November 20, 2016 - God Saves

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
“He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
“If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”
Above him there was an inscription that read,
“This is the King of the Jews.”

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
“Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.”

Luke 23-35-43

This is one of several examples where those who take what Jesus say literally are cast as villains. 

During his trial, the Pharisees get people to testify that Jesus said he could rebuild the temple in three days (Matt 26:61, 27:39-44).  When Jesus said that we had to eat his flesh to obtain eternal life, the Gospel of John recorded that many disciples left him and, instead of telling them he was speaking metaphorically, he let them go (John 6:53; See also Mark 15:29-32).  And in this Sunday’s reading, the soldiers taunt Jesus, demanding that he literally “save” himself from the torture of the Cross.

Scripture itself urges us not to take it literally, but also urges us not to stop there.  What does it mean to rebuild the temple in three days?  What does it mean to eat the flesh of the Son of Man?  From what does God save us?    The dogmatic answers come easy, but are there deeper ones?

Image: Sculpture in driftwood and seaweed.  Artist unknown

November 14, 2016 - Your Faith has Saved You

As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

Luke 18:35-43

Why does Jesus never take credit for miracles?  Why does he always credit instead the receiver of the miracle? Is he proving his divine authority? Is he providing us an example of humility?

The balance of Scripture indicates Jesus has no interest in being seen as a sorcerer.  He doesn’t need to demonstrate divine power.  Nor does he need to exhort anyone to humility.  But he recognizes the tautology that to receive the benefit of faith, you must have faith.  To be comforted by the presence of God you have to feel the presence of God.  A few weeks ago, the disciples asked Jesus how to increase their faith.  Jesus ignored them and said that even a little faith will be enough.  Those who have even a little faith will grow in faith.  In this way, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.  Let those who have ears hear.

Image: Cape Cod

November 13, 2016 - The Politics of Faith

Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

Luke 21:5-19

Among the most repeated themes of Scripture is that prophets will be persecuted and marginalized.  It is in vogue to assume that those on the opposite side of the political spectrum from us are the persecutors and we are the hapless, martyred victims.  But that is “motivated reasoning”*

Closer to the truth is that God requires us to ascribe neither to liberal nor conservative policies.  He is much bigger than that.  But that is unacceptable.  We want to wrap God in the political movement of the day and adorn our beliefs with divine approval.  If God is not useful in that regard we would rather forget all about Him.

Everything we usually think about faith is at stake:  What if God does not require us to serve the poor?  What if God does not require us to be virtuous?  What if He has no interest in arbitrating the culture wars that make us feel so overwrought? Can we recognize any value in such a God?

* Jonathan Haidt and Ravi Iyar.  A Truce for Our Tribal Politics.  The Wall Street Journal November 5-6, 2016

November 3, 2016 - The Lost Sheep

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

Luke 15:1-10

The idea that God places the last before the first is probably the most repeated theme in Scripture.  We are comfortable with the idea that the poor, the sick, and the oppressed will get God’s attention before the rich, healthy and socially connected.  But Scripture routinely goes beyond this and suggests that even the immoral will get preference over the moral: the prodigal son gets a party while his elder bother gets nothing, the vineyard workers who start at the end of the day get as much as the ones who start in the late afternoon. A shepherd who abandons ninety-nine sheep to find one lost one won't be a very successful shepherd, but God's economy is different from ours.  

November 2, 2016 - All Souls

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

John 6:37-40

The idea of an afterlife has lost favor with many Christians.  Maybe it just seems too good to be true, or like wishful thinking.  Why do we treat a pessimistic world view as more inherently trustworthy than an optimistic one?  

Judaism arose and thrived for several centuries without the expectation of an afterlife.  About two centuries before Jesus was born the idea took root until, in Jesus’s day, it was widely accepted.  Whether there was an afterlife or not was a principal difference between the Pharisees, who believed in an afterlife, and the Sadducees who did not. 

In multiple instances in the Gospels Jesus affirmed his own belief in an afterlife.  In today’s reading, Jesus indicates that we’re all going to make it: no one will be rejected, and none will be lost.  All will be invited - the good and the bad alike.

October 30, 2016 - Lover of Souls

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!

Wisdom 11:22-26

There isn’t much I can add to this Sunday’s first reading.  It is a beautiful message of divine consolation. 

Image: A new star forming.

October 27, 2016 - The Rejection of Jesus

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Luke 13:21-35

This is just one of many examples of Jesus prophesying his death and connecting his fate to the fate of the Old Testament prophets.

This is not meant to convince us that Jesus had the magical ability to foretell the future, or make his sacrifice even greater by the fact that he walked willingly into it.  This is a prediction that Jesus’s message will never be accepted.  Just as the well-behaved son resented his father for rewarding his prodigal, immoral brother, and just as the vineyard workers who started work at 9 AM resented those who started at 4:30 PM and got the same wage, so we reflexively resent the idea that God does not require anything of us; that God is not in the business of moral command and judgment; and that He loves everyone equally regardless of even moral merit.  

Image: Matthew the Apostle, Caravaggio