Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

 

We are taught to read literature as though it is newspaper. Time is sequential and one–dimensional, in which the words on the page are an assemblage of letters to communicate information in real time. What you see on the surface is literal and is in black and white. This is not the case with reading the Gospel, especially John’s. 

Brother David Steindl-Rast writes: “to understand John’s word images in the way they were intended, we need to develop a sense for poetic language. These images speak to us through an intuitive dimension beyond the literal…Tuning in to this language requires an acquired ability to read between the lines.’” Marcus Borg writes “John invites his hearers to know in a radically new and different way. He appeals to the imagination, to a place deep within, which invokes a palpable sense of knowing outside the bounds of any anatomical natural human sense.” 

When John writes In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God (verse 1)…And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, he announces the incarnation of God in Jesus. By extension, he informs us that that the Word becomes flesh in us too. “The Word speaks to us in a place deep within that we intuitively sense and know.” 

So in (John 14:1-12) as Jesus is preparing his apostles for his departure, he comforts them and says: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe  also in me. Trust me. Trust God— you have seen God in me. I am enough. Trust that you will find me in the community as we come to see God in one another. 

Andrew Prior writes: “I do not think we can overstate the love and the intimacy of the household of God and our place in it. What we can miss, however, is that it is not a geographical place at a certain time. It is a relationship in eternity into which we can enter; in which we can place our trust. We will not be left alone, or orphaned.” 

We know that Jesus was killed for political reasons: he violated the “status quo” of the prevailing Jewish law that caused the Judeans, not all Jews, to want him removed. The Judeans were those who aligned themselves with Rome to maintain “control” of their “religion” and maintain their “status quo.” As such, their religious leaders collaborated with Imperial Rome to have Jesus “removed.” 

Throughout his life, Jesus made it clear that he resisted the man-made rules of “organized religion” as they existed. I wonder what he would think about the religions of today.  How different are some of its members from the Pharisees who resisted change? History reminds us that Jesus was not the last to be persecuted for bucking the “status quo.” Leave things alone I’m comfortable with the way things are; hey, I read the scripture and preach the Gospel; isn’t that enough?  But where is the Love that was Jesus? 

Gary Wills tells us that “Jesus opposed any religion that is self-righteous, quick to judge, wallows in gossip that destroys and divides the community in order to serve its own purpose and not God’s.” And how do we relate to Jesus’s words in our Gospel: Do not let your hearts be troubled…I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.

What do You Think?

 

In his parables Jesus invites his audience to be part of the story by relating explicit scenarios that are relevant to the listener’s world. These parables also serve as implicit invitations for them to see something else beneath the narrative. As we discussed in last week’s blog, Seeing is Believing, Jesus would sometimes insert a clever device such as a visual element or use a provocative form of speech, e.g., an aphorism, which would prompt the imagination to know his meaning beyond what any literal interpretation could do, causing it to become an indelible memory. And so it is in this week’s Gospel (Matthew 22:15-22) Jesus uses the Roman coin to illustrate and memorialize in the mind’s eye of the listener (and for us forever) the answer to his question, “what do you think?”

Over the centuries, this famous passage has framed societal attitudes toward the relationship between religion and government. There are those who believe that Jesus is establishing two separate realms, Caesar's and God's. This interpretation may strike many Americans as obviously correct, given our separation of church and state. Looking at this more closely, Jesus was less concerned with taxation or political authority. These were in his world but not his world. Let’s face it, we’re told that in the first century Jews paid many taxes:  customs taxes, and taxes on land and of course, tithes to the Temple. Yet, in this parable the question posed to Jesus was not about how many taxes they paid but rather whether it was lawful to pay taxes After all, taxes were paid to Caesar, who as the emperor of Rome and the son of Augustus, was deemed to be the “son of God.” As such, the Jews believed that even possessing the coin with the image of Caesar, was idolatry and in violation of the commandments.  

 

So back to the question put to Jesus in our Gospel. What do you think?  A “yes or no” answer either way would have gotten Jesus in trouble. "Yes" would have discredited him with those who found the imperial domination system unacceptable. "No" would have made him subject to arrest for sedition.  By avoiding the trap Jesus asks us to recognize that while we may owe the rulers of this world earthly things like taxes, we owe God our spiritual being, our whole selves. For me, this Gospel and specifically the Roman coin, are the most effective of all Matthew’s devices to illustrate the Kingdom of God. The coin exists in the world while its facades metaphorically reveal two realms of our reality, earthly and spiritual. What do you think? 

