Grand tension
—Pharisees watching Jesus,
Jesus watching them!
They wonder,
who is he?
Is he a lover of purity?
He is a follower of John after all
—a puritan if they’d ever seen one…
Or is he wise to the point of cunning
—gaming the Grecco-Roman system of Honor/Shame culture?
Or is he something else entirely?
-As Jesus does yet another healing on the Sabbath, this time of a man with dropsy,
-as he speaks the words we read today about guests and hosts,
-and then concludes with words about the reign of God… what it means that God is the host and we are the guest…
As all of this unfolds,
they watch him,
waiting to find out who he really is.
Prayer
Watching, wondering who he is, the Pharisees think… “Perhaps he’s a purity man, this Jesus
—more stringent than the Pharisees
—the kind of Holy Man who might find escape from all this day to day stuff,
might uphold the strictest reading of the Law as balm for him,
and condemnation for everyone else.”
Imagine Jesus, confronted by this man with dropsy, bloated and in pain, and generally ostracized,
and Jesus doing nothing
—using this sick man as an example of strict Sabbath observance,
parroting the Law as interpreted by the Qumran sect, “It is unlawful to heal on the Sabbath, it is even unlawful to rescue a child or oxen.”
Imagine Jesus as a reluctant, absent, guest, too severe to celebrate a wedding,
not humble, but distant.
Imagine a Jesus who is so concerned with ritual defilement that inviting the outsider is forbidden,
because that outsider’s status is a sign of God’s displeasure.
“No man with a physical handicap—crippled, lame, blind, deaf, dumb, blemished, or a doddering old man,” can eat with us.
Imagine a Jesus who declares that the Messianic Banquet
—that the Holy Meal showcasing God’s Kingdom,
is a small affair,
it can fit in a single room,
place settings for two, maybe three at the most
—because the Kingdom of God belongs to the few,
the most pure,
the true believin’ religious elite,
only they belong.
Watching, wondering who he is… perhaps, the Pharisees think, carefully observing this Jesus of Galilee,
“he is in on the hustle,
he’s a player
who is good at the game…
perhaps, they wonder, he’s drawn so many followers, because he understands the Roman game of Honor/Shame, better than the rest of us…
perhaps he’s in tune with the pecking order that shaped more than popularity,
but quality of life
—he’s mastered the society where the awkwardness of where to sit at the Junior High lunchroom the first week of school, would determine:
-who you would marry,
-how much money you could make,
-how successful you’d be in life…
perhaps he knows how to get what he wants,
how to move the crowd to anger with a few striking accusations, or how to open people’s pocket books with a certain look or promise.”
Imagine a Jesus who dismisses the sick man,
not because it’s the Sabbath,
but because he’s got nothing to give…
so he prepares to leave, only to be healed,
because the sick man now owes Jesus everything…
and this imagined Jesus is the type to collect.
Imagine Jesus’ advice
-the goal of being a guest is to be seen and be somebody.
-If you do nothin’ else, work the room!
-Thrive in a society that is built on you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-your-back...
The goal of being a host is to invite so you can be invited back…
who do you owe a favor to? When you plan a party,
draw up a list of things you want
and a list of who can get those things…
wring every cent out of this dinner party,
this investment…
the whole point of get togethers is to get one over on someone else,
to make contacts,
to touch the live wire of influence and flaunt what you got so that you can get some more…
quid pro quo all the way down…
Imagine Jesus describing the Kingdom of God as on opportunity,
to get and to shame,
the Holy Meal
a hall of mirrors and manipulation.
They watch him so very carefully to see on which side his bread is buttered
—is he another religious extremist
–or a charlatan collecting favors and scratching backs, until he’s top of the heap?
But they started watching him too late
—at his birth Mary sang about what kind of man he would be
—he will scatter the proud and lift up the lowly…
Too late, they should have listened to Jesus’ first sermon “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” to bless the poor, captive, blind, and oppressed.
The Pharisees were too late,
they could have listened in when John the Baptist’s disciples asked,
quite openly,
the same sorts of questions the Pharisees hope to get answered by passive observation,
“the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news.”
They should have listened earlier… but they waited,
and now they wonder and watch…
so he gives them a show.
He shows them that he is neither…
he is something else entirely!
He insists that the Sabbath is meant for liberty
—for restoring the image of God in those whose lives have had it marred in one way or another.
He insists on quoting from Proverbs 25,
lifting up humility as the right posture of the guest.
He insists that hosts ought to invite those in who are the furthest outside the inner circle,
those who cannot repay a kindness…
He insists that the Kingdom of God is for all,
there is still more room at God’s table!
It might not sit well with some people:
-Those for whom God’s grace is offensive, or for whom God’s Word has become blasé.
-Those who seek to be holier than God.
-Those who sit at the table only to shame and use God’s name for gain.
God’s open table and inviting Kingdom
might not seem right to folk like that,
but for those of us who are perishing!
My God!
God’s Welcome, charity, love…
it gives us grateful hearts. Christ’s message and mission…
it is peace, gentleness, healing and rebirth!
Thanks be to God!
A+A
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