Woe!

Today I scribed (i.e. wrote by hand) Matthew chapter 23.  In this chapter Jesus says...

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets."
Matthew 23:29-30

or..
Woe to you, bible professors and pastors, hypocrites!...

Later in the chapter Jesus says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!"
Matthew 23:37

or...
Memphis, Memphis, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
or...
Washington, Washington, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
or...
(__insert city here__), ______,  the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!

MLK Jr Day has come and gone again.  And like other years, children have off school, furniture stores have sales, and we as a society generally white wash the legacy of this man (and countless others who joined the struggle for civil rights).

On this day many speak of justice, equality, peace, and nonviolence.  As we should.  These are the inspirational and aspirational goals that we strive toward.  This is what we want to see more of in the world.  This of course, is the message that makes us feel good.

But what about those who speak the corresponding message of "woe"?  What about those who speak the corresponding message that we are repeating the same mistakes of history?  There are plenty who speak this uncomfortable yet necessary message if we only have ears to hear.

It's easy to look back on history with 20/20 vision.  But what about the present?  Can we see in our present how the injustices that Rev. Dr. King dedicated his life to overcoming still exist?  And do we go on applauding the ideals of this man while continuing to live as if he never existed?

Kudos to a seminary professor of mine.  In a class back in 2010, she had the humility and courage to admit that she disagreed with King when he was marching in the 60s.  She regrets that now.  Perhaps this kind of authentic confession, and a re-reading of Matthew 23, is exactly what we need to not be the people we deplore.  Perhaps this kind of re-orientation (which is what the biblical word repentance essentially means) is what we need to be the people that King and Jesus called us to be.

BREAD!?!?!

An exasperated Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 16:11, "How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread?"

Jesus had just told them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the disciples thought Jesus said that because they forgot to bring bread with them. 

Prior to that the Pharisees and Sadducees had asked Jesus for a sign. 

Prior to that Jesus had just miraculously fed 4,000 people seven loaves of bread and a few fish.  And not long before that Jesus had miraculously fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. 

It reminds me of Monty Python's film "Life of Brian."  Brian is a Jewish peasant born at the same time as Jesus.  Brian and his friends are present at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, but they are in the back and can't hear very well.  When Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers," they misunderstand it as "blessed are the cheese makers."  To which an aristocratic bystander interjects, "It's not meant to be taken literally but rather to refer to all manufacturers of dairy products."  [Insert Jesus face-palm here]

Probably what happens to the disciples in Matthew 16 is a classic case of overthinking and trying to be too profound, and yet missing the point entirely.  They had been wrong before, Jesus has had to correct them and spell things out for them.  This time the disciples want to figure it out all on their own, but in the process fumble yet again.

Keeping in mind that the disciples grow and develop in faith throughout the gospel stories, and keeping in mind that the four gospels we have today were written down to help instruct new believers, what would it mean if we read this passage in light of what it means to grow as followers of Jesus?

What if it's not about how literally or metaphorically we take the meaning of "yeast"?  What if it's not about how cleverly we can put together all the pieces?

What if it's about rushing off to interpret divine things without being fully formed as disciples yet?  What kind of things might we misunderstand and get wrong that are of much greater significance than bread and yeast (and cheese)? 

Matthew 13

I've fallen behind in my scribing due to travels for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I'm currently on chapter 13.  The temptation is to hurry and try to catch up.  I've noticed that I try to squeeze in a even a few verses here or there.  Or that I try to scribe quickly when I have the time.

Obviously, that defeats the purpose.  This is a marathon, not a sprint.  I'm not on a deadline.  The point is to be present, even contemplative, and mindful as one goes through scribing in an unhurried way. 

New Pen

After scribing all of Revelation as a trial run, and 9 chapters of Matthew, my 0.1 Staedtler fine liner finally wore out.  Still plenty of pigment ink, but the felt tip has been worn to the metal shaft.

In terms of scribing, I was drawn to Matthew 9:11-12.  Jesus had just called Matthew the tax collector to follow him, and then Jesus goes to eat in Matthew's house with a bunch of other "tax collectors and sinners."

The Pharisees don't like this, so they ask Jesus' disciples why Jesus is eating with these people.

Notice that the Pharisees ask the disciples to explain the actions of their rabbi.  But then also notice that their answer isn't given.  Instead, Jesus interjects and answers the question.

I find myself curious about what the disciples would have said in answer to the Pharisees' question.  Would they have had an adequate answer?  Would their answer have been in line with Jesus' own answer?  Or would there have been a lot of feet shuffling and mumbling of nonsense?

Authority to Forgive

Matthew 9:2-8 tells the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man.  According to vs. 6, the reason Jesus performs the physical healing is so that the people will know that he has the greater authority to forgive sins.

Then the story closes in vs.8 by saying that the crowds were in awe because God had given such authority to "human beings."

Not "a human being."

Not, "this particular human being" (i.e. Jesus).

But to "human beings."

This isn't just an NRSV transaltion.  CEB and NIV also have the collective noun "human beings" as the direct object in this sentence.  The crowds were in awe because God gave authority to forgive sins to "human beings."

Yes, it is true that Jesus has uniquely been given authority to forgive sins, and Jesus plays a unique role in forgiveness.  But it's not just something given to Jesus.  God, giving authority to Jesus in Jesus' full humanity, has also given "human beings" authority to forgive.  That means all of us.

