God in the Gaps: Working with Dirty Hands

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned getting help on a sermon by a high school chum of mine, Rabbi Steve. That sermon wasn’t the first time we had collaborated. Last year, Steve was reading the Gospel of Mark in a class he taught, and he asked me for help interpreting Mark 4:10-13:

When [Jesus] was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them,

The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!

Why, Steve asked, would God want the people neither to understand and nor be forgiven? Rabbi Steve, of course, knew that Jesus was quoting Isaiah 6:9-10, which begins, "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving ...’" So I asked Steve, what is God saying to Isaiah there?

We agreed that the context of the quote (always check the context!) was key, and the context was the commissioning of Isaiah to be a prophet (Isaiah 6:8-13):

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

He said:

Go and tell this people:

'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never
perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.

Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered:

Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down,so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.

We agreed that God’s word to Isaiah—as depressing and pessimistic as it might sound—was both a word of judgment and a word of hope.

God’s word through Isaiah was judgment, because most of the country—especially the political and religious leadership of the country—was just going through the motions. While they might say the right words, their heart was not in the words. For example, in the very next chapter, Isaiah would encounter the king of Judah. While Isaiah would attempt to encourage the king to trust in God in the midst of national calamity, and while the king would mouth pious platitudes about trusting in God, it was clear that the king trusted in political alliances more than he trusted in God.

God’s word was hope, because a holy remnant would remain. Although the country might be so decimated as to look like a clear-cut forest, life would spring up through the remnant. God had not given up on Israel and Judah, and he would work through the holy seed in what was left.
I told Steve that Jesus was making the same point. Much of the political and religious leadership was going through the motions. The political leaders were puppets controlled by the Romans. The religious leadership was fractured between Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and other groups which all differed in terms of the importance of temple worship and the application of Jewish holiness laws outside of the temple. Jesus had criticism for any group that went through the motions without whole devotion—body, mind, soul, and strength—to God.

Jesus especially had criticism for the reductionism of the Pharisees. Through their well-intentioned rules for holy living, they saw, but did not perceive, the life that God desired. The eyes of their hearts were full of cataracts. They were spiritually blind.

Matthew 15:1-20

Commentary

Marks’s account of this clash between Jesus and the Pharisees is longer and perhaps better explained (Mark 7:1-23). If you study these verses later on your own, I encourage you to compare Matthew’s account with Mark’s.

Given the similarity of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, & Luke, many scholars believe that Mark’s account was written first, and that Matthew & Luke referred to Mark’s gospel while writing their own. Curiously, then the question might be: Why would Matthew leave some of the details in Mark’s account out of his version of the story?

v2 Washing hands was required for ritual, not hygienic, cleanliness (see Mark 7:3-4).

v4 Jesus is quoting regulations the Pharisees would have known about honoring parents (Ex. 20:12) and dishonoring parents (Ex. 21:17).

v7-9 Isaiah was right... Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13, but one can assume that the entire judgment of Isaiah 29 applies here. Jerusalem had been besieged by the Assyrians, but had been miraculously delivered by God from the siege (2 Kings 18-19). While some in Jerusalem were ready to ascribe deliverance to their prayerfulness, Isaiah says, in effect, "Your selective obedience blinds you to the awesome transforming power of God, but one day your children will see."

v9 They worship me in vain. The word for worship is used in the Bible to describe pagans falling back in fear & awe of their gods and the referential respect at temple or synagogue of the "God-fearers" (the non-Jewish worshippers who had not completed the requirements for becoming a Jew).

v12-14 Mark’s account does not include these verses. What difference do you think this makes to the story? How does the inclusion of these verses change the emphasis?

v15 Explain the parable. It’s not as stupid a request as it looks. When Jesus says, "Listen & understand" (v10), he is using language he usually reserves for the parables (Matt. 13:13,14,15,19,23,51).

Application

Usually the Pharisees are the villains in any gospel story in which they appear, so let’s cut them a little slack for a moment. As opposed to the Sadducees—who said the holiness code only applied to worship in the temple—and the isolationist Essenes—who were holed up in their monasteries and worshipping God apart from the temple and the world—the Pharisees said that holiness code was not just about temple worship, but about making everyday life godly worship. That doesn’t sound like such a bad thing, does it?

