Which is Greater? II

Matthew 23:19 – “Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?”

I get the feeling that the scribes and Pharisees are more interested in portable wealth, wealth they can take with them. The temple and the altar cannot be removed, but the gifts and the gold can. This portability makes the gifts and the gold more desirable to someone who has begun to serve money rather than God. The scribes and the Pharisees. have turned the values of God upside down. They have been seduced by power, and money brings power. Whatever their values before, now they have begun to value power and possession over God’s values: humility, mercy, justice.

Of course, the world still values possession over humility, mercy, and justice. Greed makes Jesus’ message of love harder to hear than otherwise. To the extent we identify with the world around us as it is, to that extent we will miss Jesus’ message. There are many who twist his words to support capitalism, the rule of law over mercy, the traumatization of refusing asylum to anyone at the border, and even slavery in all its forms. It is greed, fear, anger, and hate that cause such misreadings. Yet, it is neither the gifts nor the gold that are important to God – it is the condition of our hearts.

I read an article in Christian Century by Stephanie Paulsell. She argues that resistance to injustice must include positive practices of hospitality and welcome. In addition to marching, Christians would do well to take positive actions as well. Actions such as learning about other cultures and accepting them into our communities. Learning about the unvarnished history of the US and in doing so understanding our neighbors of all colors a little better. Practicing respect for others in all our interactions. Participating in our local governments in positive ways. There are many ways to build a more welcoming, inclusive, and loving community.

There’s a hitch; this is difficult work. Inclusion is hard. Welcoming “those people” is hard. It requires humility to listen to all sides. It requires opening our hearts to different ways of doing things. It requires cooperation. It requires self-reflection. It requires work. We can see why so many people reject it. It’s much easier to complain that the world is changing than to be curious about those changes. We see this in the resentments of ‘white’ people who feel their country is slipping away and are frightened, helped along by Fox News and Republican scaremongering. It is so much easier to close our doors to the stranger than to welcome them in. It is easier to pretend we have all the answers than it is to be curious about other people and their cultures.

Jesus rejects such attitudes, calling for his followers to love their neighbors, their enemies, and the oppressed. This is difficult work and we may never see results. But we are still required as followers of Jesus and as human beings to do so. Love mercy, love humility, love justice. These are the greater values.