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Hope Restored: Biblical Imagination Against Empire
The Walter Brueggemann Library brings together the wide-ranging and enlivening thought of popular biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann over his storied career. Each volume collects previously published work on a biblical theme that has deeply informed Brueggemann's scholarship.
In Hope Restored, Brueggemann points us toward energizing hope for an alternative life of social equity and thriving. In Brueggemann's work, hope is not understood as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into the deep symbols of Scripture that imagine the alternative way of God, restoring solidarity and relationship that have been eroded by the violence of empire. According to the witness of Scripture, the divine presence is never settled into the arrangements and structures of the status quo. It provokes God's people to imagine beyond what they see and beyond their own selfish interests. Hope is always strongest among those who grieve and are willing to insistently critique the complacent, death-dealing social order that coddles the privileged and keeps its foot on the neck of those seen as "other" and to imagine new whole-making realities on the horizon.
Questions for reflection are included at the end of each chapter, making this book ideal for individual or group study.
In Hope Restored, Brueggemann points us toward energizing hope for an alternative life of social equity and thriving. In Brueggemann's work, hope is not understood as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into the deep symbols of Scripture that imagine the alternative way of God, restoring solidarity and relationship that have been eroded by the violence of empire. According to the witness of Scripture, the divine presence is never settled into the arrangements and structures of the status quo. It provokes God's people to imagine beyond what they see and beyond their own selfish interests. Hope is always strongest among those who grieve and are willing to insistently critique the complacent, death-dealing social order that coddles the privileged and keeps its foot on the neck of those seen as "other" and to imagine new whole-making realities on the horizon.
Questions for reflection are included at the end of each chapter, making this book ideal for individual or group study.
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Published June 6, 2023
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About the author
Walter Brueggemann
316 books572 followersWalter Brueggemann was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociopolitical imagination of the Church. He argued that the Church must provide a counter-narrative to the dominant forces of consumerism, militarism, and nationalism.
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September 2, 2024
Hope, that is a concept that seems rather elusive at the moment. However, if we approach reality with a biblically infused imagination that is ready and willing and able to take on the Empires of our world, then hope is truly possible. That is the message that Walter Brueggemann delivers in the book "Hope Restored."
Walter Brueggemann is well known to preachers and scholars and many lay persons who have encountered him, as I have, in his many books, sermons, lectures, and other presentations. Now in his 90s and semi-retired, we continue to hear him invite us to attend to the biblical witness. We know him as a biblical scholar, especially of the Old Testament, but I think many of us are discovering how committed he is not to the study of the Bible but to the Bible itself as a witness to God's realm.
Hope Restored is a contribution to a series edited by Davis Hankins, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Appalachian State University, titled "The Walter Brueggemann Library." These volumes are intriguing in that Hankins has crafted new books using previously published materials, making them available in a new format for a new generation of readers. "Hope Restored" appeared in 2023, and it focuses on the theme of Hope that Brueggemann finds present in the Old Testament. In the first chapter, which is titled "The Bible as Literature of Hope," Brueggemann writes that "The Jewish Bible, the Christian Old Testament, is fundamentally a literature of hope; yet, at least in Christian circles, the Old Testament has such a caricatured reputation as a tradition of law, judgment, and wrath" (p. 3). In this book he seeks to disabuse us of that view of the Old Testament, something he does in typical Brueggemann style.
As noted Hankins has edited into existence this book, drawing on materials previously published with input from Brueggemann. He does so in a seamless way. If you didn't know what he had done you would think this is all newly written material. Hope Restored is divided into five parts or sections, with the majority of the book engaging in biblical exegesis, interpretation, and proclamation (he draws from Brueggemann's sermons, most of which are available in published form from WJK Press).
Part One is titled "Introducing Biblical Hope." This section contains two chapters that set the tone for what comes after. The first chapter, which I've already mentioned, focuses on "The Bible as Literature of Hope." He notes that the Western intellectual tradition does not lift up hope. Rather the focus is on order. It is a tradition of order that seeks to discern, understand, decipher, know, and, if possible, master and control. He offers the biblical tradition as an alternative, one that speaks of hope. (pp. 3-4). The second chapter in this section is titled "Living Toward a Vision." With the vision of hope announced, a vision that is open and provisional, this chapter sets us on a path toward embodying that vision of hope. Here he speaks of the goal of keeping hope open and provisional while noting that the natural setting of hope is to be found among those who process their grief in community, and finally, addresses the enemies of hope, which are muteness, fulfillment, and technique. What we find here is a message of hope, that requires imagination.