Hence later in Matthew 18:18 Jesus talks about binding and losing.  Forgiveness is not just a divine transaction that takes place between God and Jesus on behalf of humanity.  Rather, forgiveness is stitched into the very fabric of discipleship.

Forgiveness is part of what it means to be Christian.  Rowan Williams names this in his book Being Disciples.  So does J. Heinrich Arnold in his book Discipleship.

In our age of outrage, forgiveness is in short supply.  I'm not talking about Jesus' frustratingly extravagant call to forgive when serious abuse and injustice has been committed.  I'm merely talking about the regular flow of human conversation and interactions.

However, forgiveness is a vital way in which we become involved in the work and ministry of Jesus.  It's not merely a personal benefit of being saved.  It's a way of living a life that is involved with the very essence of God.

Authority to forgive has been given to human beings.  We can extend it, or we can withhold it.  Either way, that should fill us, like the crowds, with at least a little bit of awe at the scandalous love of God. 

Patience with Enemies

We live in a reactionary society.  We are quick to denounce, ridicule, and condemn anyone whose view we don't like or whose identity threatens our own.

Edwin Friedman named this two decades ago in his book Failure of Nerve.  

From a Christian perspective living in a reactionary society is problematic.  If we succumb to reactionary impulses, it undercuts spiritual growth which takes time, patience, endurance, and discernment. 

Two things (at least) stand out to me from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount regarding the reactionary world that we live in.

One is that Jesus calls us to love our enemies (5:43-48).  Loving enemies is the patient counterpoint to our visceral reaction against them.

Second, one of the most quoted texts that Christians use in reactionary ways toward their enemies comes just soon after in Matthew chapter 7:15-20 - the wolf in sheep's clothing.  Christians often use this passage to denounce false prophets and heretics.  They use it especially toward other Christians.  I've lost track of the number of times I've experienced one Christian accusing another Christian of being a wolf in sheep's clothing because they disagree over a certain theology or church practice.

But more and more it's happening as a reactionary, preemptive strike against another person.  If I'm quick to apply the label of a "wolf in sheep's clothing" then I don't have to listen to you, or struggle with the challenge that you present to me.  I simply cut you off.  And I gain spiritual brownie points if I cut you off in such a way that I chase you out the door while doing so.

But if you read Matthew 7:15-20, and not just 7:15, it doesn't seem like we have license to use the text in reactionary ways.  The ways Jesus says we will know a wolf in sheep's clothing is by their fruit, not by our immediate reaction to them.

Last time I checked, fruit takes time to ripen and mature.  Fruit is how we know a false prophet, either good or bad fruit.  And good or bad fruit takes time to show itself as good or bad.

Someone might appear to be genuine, faithful, and wise.  But overtime we see that their fruit is rotten.  I'm thinking of the tragic examples of clergy sexual abuse scandals.  Often it takes a long time to discover.

Other times, a person might bother us immediately.  They seem to go against scripture, they cut against what we hold to be true and valuable.  They seem to impede progress toward a goal we want to reach.  We are quick to denounce these people as wolves in sheep's clothing.  We would prefer it this way.  I'm thinking of a progressive Christian in a traditional context, or a traditional Christian in a progressive context.  Rather than sitting with the uncomfortable tension that exists, we cut the person off or cast them out, or call them names even worse than a "wolf in sheep's clothing."  Unfortunately, this undercuts the maturation process.  We may not ultimately agree with the person, but faith must undergo testing, trials, and patient endurance to mature.

Maybe, just maybe, that person we are quick to call a wolf in sheep's clothing might actually bear good fruit in us.

Jesus had a home

In Matthew 8:20, Jesus says, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

For me (and I would guess many people), Matthew 8:20 is more well known than Matthew 4:13 which says, "(Jesus) left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea..."

Because 8:20 is more well known, there is a tendency to think o Jesus as an amorphous being who sort of floats through this world as a homeless wanderer.  He has no context, no place, not interest in this world.  He doesn't have the everyday, practical cares that you and I have.  He's just passing through.

That's the impression, anyway.

But 4:13 tells us that Jesus had a home.  Not only was Jesus born in Bethlehem, not only was Jesus raised in Nazareth, he eventually grew up, moved out of mom and dad's house, and got a place of his own.  In Capernaum.  Jesus had a home in Capernaum.

We often skip over 4:13.  But soon after 4:13, Jesus calls his first disciples.  He calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and we modern-day church-goers are beside ourselves to imagine how these poor fishermen left everything - their boats, their nets, their families, and their homes - to follow Jesus.  It's unimaginable.  We attribute this fact to Jesus' presence.  We imagine (implicitly of course) that Jesus' presence just radiated divinity so of course they were in awe and left everything to follow him.  Maybe Jesus is like hypnotist or maybe he's performing a Jedi mind trick.

Jesus' mere presence may have radiated divinity, but this just further perpetuates the view of Jesus as an amorphous, context-less being just passing through this world.

Except for 4:13.

Jesus had a home.

The reason I think this matters is that it also means that Jesus also left everything.  By the time he called his first disciples, he had already left his home behind.  He knew what he was asking them to do.  He knew what he was asking them to give up.

Eventually, yes, 8:20 says Jesus has no place to lay his head.  But first, 4:13 tells us he left everything behind for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

And if we truly believe that Jesus is God incarnate, then that's an amazing thing.  Whether it's leaving his home, or picking up his cross, God does not ask us to do anything that God has not already done.