A Gift in Disguise

Matthew 23:1-3 – Then Jesus said to the crowds and his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do what they say and follow it, but do not do as they do, for what they say, they do not do.”

Ouch. What must the Pharisees have thought hearing this. Jesus called them out as hypocrites in front of the crowds. The very people they were leading. Did they think they had the people fooled before this? Did they feel naked? Exposed? Vulnerable? Were they afraid of the crowd’s reaction? Did all these thoughts and feelings coalesce into anger? Maybe even rage?

No one likes to hear about their faults from others. It’s painful and awkward even admitting them to ourselves. How much more humiliating to be called out in front of the people one is supposed to be leading? As such, I do have a little sympathy for 45. He fooled himself into thinking that once he was president, no one would call him out on his actions and words. Instead, it only got worse. That’s painful, even though it is necessary that we continue to do so.

Our character determines how we will react in such a situation. If we’re already aware of the fault in question, we may be able to laugh it off. Or we may be angry and lash out at the nearest convenient target. Or we may be angry and sulk in silence. The truth is that such events can be gifts in disguise, if we’re mature enough to ask ourselves whether the criticism is valid or not. People often lie in order to hurt others. Only by honestly looking at our behavior can we know one way or another. That takes the courage of maturity.

So, Jesus is giving the scribes and the Pharisees a bittersweet gift. We already know that, like 45, they will lash out and blame Jesus for stirring up the crowds. Much like their ancestors blamed the prophets rather than their own behavior. Or people who blame peaceful protestors for violence. Or people who blame Black NFL players for “disrespecting the flag” while protesting state sponsored violence. Or people who blame anyone for daring to call racism by its name. Many people confuse the prophet for the problem. The prophet’s words make us uncomfortable and so we lash out. Anything to avoid having to see ourselves as we are.

Pema Chodron talks about the Buddhist slogan, “Being grateful to everyone.” It means that others are mirrors for us. The behavior we don’t like in others may be the very behavior we have rejected in ourselves. Jesus is acting as that mirror for the Pharisees and the scribes. We only get the gift, though, if we have the courage and honesty to look at ourselves.

Are you dealing with a challenging person? Are they a mirror for you? Today, let’s listen to the prophets among us; they may be bearing gifts.

Shocked Speechless

Matthew 22:46 – No one was able to answer him, and from that day on, no one asked him any more questions.

When was the last time you were shocked by something Jesus said? When was the last time his words were so radical they left you speechless? Jesus’ values are so different from our own, those of capitalism especially, that they should shock us every time. They don’t though, do they? I think it’s because we think we already know, and we only want confirmation that we’re correct. Much like the rich, young man whom Jesus advised to sell all his belongings. We don’t want to think that we have done anything wrong or that we lack that one more thing to make our life complete. We like to be certain.

We like it so much, that we no longer ask Jesus any questions. We figure out a meaning of Jesus' life and words that fits into our lives and we stay there, because it’s comfortable. We tame God by imagining that his values are our own. They are not. Jesus famously said that he had no brother, sister, or mother. That should shock us, but it doesn’t. We have explained it away. Jesus also said that following him meant that we need to take up our cross. Taking up our cross means suffering, persecution, and death. Of course we resist it. I resist it.

One way we tame God is by making Christianity about a set of doctrines to be assented to rather than a journey of love toward God and our fellow human beings. We make it about saying the right words. We make it about what happens after we die, instead of Jesus’ focus on the heaven that is, or could be, here and now. Becoming a Christian is a life-long process rather than a one-time event. We will be judged on our actions during that journey, not on our words, unless those words are used to harm ourselves or others.

Turning Christianity into a set of beliefs eases our consciences, keeps us comfortable in our own skin. Such Christianity doesn’t challenge us to love our neighbor or look inside at what might need transforming. It makes us certain about God, her attributes, her thoughts, her ideas. It helps us to imagine we have tamed the untameable, effed the ineffable. We will have no questions for Jesus, because we are certain we already know the answers.

Today, I’m going to look at where I’ve been too sure of my knowledge of God. Are my ideas about God loving and focused on the flourishing of human beings and creation? Do I believe something about God that makes me think of others as somehow less important than myself? Less worthy of God’s love? I will ask God to remove those thoughts, and to teach me a new way.

"We Know"

Matthew 22:45 – “If, then, David calls him Lord, how is he [David’s] son?”

I’ve been reading a very enlightening book, “Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion,” by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. As he traces the roots of evangelical beliefs to slaveowners’ use of the Bible to justify owning Black people, he shares his own journey out of those beliefs. He devotes a chapter to the story in John’s gospel about Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night. The first words out of Nicodemus’ mouth are, “We know.” Wilson-Hartgrove diagnoses the problem of ‘white’ people as “knowing.”

Just as Jesus did in John’s gospel, he did here in Matthew’s. He challenged the Pharisees to question what they ‘know.’ This is a lesson I personally can use, along with so many other ‘white’ Americans. We tend to rely on what we know rather than considering another point of view. This is not to say that we must agree with the other point of view; the goal is better understanding, not perfect agreement. This is what has divided us as a nation: too many of us are certain.

Jesus wants us to be curious instead. Curious about our neighbors, our co-workers, our acquaintances, the person we pass every day in the hall or on the sidewalk, even about God. To be curious, though, requires us to let go of what we ‘know.’ It requires us to be open to new experiences, new ideas, and new perspectives. It requires us to admit we don’t know everything already. Being curious is uncomfortable and risky; it takes humility and courage. Yet, if Christ is our model, we, too, must be curious and open to the knowledge and experiences of others. Righteousness is addictive and can easily become self-righteousness.

By questioning what the Pharisees ‘knew,’ Jesus is challenging us to question what we ‘know.’ We might even be pleasantly surprised when we give it a try.

A Better Future

Matthew 22:44 – “The LORD said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand while I put your enemies at your feet.”

The first lord refers to YHVH. It is written in all caps in English translations to distinguish it from the other word for God in the Hebrew Bible, El. The ‘my lord’ originally referred to the king, David, and was seen as the pronunciation of a prophet. Jesus reinterprets ‘my lord’ to refer to the coming messiah rather than King David. This new way of seeing the passage would have astonished the Pharisees and the audience.

In this reinterpretation, the passage moves from a memory of the past glory of King David to the promise of a future glory. The Israelites may have been holding on to past glories as a survival strategy during an oppressive occupation. Jesus called them to look to their future glory instead. “The Kingdom of Heaven is here.” He called them to a new vision of community; a future that they could co-create with Jesus.

Here in the United States, we’re in a similar situation. Our democratic systems and ideals have been hijacked to serve the purposes of corrupt, old, ‘white’ men. We were not perfect before the election, but progress was being made. This administration has done its best to get rid of that progress. It is tempting to live in the past, when times were a little better. However, the messiahship of Jesus calls us, as it called the Israelites, to look toward a new vision of community; to continue to work with the Spirit toward a better, more equitable society; to work toward a future where we take care of our citizens rather than threaten them with deportation if they step out of line.

How is Jesus calling you to participate in co-creating this new future?