PSICOTERAPIA INTERPERSONAL

The hermeneutic of proclamation has a twofold task in the case of Luke 4:16-30. First it must insist that the patriarchal element of the text cannot be proclaimed as the word of God. The patriarchal and male centred features of the text must be proclaimed as particular to the context in which it originated or as the word of the author and his social context (or even that of the audience to whom the author wrote). The second task of the hermeneutic of proclamation is that it must proclaim the liberating sense of the text. It must bring to the fore that women, men, and the

46 _{“Missio Dei” is used here as a term that describes the work of God throughout the Bible as particularly}

represented in the actions and mission of the Old Testament prophets and here now also visible in the work and ministry of Jesus.

marginalised can find solace in the historical Jesus who experienced rejection and gave a voice to the voiceless.

The first function of the hermeneutic of proclamation would then be to critique the use of violence in the text. Whether this text is used in academic or religious context the violent character that we find in the latter part of the pericope can never be proclaimed as God ordained. Here the hermeneutic of suspicion helps in

deconstructing the text in order to reconstruct it. Therefore the violent tendency in the text must be proclaimed as a character of the patriarchal society and a critique on violence in the text as part of the society in which it takes place should also critique other related elements of patriarchal societies.

In close relation to the above the hermeneutic of proclamation would have to

critically analyse the impact of social values such as honor and shame. The question in verse 22b poses a challenge to a theological understanding of Jesus as the son of God, but from a sociological perspective it stands as an insult to people of lower class (such as artisans and peasants). For the purpose of this study it is interesting to note the consequence and the extent of this question in terms of social

significance. This question highlights the vulnerability of the people of the lower orders of the time. Moreover it moves from a male perspective questioning the paternal relation of Jesus and not the maternal which in itself speaks of the sense with which women were treated. The hermeneutic of proclamation needs to take into full account the extent to which this neglect of female concerns affected both men and women in the text, and the modern reader of the text, and how these elements of patriarchy were and are internalised even to the point that it is not recognised and in some cases defended by those who are victims of it.

The second function of the hermeneutic of proclamation is to announce the good news coming from this pericope. The good news in this pericope is not so much that Jesus fulfils the prophetic word of Isaiah nor the theological implication of what Jesus says in this text but rather that Jesus first of all associates with the marginalised and oppressed and secondly that Jesus becomes the embodiment of resistance to the powers that be. It is the opinion of this study that in order to announce good news and promote liberation, there needs to be some sort of alignment with those who

need the good news or something in common with those who suffer as a result of oppression, poverty, exploitation and negative dominant structures. The hermeneutic of proclamation aims to understand the “Sitz im Leben” of the text in order to read the historical Jesus as “part and parcel” of the socio-historical, which includes feminist-historical, setting of the text. Here in this pericope the historical Jesus negotiates his own context in such a way that he becomes a radical teacher and therefore a threat to the social systems at larger. It is in that threat to the system that women and men can find the good news. Wo/men can find themselves comfort in the fact that they can retell this story, that we find in this pericope, in such a way that it gives meaning to their own struggles with oppressive systems and attempts to dim or silence the voices of masses of people such as those with whom Jesus

associates himself with in the text47.

Furthermore, the hermeneutic of proclamation should declare all possibilities, whether they are just possible or very plausible, that alludes to positive outlooks on women in particular. The hermeneutic of suspicion suggested that in some ancient societies, especially the Hellenistic-Jewish communities, women might have been involved in leadership roles in the synagogues48. This notion is an empowering thought for feminist critical readers of the text and should be enhanced but also examined by preachers and scholars alike.

The hermeneutic of proclamation therefore becomes the first step in reconstructing what the hermeneutic of suspicion and the hermeneutic of remembrance

deconstructed. The proclamation part of the process is the obverse of the same coin as suspicion. In reconstructing the text the emphasis should be on positive

transformation which would include the experience and struggles of wo/men female and male alike and one can even go further to say that it should include the struggles of creation. The hermeneutic of proclamation helps the exegete to become relevant to a much larger group of people; but from this study’s perspective it must start with

47

Schüssler Fiorenza suggest that a feminist critical model of reading and interpreting the Bible should not only consist of the normal and formal methods and themes of biblical interpretations for example historical, rhetorical, ideological, theological and ethical issues but should also employ elements, methods and themes of storytelling, role-play, music, arts and so forth in order to create a different religious imagination (Schüssler Fiorenza 1998: 87).

48 _{Referring to the question of women elders in the Diaspora Jewish communities, with special reference to}

the experience of women. From what we have learned through this pericope it must be rooted in the Jesus who opposed and challenged structures of oppression and exploitation. It is in the proclamation of God’s word that the church either succeeds or fails to make the Bible relevant to the people who hear the word. Therefore this step in the hermeneutical process is so important not only to feminist interpreters and interpretation, but also to all other forms of biblical interpretation or should at least be if it is not the case.

“A hermeneutics of proclamation would require that biblical scholars, teachers, and preachers learn how to explore not only their own but also the cultural-religious locations of their audiences and adjudicate the impact or effects that their biblical interpretations have on such audiences, especially on those who credit the scriptures with divine authority” (Schüssler Fiorenza 1998: 138).