The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, 'I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?' The Jews answered, 'It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.' Jesus answered, 'Is it not written in your law, "I said, you are gods"? If those to whom the word of God came were called "gods" -and the scripture cannot be annulled- can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, "I am God's Son"? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.'
Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, 'John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.' And many believed in him there.
The Gospel today picks up as part of the chapter from which Jesus has been describing himself as the Good Shepherd. The Jews who have been listening to Jesus speak are responding to what he has been saying to them because of what is written in Ezekiel 34. In Ezekiel 34 the prophet tells Israel that they have been following false shepherds from vs 1 to 10. In verses 11-31 They are told that God is the true Shepherd of Israel.
"For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness." (Ezekiel 31: 11, 12).
It is therefore very understandable why the Jews who were hearing Jesus proclaim himself as the Good Shepherd would be very concerned about what they heard. Their anger would have fed fear of what might happen should they accept this news that Jesus is one with God and therefore Jesus is now the Good Shepherd. The Old Testament is full of stories of how God destroyed people if they did not understand things in exactly the right way.
What Jesus is doing here is telling his audience that a new era of humankind has come. God has now come upon the scene as a human being just like all of us. This is a major scandal for the Jewish people to have a man saying that he is one with God. Yet, Jesus has been healing the sick, raising the dead and making the claim that the reign of God has come and is the here and now. In Christian theology we understand that the reign of God is already, but not yet. Jesus came and brought the reign of God closer to us. In Jesus, God's perfect revelation we understand that God is here with us, interacting with us, leading us and helping us to discern God's will. However, the fullness of God's reign has not yet happen. And so in some ways we are working our way through a darkened tunnel with Jesus Christ as the Light of the World, who with the Holy Spirit is guiding us "into all truth." (Jn 16: 13).
Much of what we are learning through the Gospel of John is just like going on a long trip with the children saying: "Are we there yet?" And we respond: "No, not yet." We so want to get where we are going, but we still have to figure out who we are and what God wants from us. For us Christians, Jesus is the "way, truth and life." (Jn 14: 6). It is through Jesus that we find our way to God, so that we may know Jesus the truth and receive life everlasting. What we are challenged to understand is that we cannot be serving Jesus who is the way, truth and life, if we are rejecting Jesus in other people who are different than ourselves. When we make race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, gender, culture, challenge a barrier between us and other people, we blur the vision of people being able to see that Jesus and God are one. When Christians say that LGBTQ people cannot draw close to God unless we change our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, or end our loving committed relationships, Christians are misrepresenting Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.
Over the last few weeks of summer, we have been inundated with the right wing fundamentalist Christians attacking the Islamic people. This upcoming Saturday is September 11th during which we will commemorate the horrific events that took place. Fundamentalist Christians are preparing to burn Qurans on Saturday, thinking that they are doing some heroic awesome work. St. Benedict in his Rule for Monks wrote the following.
"Just as there is a wicked zeal of bitterness which separates from God and leads to hell, do so there is good zeal which separates from evil and leads to God and everlasting life. This, then, is the good zeal for which monks must foster with fervent love: they should be the first to show respect to the other (Rom 12:10), supporting with the greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another." (The Rule of St. Benedict in English, 1980, The Liturgical Press, Chapter 72. The Good Zeal of Monks, Page 94).
St. Benedict's lesson that is meant for monks, is certainly applicable to all Christians. Instead of looking for ways to use the wrong kind of zeal that would burn the sacred book of Islam which leads all Christians and Americans into a world of hell with Islamic people, why not look for ways in which we can be first to show respect to others and live in peace with the Muslim people? Creating a place of fear and hate towards any group of people including the Islam people is counterproductive to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Creating a world of fear for people who are different, is creating a world that cannot welcome God. In response to Fox News host Glenn Beck's rally on August 28th, Rev. Patricia Templeton wrote an opinion article in Episcopal Life Online entitled: Glenn Beck's God is Not My God.
Like many Americans I watched the news last weekend and saw the pictures of people gathered on the mall in Washington, D.C., at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial.
There conservative talk show host Glenn Beck stood at Lincoln's feet, looked out across the crowd and declared, "America today begins to turn back to God."
