Posts Tagged ‘Controversy’

Which Jesus? Which God? Controversy stories

June 1, 2024

Pentecost 2 – 2024

Mark 2:23-3:6 (A short comment while on leave)

Marian Free

In the name of God Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. Amen.

Another year and another look at the Gospel of Mark.

As I began a new reading of Mark’s gospel I noticed something that I had not seen before. That is that in the first few chapters one of the things that the writer of Mark appears to be doing is establishing the nature of Jesus.

Jesus’ public ministry begins with his casting out of an unclean spirit who recognizes Jesus as the ‘Holy One of God’ (1:27). A number of healings and exorcisms follow. At this early stage of the gospel, even though Mark is remarkably silent on Jesus’ actual teaching, it is his teaching that stands out: ‘A new teaching, with authority!’

 According to Mark, as a result of Jesus’ work he becomes so well known that he has to seek refuge in the country. When he returns the trouble begins. In Mark’s hurry to get to the cross, he follows his introduction to Jesus five controversy stories – accounts of Jesus’ conflict (differences of opinion) with the lay leaders of the church – the scribes, the Pharisees and the Herodians. Jesus’ controversial behaviour and his justification of the same, so infuriate the leaders that together they plot to put him to death.

 As Mark tells it, within a short period Jesus causes considerable offence to the teachers of the law. He claims to be able to forgive sins – which they believe is God’s prerogative. He eats with tax collectors and sinners and in so doing breaks the purity laws and withholds judgement of those who by choice or accident fail to keep the law. He justifies the actions of his disciples who do not fast in the traditional way and, in the reading that we have this morning, he reinterprets the meaning of the Sabbath (implying that he – not the teachers of the law) – knows the mind of God.

 Jesus defends the actions of his disciples who ‘work’ on the Sabbath and Jesus reminds the teachers that the law – including the law to rest on the Sabbath – is God’s gift to humanity not a burden imposed on them. By healing the man with the withered hand, Jesus makes it clear that the Sabbath rest is no reason to extend a person’s suffering for even one day longer than necessary.

What is different between the teaching and actions of Jesus and those of the scribes and Pharisees is that Jesus presents an expansive, loving and forgiving image of God.

A God who doesn’t bind us up or exclude us because we fail to live according to the narrow limits of the Pharisaic interpretation of the law, a God who doesn’t condemn the sinner to a lifetime of self loathing and regret, a God who gave the law not to confine and weigh down, but to liberate to to give ease, and a God whose capacity to heal and restore is not limited to six days out of seven but is freely available whenever and wherever someone is in need.

In presenting God in this way, or claiming to speak as if he knows God’s mind, Jesus threatens the Pharisees’ sense of order and control. A narrow interpretation of the law and a view of God that upheld that interpretation had helped to give them a sense of security. If black was black and white was white, they knew where they stood, they could teach others a set of simple precepts that would ensure that they remained on the right side of God and they could pass judgement on those who failed to live according to their code. Jesus’ teaching and actions completely undermined what they held to be true. Jesus has shaken the bed rock of their certainty and taken away the criteria against which they have been able to judge themselves and others. No wonder they are terrified. No wonder they wanted to rid themselves of the person who was able to unsettle their sense of security. They were frightened and anxious. They wanted the source of all their uncertainty to disappear (even if that disappearance is their own doing).

 To some extent the tensions between Jesus and the Pharisees continues to beset the church today. There are those among us who seek certainty and who find in Jesus’ teaching clear guidelines for determining how to win salvation and how to decide who is and who is not acceptable to God. There are others, among whom I count myself, who see in Jesus one who makes no demands but that of faith, who offers no certainty except that of the in love of God and who insists that compassion and inclusion trump judgement and exclusion every time.

 When you read Jesus’ controversies with the teachers of the law, who and what do you see?

 

 

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Pecking order

September 29, 2017

Pentecost 17 – 2017

Matthew 21:23-32 (some thoughts)

Marian Free

In the name of God who is ultimately beyond our understanding. Amen.

 It wasn’t until I became the proud owner of chickens that I really understood the concept of “pecking order”. Of course I knew what it meant, but to see it in practice among my fowls was an eye opener. I inherited my chickens and it was clear at the time to see that Tracey was the dominant one and that poor foolish Lacey was at the bottom. When new chickens were introduced they took the lowest place in the order. Over time as the original chickens were replaced I have observed that the pecking order can change even when the chicken population remains stable. So for example, when one chicken goes off the lay, another steps into her place and one that appears to be on the outer can, for reasons unknown to me, suddenly become one of the crowd again. I’m sure that a little bit of research would enlighten me as to the behavioural codes that determine the way in which the pecking order is arranged, but today I just want to make the point that there are certain codes that determine a chicken’s place in the world.

Humans are very different from chickens of course, but we are still very interested in our place in the world. This was particularly true in the culture of the first century Mediterranean. Concepts of honour and shame were at the centre of social life and Maintaining one’s place in society depended on observing a complex code of interaction. There is not the space here to go into detail. A person (man) had to behave in such a way as to avoid coming into dishonour and to some extent to prevent causing dishonour to another by, for example, putting them in his debt. A person’s honour could be enhanced if they were able to put down or dishonour another. Honour was in limited supply and if one gained honour, he did so at the expense of someone else

This is the social context in which we have to view today’s gospel. The literary context of the exchange between Jesus and the chief priests and elders is that of an extended series of controversy stories that start at the beginning of chapter 21 and go all the way through to the end of chapter 22.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and his “cleansing” of the Temple have caused great consternation among the leaders of the Jews. The reaction of the crowd and Jesus’ own behaviour threaten to undermine the authority of the leaders. Having spent the night at Bethany, Jesus has returned and now he appears to be establishing himself in their Temple – their place of authority and power. In order to reestablish their own position the chief priests and elders need to bring Jesus into disrepute, to expose him as a fraud and to undermine his authority. They issue five challenges in total (Matthew 21:23-32, 22:15-22, 22:23-33, 22:34-40, and 22:41-46) but they unable to discredit Jesus and the section concludes: “No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” Jesus has not only held his ground, but as a consequence has further undermined the authority of the leaders and as a consequence their status and their honour has been diminished. It is no wonder that they seek to put Jesus to death – they have been utterly humiliated and, being unable to best Jesus in argument, there appears to be no other way in which they can regain lost ground

In today’s gospel first of the challenges, is about authority – the priests are sure that their authority comes from God, but from where does Jesus’ authority come? Jesus doesn’t answer, but instead turns the tables on them by asking a question of his own. It is evident that John has drawn many people to him, to repent and to be baptised, including members of the establishment. How do the chief priests explain his authority? The question, as we see, places the chief priests and the elders in a double-bind, whatever answer they give will have negative consequences. They will either be accused of failing to believe someone sent from God, or they will risk the displeasure of the crowds by claiming John to be merely human – either way they lose. They are forced to admit that they don’t know, thereby losing face in the presence of the crowds.

Many of us, at some point in our lives, make the mistake of thinking that we know better than God that if we ran the universe things would be different. The controversy stories remind us that while we can challenge and argue with God, in the end, God cannot be bested.

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