"They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong." Lk 4:30
The setting of today's gospel is astounding. Imagine it. Jesus, preaching in his hometown synagogue, has been very direct with his neighbors, castigating them for not accepting him as a prophet, and reminding them that other prophets suffered the same fate. Hurt and angry at what they perceived as a slight, his community drives him out of town.
Were they literally chasing him, forcing him to run away? Would they have actually hurled him over the hill and into oblivion? The gospel tells us that Jesus was able to slip through the crowd and escape. It almost sounds like a James Bond movie. People intent on murder, which was not justified by the Torah or Roman law, and the prophet finding a way to avoid capture.
Clearly, the gospel writer wants his readers to know how much danger Jesus was willing to submit to in order to do his Father's will, and how angry the crowds were with him. Truth can do that to people. Truth drove Jesus to tell the truth, and the truth about their unwillingness to change so upset the people that they drove him out of town.
Today, listen to someone who annoys you.
Are there any difficult people or situations from whom you learned more than you expected?
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Anger and Faith
"He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables." Jn 2:15
Few gospel scenes are more dramatic than Jesus chasing the money changers out of the temple precincts, and with good reason. Jesus was angry, an emotion we rarely associate with him or Christianity, despite the fact that it is almost always anger that brings about change in a society. It was anger over taxation without representation that spurred the American revolution, and it is anger at oppressive regimes that continues to turn North Africa and the Middle east into hotbeds of change. Though uncomfortable, anger is an important emotion for all to feel.
Jesus is not angry that people are making a small profit exchanging one currency for another. His anger is at those who charge whatever they can get from pilgrims, most of whom were surely poor. In the Palestine of Jesus' day, pilgrims would come to the temple once in their life from all over the known world. If they were Greek, they would have to change their drachmas into shekels and then when they arrived at the temple they would have to change their shekels into temple shekels, and this last exchange was often usurious. Money changers, knowing those seeking temple shekels were not about to turn away from an impossible rate of exchange, would charge whatever their unsuspecting victims would pay.
While all of us expect to pay more for basic services, like food and drink, when we visit a shrine or monument, gouging is never acceptable. That Jesus would defend those being abused by unscrupulous business men reminds us to do the same on behalf of the poor. Injustice and oppression, especially against the poor, is never o.k. Anger that leads to transformation is.
Today, examine your conscience regarding the practices you might employ to gain leverage over others.
What kinds of injustice make you angry?
Few gospel scenes are more dramatic than Jesus chasing the money changers out of the temple precincts, and with good reason. Jesus was angry, an emotion we rarely associate with him or Christianity, despite the fact that it is almost always anger that brings about change in a society. It was anger over taxation without representation that spurred the American revolution, and it is anger at oppressive regimes that continues to turn North Africa and the Middle east into hotbeds of change. Though uncomfortable, anger is an important emotion for all to feel.
Jesus is not angry that people are making a small profit exchanging one currency for another. His anger is at those who charge whatever they can get from pilgrims, most of whom were surely poor. In the Palestine of Jesus' day, pilgrims would come to the temple once in their life from all over the known world. If they were Greek, they would have to change their drachmas into shekels and then when they arrived at the temple they would have to change their shekels into temple shekels, and this last exchange was often usurious. Money changers, knowing those seeking temple shekels were not about to turn away from an impossible rate of exchange, would charge whatever their unsuspecting victims would pay.
While all of us expect to pay more for basic services, like food and drink, when we visit a shrine or monument, gouging is never acceptable. That Jesus would defend those being abused by unscrupulous business men reminds us to do the same on behalf of the poor. Injustice and oppression, especially against the poor, is never o.k. Anger that leads to transformation is.
Today, examine your conscience regarding the practices you might employ to gain leverage over others.
What kinds of injustice make you angry?
