PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

March 13, 2022

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Presently, the Sunday morning sermons at Kings’s Church DC are focusing on the Book of Exodus.  The Sunday Diane and I attended their services the text was Exodus 19:1-7.  The text serves as an introduction to the second half of the book which contains the laws given to Moses at Mount Saini.

As a part of his message Wesley Welch made reference of the architectural principle that “form follows function.”  Conceived by Louis H. Sullivan, the principle states that the shape of a building or object should properly relate to its intended function or purpose.  During his message Wesley also made reference to the Jewish dietary laws which are to be found In Leviticus Chapter 11 and Deuteronomy Chapter 14.

While I was aware of principle of “form follows function” and the Jewish dietary laws, I had never put the two together.  Wesley’s message got me thinking that what is normative about the dietary laws today is not their form but their function.  Given the circumstances in which the Jewish dieetary laws  were given, they functioned to give a roadmap for the Hebrew people to have a diet that ensured healthy life.  These laws are still normative today in the sense that given today’s circumstances one needs to have a diet that ensures a healthy life.

Many of the laws given in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy would, when we consider their form, to be irrelevant today.   However, when we consider their function when they were given, they remain relevant.  Chapters 13 and 14 of the Book of Leviticus have to do with leprosy.  They give instructions about how one who has the disease should be treated.  The recent pandemic which is drawing to a close is a reminder that the danger of infectious diseases and how to deal with them is still with us.  Would that today we had the same straightforward advice that is given in Leviticus.

Most of the laws and regulations on the books in our country today were originally enacted to address a specific problem or situation.  With the passing of time circumstances have changed.  On the surface a number of these laws would seem to be irrelevant.  However, when we look not at their form, but their function, we sometimes discover their function is still relevant.  What is needed is a new form that takes into regards current circumstances.

The story is told about a woman who would cut her roast in half before she put it in the oven.  When a friend asked her why she did it, she said, “Because my mother does.”  Curious as to why it was necessary to cut the roast in half, the woman asked her mother why she did it.  Her mother told her it was because her mother did it.  Fortunately, the woman’s grandmother was still alive so she could ask her why she cut the roast in two.  Her grandmother explained that she did not have a pan big enough to hold roasts, so to get them in she had to cut them in half.  No longer did the woman need to half her roast.  The function had remained the same over three generations, but the form had changed.

The principle “form follows function” informed the Louis H. Sullivan architectural style.  As we have seen this principle is helpful in making the ancient texts of the Hebrew Bible relevant today.  The principle provides a way of looking at the origins and possible up-dates of laws and regulations.  “Form follows function” continues to be an important principle that helps this generation contextualize the insights of previous generations.