Furthermore, as the Pharisees reflected on Exodus 19:3-6 ("you will be for me a kingdom of priests"), they concluded that all Israelites were given a priestly calling. Compared to the Protestant Reformation claim of "the priesthood of all believers," the Pharisees don’t seem out of line!

However, how do you live a holy life in an unholy world? How do you live a holy life when at your core you yourself are not very holy? Holiness at its core entails the consecration, or setting aside, of something for God’s use. The elaboration of the holiness laws—e.g. ceremonial washing at the temple, which became for the Pharisees ceremonial washing before all meals—were intended by the Pharisees to keep them separate, ready, and worthy of serving God.

Similarly, many of us grew up under prohibitions: no dancing, no movies, no cards, no drinking, no smoking, etc. The intent of these prohibitions was not to eliminate fun in our lives (much as it appeared that way) but rather to keep us ready and worthy to serve God. We, and the Pharisees, have a problem, and it is right under our noses, and often we can’t see it.

"Explain the parable," Peter asked, and Jesus’ response seems hard: "Are you still so dull?"

Let’s cut Peter some slack as well. Throughout Matthew 13, as Jesus gave one parable after another, he urged them to understand—not knowing something in their minds, but feeling it in their hearts and living it out daily. So when Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Listen and understand!" (i.e. "Hear with your heart, see with the eyes of your heart, and live in heartfelt response to what you have heard!") perhaps Peter heard this word—understand!—which Jesus had used so often before, and assumed that Jesus had just given another parable.

However, Jesus was quoting Isaiah 29, and Peter should have known the context of those verses—where Isaiah compared the religious elite to dreamers in a deep sleep (Isaiah 29:7-12). Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real that when you woke up you thought it had really happened? You might even have argued with somebody over what really happened! So it was, Jesus said, with those who devoted themselves to a lifestyle of holiness instead of devoting themselves to God:

... a hungry man dreams that he is eating, but he awakens, and his hunger remains (Isaiah 29:8)

"Explain the parable," Peter said, and Jesus’ response said essentially, "What? Are you asleep too?"

We have a way of sleepwalking through life, putting important parts of our life on auto-pilot and focusing on the wrong things. We focus on the tasks at work instead of the people; we crave order at home instead of the company of family; we play video games instead playing together; we adhere to routines instead of engaging in the riotous, messy life going on all around us. Tasks, order, games, routines (and traditions) become our fuzzy dream world, while we avoid the harsh, messy world craving our attention.

However, God is not found in this dream world of ours. God is at work in the mess, and he calls us to wake up & join him in the work of engaging the world in all its glorious mess without concerning ourselves with niceties of cleanliness, order, style & tradition. We are to get our hands dirty.

This is what the incarnation of God in Jesus is all about. This is what the church—called into the world—is to be about as well. There are only two rules, two traditions, to worry about along the way: (1) loving God, and (2) loving your neighbor. Little else matters.

Isaiah’s audience largely missed it;Jesus’ audience largely missed it;don’t you sleep through it as well.

Points to Ponder

The Discipline of Living with Paradox:
The Holy Fool (Luke 18:9-14)

We think of holiness as perfection, but that kind of thinking leads to rules & more rules, getting us nowhere.

Be honest about whom you are, but humility is no excuse for doing nothing. Doing nothing comes from either false humility or despair—neither of which is honest.

Instead, look for God’s mercy & power exactly where you are. As imperfect as you are, God is in the business of using imperfect people. Today’s lesson might be that our ideas and God’s ideas about cleanliness & perfection are very different. The one who goes against societal norms in following Christ is a holy fool. Be willing to let God use you, even as the world says you are worthless.

Eventually the temple was destroyed, and all Jews—Pharisees and non-Pharisees alike—would have to figure out a form a worship that involved no temple. One rabbi said, "We must now gain atonement through deeds of loving-kindness." How would you worship God if there were no church buildings?