Friday, March 6, 2015
God's Compassion
"Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt...who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency?" Mi 7:18
Sometimes it is almost impossible to appreciate the depth of God's love for us. Not only does the prophet Micah remind us that God does not remain angry at us, He delights in freeing us from our sins. Perhaps because we know ourselves so well and remember those times and people who, as our twelve step friends remind us, "live inside our heads rent free," it is overwhelming and wonderful to think of a God who forgets. Last week a friend reminded me of this when she repeated a phrase she had heard at a workshop. "It's easy to forgive and forget as long as the person we are forgiving doesn't forget that we forgave them."
This same theme continues in today's gospel when Jesus tells the story of the forgiving father who, after his son left home early and squandered his inheritance, catches sight of him "while he was still along way off." Apparently, the father, even after years of waiting, does not lose hope and looks for his son's return each day. God, the gospel suggests, is like this for us. We have only to turn towards "home" for God to come rushing out to embrace us. God does not focus of our misdeeds and sins, but on our willingness to repent.
Today, turn to God with all your heart.
What is God's mercy like for you?
Sometimes it is almost impossible to appreciate the depth of God's love for us. Not only does the prophet Micah remind us that God does not remain angry at us, He delights in freeing us from our sins. Perhaps because we know ourselves so well and remember those times and people who, as our twelve step friends remind us, "live inside our heads rent free," it is overwhelming and wonderful to think of a God who forgets. Last week a friend reminded me of this when she repeated a phrase she had heard at a workshop. "It's easy to forgive and forget as long as the person we are forgiving doesn't forget that we forgave them."
This same theme continues in today's gospel when Jesus tells the story of the forgiving father who, after his son left home early and squandered his inheritance, catches sight of him "while he was still along way off." Apparently, the father, even after years of waiting, does not lose hope and looks for his son's return each day. God, the gospel suggests, is like this for us. We have only to turn towards "home" for God to come rushing out to embrace us. God does not focus of our misdeeds and sins, but on our willingness to repent.
Today, turn to God with all your heart.
What is God's mercy like for you?
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Jesus our Capstone
"The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone." Mt 21:43
The scriptures are full of stories of intrigue and violence. Today we are presented with two of them, Joseph sold into slavery by his own brothers, and the son of the vineyard owner killed by the tenants. In Lent, of course, they are preparing us for Jesus' suffering and death, but there is also a telling reminder in the middle of today's gospel. When we see only with our eyes and "not by faith," we miss hugely important lessons.
Engineers and architects have been fascinated for centuries by the simple but elegant style and form of Roman arches. Strong today even after 2000 years, the arches are built with stones almost exactly the same in size, except for the capstone which allows the arch to stand freely and strongly. The capstone is chipped at and broken so that it fits perfectly between the others. Rejected as a a regular building stone because of its odd shape, it becomes the capstone only after it is hacked at and formed in a way that allows the rest to stand together. Our capstone, of course, is the Christ, who suffers so that the "arch" of God's kingdom can endure.
Today, welcome the uncomfortable and confusing.
When has suffering in your own life helped you enter more deeply into the mystery of God's love?
The scriptures are full of stories of intrigue and violence. Today we are presented with two of them, Joseph sold into slavery by his own brothers, and the son of the vineyard owner killed by the tenants. In Lent, of course, they are preparing us for Jesus' suffering and death, but there is also a telling reminder in the middle of today's gospel. When we see only with our eyes and "not by faith," we miss hugely important lessons.
Engineers and architects have been fascinated for centuries by the simple but elegant style and form of Roman arches. Strong today even after 2000 years, the arches are built with stones almost exactly the same in size, except for the capstone which allows the arch to stand freely and strongly. The capstone is chipped at and broken so that it fits perfectly between the others. Rejected as a a regular building stone because of its odd shape, it becomes the capstone only after it is hacked at and formed in a way that allows the rest to stand together. Our capstone, of course, is the Christ, who suffers so that the "arch" of God's kingdom can endure.
Today, welcome the uncomfortable and confusing.
When has suffering in your own life helped you enter more deeply into the mystery of God's love?
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