WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
July 6th 2008
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“A Sordid Reputation”
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
“…to what shall I compare this generation…” These are not the sort of words that one wants tossed in their direction from Jesus. They are the words of a prophet. They are words of judgment. And those to whom Jesus is speaking about are the religious and political leaders of his day.
Jesus simply compares the elite of his day to children who pretend to be adults. These leaders who make decisions for the people, and who claim to speak for God, are acting like children. The term child is not meant as a term of endearment. Unlike times when Jesus talks about becoming like children to enter into the kingdom of heaven, here the term child is meant to be an insult. These adults, the leaders are self-serving, who have neglected their high calling to care for the widows, orphans and immigrants in the land. They have grown fat and sassy on the backs of the very people they claim to serve.
Jesus, and John the Baptist before him, have invited all people to turn from the ways of empire and to embrace a new way of life. As you might imagine this invitation has not been well received from those in positions of power. Jesus and John do not play by their rules. They do not dance when so ordered and they do not mourn because these children command it. Because Jesus and John refuse to dance for those in power, the elite have chosen the road of character assassination and guilt by association.
John was a righteous man, a man above reproach. He did not partake of wine or the trappings of high society. Instead, he traveled into the wilderness and called others to do the same. His was a way of life that called into question the lives of those who had become comfortable with the ways of empire. As a result it is reported that John has a demon. After all, anyone who would challenge the ways of empire would have to be demon possessed. However, character assassination does not affect this troublesome prophet, so John is finally executed.
Jesus too, faced similar troubles, except Jesus did not follow the same way as John. Instead of living in the wilderness and subsisting on a diet of locusts and honey, Jesus had a different plan. Jesus broke down barriers around table fellowship. Instead of following the customs and traditions of the day, he would sit down to dinner with anyone. As a result Jesus would sit with the leading Pharisees as well as with tax collectors and other sinners. Jesus broke these barriers all in an attempt to share with them the love of God. But this was unacceptable to those in power. As a result, Jesus willingness to share the love of God with all people became the very thing which was meant to defame his character.
Jesus seems to take all this defamation of character in stride with an odd appeal to wisdom. In order to better understand what Jesus is talking about in his reference to wisdom, and his prayer to God about hidden knowledge, we have to go back to the book of Proverbs. In the eighth and ninth chapter of Proverbs we find woman Wisdom, or Sophia in Greek. Sophia is the embodiment of God’s Wisdom which was present at the creation of the world. And what we learn is that Sophia reveals something about God to the world and is often rejected for doing her work.
It is clear that Jesus is wrapping himself in the Wisdom, or Sophia tradition. Jesus is the revelation of God and he is rejected by many. So we learn that Jesus is not only the embodiment of the Word but also the embodiment of Sophia or Wisdom. Following the ways of Wisdom does not offer the conventional trappings of success. Instead, the fruits of a life is an integrated life of authenticity, wholeness, and salvation. It is why Jesus makes a clear contrast between the Wisdom of God and the children of this age who neglect the ways of justice.
What began as a condemnation and a word of judgment does not end that way. The final words from Jesus are an invitation. “Come to me all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens.” They are words of compassion, and an offer of a transformed life. However, this invitation is not a call which will lead to a life of leisure. Instead, the invitation is to be set free from all the other burdens in our lives. Jesus says: ‘There is another way.’ It is the way of wisdom which calls us to live a life that matters, that is of consequence and that moves us out of our self-interest and opens us up to the concerns of others.
As we are moved, to think beyond ourselves, to reach out and share the good news and to live a life of consequence, let me leave us with a reminder of where this all began. Jesus had the reputation of a drunkard and a glutton. The one we call Lord and Savior at with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus did it all so that that the simple good news of God’s love for all people would be known. As a result, this whole scene should leave us all with a nagging question: “Are we willing to risk our hard earned reputation to share the love of God? Are we willing to be known as the followers of the one who was called a drunkard and a glutton, all for the love of God?” Amen.