Many men I know take pride in their dirty, callused hands, knowing that they have done a good day’s work. Are clean hands a metaphor for not engaging in the messy work God has for us to do? What would it look like to take pride in getting dirty & messy for God?

God of the Gaps: The Fallacy of All-or-Nothing

In the first two weeks of this sermon series, we looked at a rich man who built bigger barns only to die before enjoying his bounty and a rich young man who was unable to give all he had to the poor and follow Jesus. The tempting conclusion—or the nagging fear—is that God demands radical obedience, all-or-nothing faith, and that nothing less is worthwhile or meaningful. We might point to verses like James 1:21 to back us up:

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

We are part saint, part sinner; part hero, part villain; part human, part beast; part angel, part devil; part virgin, part prostitute. We yearn to be all one thing; if we are honest, we know that we are not. The more zealous, not content to demand perfection from themselves, even demand perfection from others inside and outside of the congregation.

Isn’t it time for some relief?

Matthew 13:24-30

Commentary

Jesus gives an interpretation of the parable in v36-43.

v25 sowed weeds among the wheat. A specific weed is mentioned here: darnel, aka bastard wheat. (While weeds are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, this specific weed appears only in this parable in Matthew.) Darnel was so insidious that it was illegal by Roman law to sow darnel in another person’s field (the original biological warfare).

v25 the weeds also appeared. Darnel looks like wheat when it first sprouts, but the differences are manifest later. Wheat has a large, golden head of grain, while darnel has a small, black head. Wheat, when ready to harvest has such heavy heads that the stalks bend over, while darnel stalks stand straight because the heads are so light. Wheat is nutritious, while darnel is poisonous and will make the ingestor intoxicated. While only the similar appearance of the early sprouts is important within the parable, none of these other details detract from the main point of the parable, and one might assume that Jesus’ audience might be keenly aware of all of these differences.

v30 Let both grow together. Specifically, let both grow side-by-side, and let each grow to its fullest. It is difficult to imagine a farmer would letting an invasive plant prosper (or God letting evil men prosper) but the rationale for such is given in the preceding verse (v29): for the sake of the wheat, which has not yet grown to maturity and which will be damaged in the process of weeding, the weeds will be tolerated for a while, even as they are thriving.

Application

On the surface, Jesus gives the interpretation of the parable:

The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. (Matt. 13:37-39)

In our interactions with the world, the parable counsels tolerance. Apparently, in this age, despite all that Jesus says about being the salt and light of the world, despite all of our plans to "win the world for Christ," the world will never be entirely Christian. Our charge is to live in the world and grow to maturity. Our charge is to live in the world—a messy field of good and bad seed, a world that even looks untended—with forbearance. Our charge is to live in the world, leaving the harvest to others—the angels. When we read about the slaughter of Muslims during the Crusades or the forced conversion of Native Americans by European colonists, one must conclude that we have failed this commission.

And that might seem to be the end of the matter—if we knew exactly what Jesus meant by the world, the sons of the kingdom, and the sons of the evil one. In this parable about forbearance, was Jesus speaking about: the scribes and Pharisees, who opposed him; Judas, who would later betray him; Peter and the other disciples, who clearly didn’t get it yet; or somebody else altogether?

In our interactions at church, the world intrudes into church; therefore, the parable counsels tolerance even here. Our tendency is to think of church as a sanctuary from the world, a place where worldly rules & demands don’t apply; however, we are so conditioned by the world, we bring our worldly ways into church with us. Consequently, one of the biggest problems at church is the apparent hypocrisy: we are supposed to be a society that lives by a higher standard, yet frequently we do not. One possibility is to kick all of the hypocrites out; conversely, the other possibility is to conclude that we do not belong. As Groucho Marx said, "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member."

However, Jesus doesn’t just tolerate worldly intrusions into his group, he interacts with the world through these intrusions! He dines with Pharisees (Luke 7:36-50), drinks with tax collectors & prostitutes (Luke 5:27-32), tolerates the worldly responses of his inner circle of disciples (Luke 9:51-56), and even feeds the one who will betray him that very evening (John 13:18-30).