Part two (Chapters 3-4) focuses on "The Torah: Hope in Promises and Expectations." Here we see Brueggemann speak of "The Open-ended Hope of the Torah" (Chapter 3), where we find that open-ended instruction that moves us from Creation to the Land of Promise. From there we move in Chapter 4 to "God's Promises and Provision: Exegetical and Homiletical Focus." As he will do in later chapters, Brueggemann begins with exegesis, exploring the concept of hope as found in the ancestral stories. The focus is on the Genesis stories that speak of God providing for and testing God's people.
Part 3 is titled "The Prophets: Hope for Restoration." Here again, we have two chapters. Chapter 5 is titled "The Prophets: Deep Memories, Passionate Convictions, and New Hopes." Here he engages with the entire prophetic tradition, both the Former Prophets (Joshua through 2 Kings), and the Later Prophets, the ones we understand to be prophets Here again he lifts out the biblical witness to hope. Then in Chapter 6, he focuses on the accounts in Second and Third Isaiah: "Hope for Well-Beign in Second and Third Isaiah: Exegetical and Homiletical Focus." He writes of Isaiah as a book, that "in a complex way over a long period of time, is a great lyrical articulation of a city that is humiliated in deep failure and then is exalted in glorious, possible well-being" (p. 90).
Part Four: The Writings: Hope of Transformation offers us three chapters, with the first 2 looking at the Book of Daniel. Chapter 7 is titled "Hope Transformed in the Writings: Exegetical Focus (Daniel 2-4). This is the narrative portion of Daniel, where we see how Daniel and his companions resist the Empire but thrive. Then in Chapter 8, titled "Hope in God's Future, Grounded in Holiness (Daniel 1; 7-12), Brueggemann takes a look at the apocalyptic vision of Daniel as a word of hope to a people in trouble. Then Chapter 9 is titled: "The Nagging Hope of the Lament Psalms: Exegetical and Homiletical Focus." Here Brueggemann reveals a "recurring pattern of speech [that] features the covenantal partner drawing God into trouble with a hopeful expectation that if God can be mobilized, the trouble can be assuaged!" (pp. 133-134). As you can see from the layout of the book to this point, Brueggemann is following the Jewish canonical listing, such that Daniel joins the Psalms in the final section of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings.
Part 5 offers a concluding chapter (Chapter 10), titled "Embracing the Transformation: A Comment on Missionary Preaching." Ultimately, we can call this a missional book, for it draws on the Old Testament story to tell a story of hope, a story that requires on our part a biblical imagination, dare I say a prophetic imagination so that we can offer a message that speaks to God's mission in the world. He writes that this "mission is an assertion of new reality wrought by God (Gabe, or gift), and an invitation to receive and participate in the new reality (Aufgabe, or task." (p. 153). In this concluding chapter Brueggemann essentially sums up the message delivered in the previous chapters, even if this chapter is a reproduction of another published essay on missional preaching that offers the listener an account of that new world that is described in the biblical story.
The material might not be new, but taken together we have something quite valuable. That is especially true if you are a preacher. Knowing that the message as rooted in Scripture is hope-filled, even if not yet complete, is a word of encouragement.
Walter Brueggemann is well known to preachers and scholars and many lay persons who have encountered him, as I have, in his many books, sermons, lectures, and other presentations. Now in his 90s and semi-retired, we continue to hear him invite us to attend to the biblical witness. We know him as a biblical scholar, especially of the Old Testament, but I think many of us are discovering how committed he is not to the study of the Bible but to the Bible itself as a witness to God's realm.
Hope Restored is a contribution to a series edited by Davis Hankins, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Appalachian State University, titled "The Walter Brueggemann Library." These volumes are intriguing in that Hankins has crafted new books using previously published materials, making them available in a new format for a new generation of readers. "Hope Restored" appeared in 2023, and it focuses on the theme of Hope that Brueggemann finds present in the Old Testament. In the first chapter, which is titled "The Bible as Literature of Hope," Brueggemann writes that "The Jewish Bible, the Christian Old Testament, is fundamentally a literature of hope; yet, at least in Christian circles, the Old Testament has such a caricatured reputation as a tradition of law, judgment, and wrath" (p. 3). In this book he seeks to disabuse us of that view of the Old Testament, something he does in typical Brueggemann style.
As noted Hankins has edited into existence this book, drawing on materials previously published with input from Brueggemann. He does so in a seamless way. If you didn't know what he had done you would think this is all newly written material. Hope Restored is divided into five parts or sections, with the majority of the book engaging in biblical exegesis, interpretation, and proclamation (he draws from Brueggemann's sermons, most of which are available in published form from WJK Press).