As I listened to him speak, it suddenly became clear to me. Glenn Beck and I may both call ourselves Christians, but we don't worship the same Christ or the same God.
The God whom I worship is a God who frequently reminds us that we live out our faith in large part through our relationship with the other – by showing hospitality to strangers, by loving our neighbors and our enemies, by reaching out to those on the margins of society.
Beck and his cohorts build their following by promoting a fear of the other, a fear that is in full bloom across much of our country.
We see it in the Arizona immigration law that recently went into effect, a law that gives police the authority to ask people to prove their citizenship or immigration status -- questions that most likely won't be asked of white Americans.
We hear it in the congressman who, on the House floor, urged the repeal of the 14th Amendment guaranteeing citizenship to all people born in this country because, he claims, terrorists have a scheme to have babies here and then raise them to kill Americans.
We hear it in efforts in Georgia to amend the law so that our places of worship can become armed fortresses where the stranger is greeted with suspicion, not hospitality.
We see it in polls that show increasing numbers of Americans believe that our president is a Muslim and not really an American citizen, and in Beck's claim that the president has "a deep-seated hatred of white people."
We hear it in Christian ministers who plan to commemorate September 11 by burning copies of the Koran.
And we hear it in the hysteria that greets plans to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site, and attempts to block the building of mosques in other American cities from Tennessee to California.
The common factor in all these efforts is fear -- fear that is whipped up by Beck and other right-wing personalities, including many of our political leaders.
At the heart of that fear is suspicion of the other, defined by the fear mongers as those who are not Caucasian and Christian.
As we read through the opinion column Rev. Patricia Templeton reminds us.
Changes and the unknown often arouse fear in us. I believe there is something innate in that. But fear is one of the greatest impediments to hospitality. And Scripture reminds us repeatedly that acting out of fear is not faithful.
So how can we faithfully react to the fear of the other that is so rampant? How do we address that fear when we find it in ourselves?
For people of faith, we begin by turning toward God.
In practical terms, that means not buying into the climate of fear that so many seem eager to whip up. It means finding out the facts, the truth of a situation.
It means having empathy for the others around us. It means looking at the Hispanic woman registering her children for school and remembering that our ancestors, too, came to this country as strangers looking for a better life for their children.
It means looking at those who want to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque in New York and remembering that many Muslims worked in the World Trade Center and died in the September 11 attacks.
It means realizing, as Jesus says, that we are blessed by those who differ from us.
It means regularly reminding ourselves of our Baptismal Covenant, whose questions lead to the heart of what it means to be a Christian, not only in what we are to profess and believe, but in how we are to live out those beliefs in our actions each day.
The last two questions, in particular, address our relationship with the other.
"Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?"
"Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?"
The answer to both questions is the same, "I will, with God's help."
All of us are challenged to accept people who are different from ourselves. I think that is what the Jews in the time of Jesus were struggling with, with Jesus suggesting that he and God were one. Someone who was totally different than anyone they had ever met was now in front of them. If Jesus were to come to us in the here and now as a Muslim, or a woman, or as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning or queer person and tell us that he was one with God, would we recognize Jesus or would we want to stone him because he was different than how we thought he should look or behave? Jesus already does come to us in every human person who has been created in the beauty of God's image and likeness. We already discriminate against Jesus when he comes to us in a person who is different than how we think Jesus should be. How is that allowing Jesus to shepherd us? How is that being faithful to our baptismal promises?
The good news today is regardless of where we are in how we greet Jesus in those who are different from ourselves, or even if we are unfaithful to our baptismal promises, Jesus is our loving and forgiving God. We can come to God and ask the Holy Spirit to help us to open our hearts and minds to Jesus in whatever and whoever Jesus comes to us. The Holy Spirit is always more than willing to help us understand where we are erring, and as a gentle and tender Mother, the Holy Spirit will help us to discern better behaviors and attitudes. The Holy Spirit will help us to put those good attitudes and behaviors to good use so that we will be participants in the ministry of radical hospitality and reconciliation. That way when the children ask: "Are we there yet?" We can answer: "No, but we are getting very close every step of the way."
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 18, Book of Common Prayer, Page 233).
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, Page 815).
No comments:
Post a Comment