Jesus interacts with the world, because the act of sharing the gospel turns weeds into wheat. We all begin as weeds, and the miracle is that somewhere along the way, as we begin to mature, some of us are revealed to be wheat. Sin in our lives is a serious concern; however, the removal of deep-rooted sin from our lives requires the gentle hand of our Savior. When many of us became Christians, we knew that we were powerless to master our sinful lives by ourselves. The results of our attempts to master sin on our own have ranged from despair borne from futility, to self-loathing borne from asceticism and prideful ambition.

We are finite creatures, and if our holiness is limited, so is our diabolicalness. Maybe our holiness is best understood as a work in progress, and not a finished product. Consider the story of a monk on Mt Athos:

He was in a very bad state, very dark, very bitter, very angry. When asked what was the matter, he said, "Look at me. I’ve been here for 38 years, and I have not yet attained pure prayer." Another fellow on the pilgrimage was saying how sad he thought this was.

Another man present said, "It’s a sad story all right, but the sadness consists in the fact that after 38 years in a monastery he’s still interested in pure prayer. (The Spirituality of Imperfection, p 42)

God is at work in you, but God is not finished yet. "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (1 Thess. 5:23-24)

Points to Ponder

"... we are like others not in our virtues and strengths, but precisely in our faults, our failings, our flaws. As Evagrius Ponticus, one of the most influential of the desert monks, put it: The nearer we draw to God, the more we should see ourselves as being one with every sinner." (The Spirituality of Imperfection, p 48)

The Discipline of Knowing Yourself:
The Jesuit Examination of Conscience

This 5-step prayer is used by the Jesuits to review each day and examine themselves:

Thanksgiving
Lord, I realize that all, even my self, is a gift from you. Today, for what things am I most grateful?

Intention
Lord, open my eyes and ears to be more honest with myself. Today, what did I really want for myself?

Examination
Lord, show me what has been happening to me and in me this day. Today, in what
ways have I experienced your love?

Contrition
Lord, I am still learning to grow in your love. Today, which choices of mine have been inadequate responses to your love?

Hope
Lord, let me look with longing toward the future. Today, how will I let you lead me to a brighter tomorrow?

God of the Gaps: Beyond Control

After last week’s sermon ("God of the Gaps: There is a God, and You are not Him") somebody came up and asked me about kenosis, the discipline of emptying or pouring out of oneself (materially, emotionally, and spiritually) as a sacrifice. "Surely," the person said, "there must be some kind of balance. Surely we are not supposed to go to the extreme of really giving away everything. How would we live?"

Today’s sermon gives part of the answer to that question.

Matthew 19:16-26

Commentary

I have a high-school friend, Steve, who is a rabbi in New Jersey. I asked him this week for his perspective on this account, and I’m indebted to him for some keen insights.

v16 what good thing must I do? This is the typical form of question found in the Talmud, a compendium of rabbinic teaching. Historically, Judaism has been a religion of "deed, not creed." We might say it differently: actions speak louder than words. Hence the question is a legitimate question. Certainly 'saving faith' is faith that translates into a change of heart, and therefore a change of action. 'Faith' that is in the head alone and doesn't manifest itself in how one lives is worthless.

v17 If you want to enter life... Steve asked, "[Does] the fact that Jesus does not mention ‘eternal’ mean that he is not referring to the eternal life but to this life?"

v18-19 Jesus gives half of the 10 Commandments (plus the charge to love one’s neighbor, which is from Lev. 19:18, and referred to by Jesus elsewhere, e.g. Matt 22:34-40). Which commandments are missing?

v20-22 What do I still lack? While the young man may have kept some of the commands well, Jesus’ challenge and the man’s response indicate that, on some of the other commands, the man was far from perfect. Do you think his love of wealth could have manifested itself as covetousness, idolatry, or other violations of the other 10 commandments?

v21 If you want to be perfect... The statement is conditional: IF you want... There is no promise of perfection, rather only the identification of the roadblock on the way to perfection. As I have said before (and hopefully you’re starting to pick up on this as you read the NT) the Greek word for perfect frequently means mature or complete. How would re-translating the verse change your understanding of what Jesus is saying?