Part One is titled "Introducing Biblical Hope." This section contains two chapters that set the tone for what comes after. The first chapter, which I've already mentioned, focuses on "The Bible as Literature of Hope." He notes that the Western intellectual tradition does not lift up hope. Rather the focus is on order. It is a tradition of order that seeks to discern, understand, decipher, know, and, if possible, master and control. He offers the biblical tradition as an alternative, one that speaks of hope. (pp. 3-4). The second chapter in this section is titled "Living Toward a Vision." With the vision of hope announced, a vision that is open and provisional, this chapter sets us on a path toward embodying that vision of hope. Here he speaks of the goal of keeping hope open and provisional while noting that the natural setting of hope is to be found among those who process their grief in community, and finally, addresses the enemies of hope, which are muteness, fulfillment, and technique. What we find here is a message of hope, that requires imagination.
Part two (Chapters 3-4) focuses on "The Torah: Hope in Promises and Expectations." Here we see Brueggemann speak of "The Open-ended Hope of the Torah" (Chapter 3), where we find that open-ended instruction that moves us from Creation to the Land of Promise. From there we move in Chapter 4 to "God's Promises and Provision: Exegetical and Homiletical Focus." As he will do in later chapters, Brueggemann begins with exegesis, exploring the concept of hope as found in the ancestral stories. The focus is on the Genesis stories that speak of God providing for and testing God's people.
Part 3 is titled "The Prophets: Hope for Restoration." Here again, we have two chapters. Chapter 5 is titled "The Prophets: Deep Memories, Passionate Convictions, and New Hopes." Here he engages with the entire prophetic tradition, both the Former Prophets (Joshua through 2 Kings), and the Later Prophets, the ones we understand to be prophets Here again he lifts out the biblical witness to hope. Then in Chapter 6, he focuses on the accounts in Second and Third Isaiah: "Hope for Well-Beign in Second and Third Isaiah: Exegetical and Homiletical Focus." He writes of Isaiah as a book, that "in a complex way over a long period of time, is a great lyrical articulation of a city that is humiliated in deep failure and then is exalted in glorious, possible well-being" (p. 90).
Part Four: The Writings: Hope of Transformation offers us three chapters, with the first 2 looking at the Book of Daniel. Chapter 7 is titled "Hope Transformed in the Writings: Exegetical Focus (Daniel 2-4). This is the narrative portion of Daniel, where we see how Daniel and his companions resist the Empire but thrive. Then in Chapter 8, titled "Hope in God's Future, Grounded in Holiness (Daniel 1; 7-12), Brueggemann takes a look at the apocalyptic vision of Daniel as a word of hope to a people in trouble. Then Chapter 9 is titled: "The Nagging Hope of the Lament Psalms: Exegetical and Homiletical Focus." Here Brueggemann reveals a "recurring pattern of speech [that] features the covenantal partner drawing God into trouble with a hopeful expectation that if God can be mobilized, the trouble can be assuaged!" (pp. 133-134). As you can see from the layout of the book to this point, Brueggemann is following the Jewish canonical listing, such that Daniel joins the Psalms in the final section of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings.
Part 5 offers a concluding chapter (Chapter 10), titled "Embracing the Transformation: A Comment on Missionary Preaching." Ultimately, we can call this a missional book, for it draws on the Old Testament story to tell a story of hope, a story that requires on our part a biblical imagination, dare I say a prophetic imagination so that we can offer a message that speaks to God's mission in the world. He writes that this "mission is an assertion of new reality wrought by God (Gabe, or gift), and an invitation to receive and participate in the new reality (Aufgabe, or task." (p. 153). In this concluding chapter Brueggemann essentially sums up the message delivered in the previous chapters, even if this chapter is a reproduction of another published essay on missional preaching that offers the listener an account of that new world that is described in the biblical story.
The material might not be new, but taken together we have something quite valuable. That is especially true if you are a preacher. Knowing that the message as rooted in Scripture is hope-filled, even if not yet complete, is a word of encouragement.
May 20, 2024
Fragmenten uit eerder werk van Brueggemann verzameld en bewerkt, zodat het een geheel zou moeten zijn. Dit deel is minder geslaagd dan de andere delen uit de Walter Brueggemann Library, omdat lang niet alle fragmenten aan de thematiek van hoop gekoppeld zijn. Het lezen ervan is wel nuttig om helder te krijgen waar Brueggemann accenten legt.
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