Speaking Up

Matthew 22:18 - But Jesus, realizing their malicious intent, said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?"

Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? No beating around the bush here. Jesus just flat out calls these people on their actions. I wonder how he felt as he listened to their question? Was he angry? frustrated? or was he sad? for them as well as for those they might harm? Did he feel love for them in that moment, even as he called them hypocrites?

I was playing around with the stresses of this question, wondering what word Jesus stressed. WHY are you testing me? Why are YOU testing me? Why are you TESTING me? Why are you testing ME? They all convey a different meaning, a different attitude toward the Pharisean disciples and the Herodians. In particular, stressing the YOU, gives me an idea I hadn't thought of before. Why are YOU testing me? In other words, why are these particular people here now asking him this question? Because they were asked to by the Pharisees. Did they personally have anything against Jesus? or were they Pharisean puppets?

Perhaps Jesus is asking them to look at their own motives for being there and for their participation in this charade. Maybe calling them out in this way is what love looks like in this situation. Yes, it seems harsh that he called them hypocrites, yet, that is what they were in that moment. Sometimes the truth hurts, which is why denial is such a catchword. However, speaking the truth in love is sometimes necessary.

There's a fine line between that and criticizing. I'm not always sure where that line is. It sometimes causes problems. Yet, in many different situations, it seems to be my lot in life to be tasked with speaking up. I hate it, which is probably why I'm called to do it. I spent a big chunk of my life not speaking up for myself; believing the lies I was told. It takes great courage to stick our necks out. The students of Marjory Stone Douglas High have such courage and many are supporting them in different ways.

So, I want to lift up the fact that Black people have been speaking up and protesting gun violence for years, decades even. Why have we not listened to THEM? We are all hypocrites in our own way. Yet, in this season of Lent, we can rectify that. We can repent of our silence - or our vocal opposition to Black voices - and make amends by joining with Black people in their struggles to be heard. Learning more about and supporting Black Lives Matter or the Southern Poverty Law Center are good places to start. We can listen, we can believe them, and we can walk with them in their fight for justice. It's long past time.

Who is Jesus asking you to speak up for? Will you be able to do it? What would you need?