Rabbi Steve said, "Jesus has tailored his answer to the questioner. If the questioner is rich—then he need not covet anything—and his questions show he has little faith—the fact that he asks them at all is an indication that he does not have faith."

v23-26 belie the fallacy that God always blesses us materially. Many preachers (and laypersons!) err by over-spiritualizing the verses, making them more palatable, but dangerously easy to ignore. They make wealth into a speedbump on the road to the kingdom of God. However, we must ask ourselves: Do we use what God has given us for the glory of God—or do our possessions possess us?

Application

There are four questions in the story—three asked by the rich man and one asked by the disciples. Look at the progression of the questions.

What good thing must I do to get eternal life? Jesus’ answer omits the word "eternal." It is a fallacy to think that eternal life is divorced from the life you live here. Implicit in Jesus’ response is the ethical demand to realize the fullness of the life God desires for us in the live we are living at the present moment. Many of our troubles reveal exactly the barriers that exist between the life we purport to live and the life we are living. James says, "Faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26) and our response to our troubles reveals whether (as Bob Dylan said) we are busy living or busy dying. Rabbi Steve interpreted Jesus’ answer this way: How can you enter eternal life when you haven't really accepted this one yet?

Which ones? Our base desire is always to limit life’s demands to things that we can control. The rich man is looking to be let off of the hook, and Jesus’ answer appears to give him an out—but I doubt it. In what follows, the man reveals that giving to the poor, loving his neighbor as himself, is impossible, for he loves himself and covets the tings of the world too much to just give it all away.

What do I still lack? If the man had been honest (or less deluded) he might have said, "That love your neighbor thing—that’s a problem, because I love loving myself." So Jesus hits him right between the eyes. Rabbi Steve said the account reminded him of a story about two rabbis, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon (who was wealthy but stingy): Akiva told Tarfon about a good investment which would reap great profit and convinced Tarfon to loan him a large sum of money—which Akiva promptly gave to it to the poor. When Tarfon heard about this he was angry, but Akiva said to him "I did what I promised, I have invested the money for you and the payoff will be in the next world."

For many people, the issue really isn’t about the money. Strangely the real issue is the implied lack of faith demonstrated by the degree of control one tries to maintain over the world around oneself. The real issue is not, "Do I love my neighbor as much as myself?" but rather, "Do I trust God enough to love me and take care of me?" Covetousness—one of the virtues the man never claimed to have—is the sin of yearning after the material world in the belief that God will not provide what is needed. One must obtain it for oneself; one must wrest control from God. Herein see the dilemma:

For spirituality is, always, beyond control. We can’t hold it in our hands and touch it, manipulate it, or destroy it. Because it is beyond control, it is also beyond possession: We can’t own it, lock it up, divide it among ourselves, or take it away from others. (The Spirituality of Imperfection, p 31)

Who then can be saved? This is the question of the despairing soul: If I cannot save myself by my own labor, what hope is their for me? The answer in Alcoholics Anonymous is: Let go, and let God. The answer the rich man could not accept was: Let go.

Points to Ponder

What do you still lack?

Where do you need to let go?

The Discipline of Renouncing: Becoming Dispossessed

Here are a few spiritual exercises that may impact you in the material world:

Don’t Buy Anything for One Whole Day
Can you make it through one day without adding to your stockpile of stuff? In doing so, you begin to limit the power of material things to possess you.

Begin Eliminating Clutter
Start by getting rid of stuff you rarely use. Sell it, give it to Goodwill, or throw it away. Get rid of one item, or one box of stuff each week (without replacing it with other stuff) and you will be amazed in a few months with how less stuff you have, and how less you are possessed by what you do have.

Think Twice, Buy Once
Ask yourself, will I use this in a year? In ten? If I needed to pack all of my belongings into a single van and move across the country tomorrow, would I bring this with me?

Don’t Be Owned by Your Stuff
Your belongings can trap you into thinking that these physical things define you. The less you own, the less likely you will be to see yourself as a reflection of your possessions.

Your Challenge
Choose one belonging and sell it or give it away. Don't replace it.