July 6th 2008
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“A Sordid Reputation”
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
“…to what shall I compare this generation…” These are not the sort of words that one wants tossed in their direction from Jesus. They are the words of a prophet. They are words of judgment. And those to whom Jesus is speaking about are the religious and political leaders of his day.
Jesus simply compares the elite of his day to children who pretend to be adults. These leaders who make decisions for the people, and who claim to speak for God, are acting like children. The term child is not meant as a term of endearment. Unlike times when Jesus talks about becoming like children to enter into the kingdom of heaven, here the term child is meant to be an insult. These adults, the leaders are self-serving, who have neglected their high calling to care for the widows, orphans and immigrants in the land. They have grown fat and sassy on the backs of the very people they claim to serve.
Jesus, and John the Baptist before him, have invited all people to turn from the ways of empire and to embrace a new way of life. As you might imagine this invitation has not been well received from those in positions of power. Jesus and John do not play by their rules. They do not dance when so ordered and they do not mourn because these children command it. Because Jesus and John refuse to dance for those in power, the elite have chosen the road of character assassination and guilt by association.
John was a righteous man, a man above reproach. He did not partake of wine or the trappings of high society. Instead, he traveled into the wilderness and called others to do the same. His was a way of life that called into question the lives of those who had become comfortable with the ways of empire. As a result it is reported that John has a demon. After all, anyone who would challenge the ways of empire would have to be demon possessed. However, character assassination does not affect this troublesome prophet, so John is finally executed.
Jesus too, faced similar troubles, except Jesus did not follow the same way as John. Instead of living in the wilderness and subsisting on a diet of locusts and honey, Jesus had a different plan. Jesus broke down barriers around table fellowship. Instead of following the customs and traditions of the day, he would sit down to dinner with anyone. As a result Jesus would sit with the leading Pharisees as well as with tax collectors and other sinners. Jesus broke these barriers all in an attempt to share with them the love of God. But this was unacceptable to those in power. As a result, Jesus willingness to share the love of God with all people became the very thing which was meant to defame his character.
Jesus seems to take all this defamation of character in stride with an odd appeal to wisdom. In order to better understand what Jesus is talking about in his reference to wisdom, and his prayer to God about hidden knowledge, we have to go back to the book of Proverbs. In the eighth and ninth chapter of Proverbs we find woman Wisdom, or Sophia in Greek. Sophia is the embodiment of God’s Wisdom which was present at the creation of the world. And what we learn is that Sophia reveals something about God to the world and is often rejected for doing her work.
It is clear that Jesus is wrapping himself in the Wisdom, or Sophia tradition. Jesus is the revelation of God and he is rejected by many. So we learn that Jesus is not only the embodiment of the Word but also the embodiment of Sophia or Wisdom. Following the ways of Wisdom does not offer the conventional trappings of success. Instead, the fruits of a life is an integrated life of authenticity, wholeness, and salvation. It is why Jesus makes a clear contrast between the Wisdom of God and the children of this age who neglect the ways of justice.
What began as a condemnation and a word of judgment does not end that way. The final words from Jesus are an invitation. “Come to me all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens.” They are words of compassion, and an offer of a transformed life. However, this invitation is not a call which will lead to a life of leisure. Instead, the invitation is to be set free from all the other burdens in our lives. Jesus says: ‘There is another way.’ It is the way of wisdom which calls us to live a life that matters, that is of consequence and that moves us out of our self-interest and opens us up to the concerns of others.
As we are moved, to think beyond ourselves, to reach out and share the good news and to live a life of consequence, let me leave us with a reminder of where this all began. Jesus had the reputation of a drunkard and a glutton. The one we call Lord and Savior at with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus did it all so that that the simple good news of God’s love for all people would be known. As a result, this whole scene should leave us all with a nagging question: “Are we willing to risk our hard earned reputation to share the love of God? Are we willing to be known as the followers of the one who was called a drunkard and a glutton, all for the love of God?” Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment