A Family of Freedom Fighters

The story of Bathsheba, wife of the soldier Uriah, begins when King David sees her bathing on the roof of his castle. Whether for love, lust, or to regain a sense of manhood in his age, David sends for her, sleeps with her, and impregnates her. In order to cover up his mistake, David calls Uriah to go home and sleep with his wife so that that the child would appear to be his. Uriah declines because he wants to remain loyal and fight alongside his fellow soldiers. Therefore, David orders his general to fall back in battle, and leave Uriah behind to die. After mourning Uriah, Bathsheba moves in with David and becomes his wife. The baby she is carrying becomes Solomon. Later, when David’s legitimate son Adonijah is preparing to take the kingdom, Bathsheba (and Nathan the prophet), coaxes David into crowning Solomon king.

Bathsheba is only one of four women mentioned in His line, and so she must have done something to different than the dozens of other women who contributed an heir. Bathsheba is not Jewish, and is therefore a person on the outside. Though her husband fights for David and the freedom of the Jews, he and she are subordinates. Being a woman, Bathsheba is made even more outcasted and vulnerable. The combination of those two things put her place of absolutely no power. When David falls for her, she doesn't have the power to say no, especially to a king. When David arranges for Uriah's death, she has no power to stop it. Bathsheba is strongly hurt. Most likely she has been raped by David (and even if it wasn't rape, she must have felt bad for committing adultery), and because of her illegitimate pregnancy, she no longer has her husband. And yet, despite going through all this quietly and having no voice, Bathsheba eventually redeems herself. As a non-Jewish woman, she stands up to her new husband and uses her meeger yet new power as wife and queen, to get Solomon on the throne. Bathsheba is in Jesus lineage because she stands for the poor, and oppressed who have no power. She is a model and inspiration to those subordinates to stand up and get what belongs to them.

Portfolio 1: What I think I can Achieve

I think that I can earn at least an A- in the class. In class I tend to ask lots of questions, especially in interesting subjects. I'm good at interpretation, especially in scripture. Public speaking is a little hard for me, but hopefully this class will be an incentive to improve. As far as good behavior, I occasionally do call out or don't raise my hand when I get excited, and I do get distracted with people around me, but as my grades show, I am a good student. I will get at least an A- in this class.

Portfolio 1: Who is Jesus, Really?

I think Jesus taught so much, more than could ever be put into 250 words (obviously, because it takes up the New Testament). One of the most important things He taught were misconceptions taken from the Hebrew Scriptures. He taught to live by the heart and not the word of the law. An example of this would be about working on the Sabbath. It was taught by religious leaders that because The Law said not to work on the Sabbath, that one could not walk a certain distance, look in the mirror, and namely do the right thing and help someone. Jesus taught to do the right thing, which is what the Laws were intended for, instead of simply looking at the one sided words. Jesus also taught about the nature of God. The image of God before Jesus was one of anger and wrath. Jesus provided a picture of God as a loving and merciful father. I think one of the most important things Jesus taught was about God’s Kingdom. One of the most common questions Jesus was asked (by my observation) was about entrance into Heaven.
I would consider myself a follower of Jesus, however not the greatest follower. I agree strongly with his teachings, and most of them I feel I uphold. For the most part I has a strong moral conscience rooted in Christian teachings and I try to help others. But I, like everyone else, am a sinner and therefore disobey his teachings. Also, and I think this is normal, being a teenager I often times don’t believe, or create my own image of God and Jesus. I hope that as I get older I can solidify my faith and follow it better.

Why We Tell Stories

What is the one story that your family or friends tell about you over and over. Try to explain why you think they tell this story.

My grandfather (Papa) is very stereotypical in that he always tells stories. Stories about war, stories about school, about running a gas station, about running a succesful business, and about our family. But the most commonly told stories are about his childhood. Papa has lived in the Bay Area his entire life. When we drive together (which is often) he points out where things used to be. "Those houses used to be lettuce fields". "This field is where we exploded our first rocket". "This house is where I lived". In particular, Papa tells me about the fruit stand. When he was young, my great- grandparents, along with my grandpa and my great aunts and uncles, ran a fruit stand. "Bert's Market" is what it was called, and Papa sold watermelons. He tells stories about traveling far to get the watermelons, and how hard the whole family worked loading and unloading them. When every we drive through one of his old neighborhoods, he calls, "Melons! Get your watermelons! A dime a pound!"
I think that he tells these stories about the fruit stand often for many reasons. One is business. His whole life, Papa has worked extremely hard (sometimes 20 hour days) and has become a successful businessman. Business is very important to him, and he also tries explain to me finance (mostly unsuccessfully). These early working years showed him the skills and determination needed later in his life. Also they bring back memories of my great-grandparents, whom he loved very much. I know that they were his inspiration in his pursuit of success. As for why he tells me, I'm not sure. That goes back to why does anyone telll stories. I may be to bring me back in time and experience life 60 years ago. It may be to inspire me to work hard just as he has. It may be that he just wants to entertain me. Whatever the case, I'm glad he does because I find them very interesting.