 

Father, I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them...while they are still in the world  

John 17. 

Seeing is Believing or is it?

 

Our culture is highly visual. It’s hard to believe that anyone lecturing today would not draw on the myriad of audiovisual aids available. Visuals are powerful. They say things that words cannot say. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures reach places that words may fail to reach, penetrating the closed mind or imagination allowing us to see things that words might only obscure.

This passage is probably the most strategic text for explaining why Jesus performed miracles. In some miracle stories considerable attention is given to the occasion, setting and nature of the miracle. In Luke 11:15-26 all these elements appear in a single verse.  It is a miracle story turned upside-down in which it’s less the miracle and more the commentary on the miracle that counts. Here scripture departs from the standard form and uses the miracle as its own series of metaphors for the source of Jesus’ message.

As Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem Luke deals with religious leaders’ question regarding the source of his healing power. Not willing to accept Jesus Divinity as the source of his power, they ascribe it to Satan. In the midst of this growing opposition there is the call to know what miracles mean and to understand the times. 

Two options are suggested by those who have doubts. First, some attribute his capabilities to Beelzebub, the prince of demons. They clearly have Satan in mind and imply strongly that Jesus is demonically controlled.

The second alternative is a wait-and-see approach. Some want more proof through some sign from heaven. It is unclear what this might have involved a heavenly sign or just more miracles? In any case, not all are persuaded that demonic control is the answer.

These two possibilities well summarize reactions to Jesus today. Some reject him; others want to see more from him. But clearly, those who were exposed to Jesus realized that they could not ignore his actions or claims. His ministry demanded that people consider his identity.

For those who believe, know proof is necessary; for those who don't, no proof is necessary. Stuart Chase

Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen

A few years back we received a hand delivered rather large 8 x 10 envelope by a private messenger service. Not recognizing the return address I was at first unwilling to accept the envelope, but noting the considerable expense of the courier service, I decided to accept it. To our amazement, it was a strikingly beautiful embossed invitation to a private celebration along with an accompanying letter describing specific instructions as to travel and lodging. The invitation was to honor Tony Bennett’s 91st birthday and lifetime achievements in music and art. Of course I thought it was a promo to lure us into buying vacation property. But then as I read the details covering the invitation, I realized that it was legitimate.

Why us? We met Tony Bennett with his wife years ago at a nightclub in the City in which John Pizzarelli was performing. I became friends with John, a local boy whose career I had followed over the years. We spoke often of Tony and his ability to maintain his art, despite his advanced age I often said how I would love to have a one-on-one conversation with Tony about music and his career. But I never thought that we would have the opportunity.

The accompanying letter described our pre-arranged all expenses paid travel to and lodging in a villa in Florence. We were to provide our passport information to an intermediary who had scheduled our travel via private jet leaving and returning to Teterboro airport at a specific date and time. Information as to the celebration was private and confidential. As such we were asked to sign a security bond insuring our willingness to comply. No other communications were required or frankly permitted.

Needless to say, we were excited at first but then began to wonder how we would fit in with this group. While we had the requisite formal apparel required for the party, we began to wonder how we would interact with an elite jet set of luminaries, likely to be in attendance. I am usually not at a loss for words and can pretty much talk to anyone, however, I’m not a professional musician and would be out of my element rubbing elbows with people who, with the exception of my love for music, had little in common. And while we really love Florence, we realized we would have little time to ourselves and be somewhat confined to our designated luxurious villa with lots of strangers for 3 days.

Needless to say we came up with enough reasons (or excuses) and decided that it wasn’t worth it, so we regrettably declined the invitation, although we did sign the confidentiality agreement pledging secrecy. What would you have done if you were in our shoes? Most of our family and friends thought we were nuts for declining this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Our readings in (Matthew 22:1-14) this week speaks of a wedding. Jesus tells of a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son and invited everyone to attend. But they all declined. Hurt and insulted he sent his servants into the streets to collect anyone and everyone and see to it that they came to the wedding. One attendee came without being properly groomed or dressed and was thrown out.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus makes curious comments about the marriage of heaven and earth and our being prepared for the event. OK, our invitation to Tony Bennett’s birthday celebration would have been a dream come true but it was unfortunately fictitious; it was made up and, not unlike Jesus’ parables, intended to bring the question home. What would I really do? What would you do?