt..o< ,.,...,.. buI doe, thai ocu.. be olaoII be bItued il l his (J...... 1:2l-25).

In a direreD! way the Epistle of Jameli rereads the parable ofllle Sower in adifferent CDDlett. He U-sUC5 the call toO be a doer .of the wDrd and oot just.hearer. 'But those WhD were K/Wl'l upon the good lOiI are the ones whD Iu!ar thewotd Cl1Id tJCCqJI it Cl1Id bear nUl...' (MIl: < draml d lbe .......,. 10 be Kif..,.,.. . . . . . . . (T""'" 198t:11O).

A retrospect looh back O\tCr the endeavour. The attempt was to illustrate thewk. rather than simply to endone il wholesale.W.u.- . . . . . '0 ,..... "Coon. . c - eO l ..... h I .. . ; , . ,..urclo _ . racatdo kit .. " " ._ 'hie e>'I:'" w, .. p! 11>0 IIt _ _ .''Oft' '" ,1>0 Impossible. Sliclo ... Kltdo ia. 01""""'" bnpoooible. 11 roib., ~ e d l ) ' fail>. ....d..-ll" ....... M I. t ile wriI i. oIl.bio rq>


11/12

1'. J. HARTIN

produces new rereadinp of the test. Elsewhere I have drawn attentiOD to anumber of shortroming5 of the deCOlll1ructive activity (Hanin 1987:5354;1988",:385387), nOI leu t of whicb t o n < ; c r n ~ the upetl of relativism. In the bcoomirIJ scrip;..... I. be': r .. . at "-'ly t h ~ mltlpll Y'" r... yio: Jd< . . , . . , ~ meuore ." _oy..uJactioo. ill ill.,.... riPL Bat, rOf Mol,,,,",,,, 'U I ond reader ill iq Ioiotoriool ir>ta.1 . 11lity ud dioeowoc ~ ~ p t h "...suo.. in the.rton to lODi'oId God ' , Torw:! ,he ... o 10 ifatapte1 LIoc traditiooo.1Id '0 p.tticipoIe io 'b e . . . . 1. . . ottiooo of r;od ;"the _ Id (niIIip 1\I8S:\37).

BIBUOGRAPHY

Ahiur, T. 1982. 11"'0


12/12

DECONSTRUCTIONBanhea. R. InuIf!.II..J.Iouk..T.

CIo1b, J. l.981 . 77It,..",... cfSJ,u: $mUot"", Dcttswir.ip 10 Q. Prelori.:U ~ y o I S o o o . ~ AI . . .. (Unpubiobcd DTb TheoiI..)"-. . . G. 1979. W",do, W"ooh. Worth. Wordsw.>rtb. irt o.c.,.,,,,,,,,,",,, tw l C!iti

disseminating the word a deconstructive reading of mark

Documents