Can you Trust an Ex Blind Man? - Pr. Kruse

“Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” 

“I enjoy talking to you. Your mind appeals to me. It resembles my own mind except that you happen to be insane.” 

— George Orwell

This text is not about being blind. Surprise. Verse 26 should give anyone a clear hint that what really is at stake here is faith in Jesus and the transformation that results from it. Those who “see” have a different perspective than their neighbors who are “blind.” 

By the time of the Feast of Booths (7:1-2) speculations about Jesus are stirring. He has healed the man at the pool of Bethesda - a Sabbath healing with trouble ensuing, as attested in 7:23-24. There has been the walking on the water, a rather private miracle, and the feeding of the 5,000, a rather public miracle. Water has been turned into wine, an obscure miracle but it lead to some disciples leading to some sense of faith in Jesus. There has been a healing of an “official’s” son (4:46ff) which has come and gone without comment and aftermath. 

The healing at Bethesda and  feeding of the 5,000 were slightly different. When Jesus heals on the Sabbath an argument has to break out. It is just necessary in the confines of the law and a plot to seize and kill him is hinted at. (5:18) When the feeding of the 5,000 happened, multitudes tasted, saw, and were mesmerized. They not so much follow Jesus as hound him. They are fascinated by what Jesus can supply toward the life of this world. (6:26) Jesus gives the famous bread of life sermon. It is so successful that many of his disciples turn their backs on him at the end of it. (6:66)

But, by the Feast of Booths the question is nonetheless in the air: Could this be the Christ? (7:25) The irony is that the word comes by conspiracy theory. The people know that the authorities want to kill him but he is walking around unafraid at the feast in Jerusalem. “Could it be that the authorities know he is the Christ,” (7:26) that is why they don’t dare seize him but they also are withholding the information from the people? The authorities send officers to arrest him but they don’t do so. They too are fascinated with Jesus. So, the authorities take council what to do. Who shows up at that council? Nicodemus, who becomes the voice of reason, justice, and due process. They silence him with the words: “Are you from Galilee too?” Apparently, the story is that prophets and Messiahs do not come from Galilee. (7:52) Hey! Didn’t Nathaniel have the same opinion? (1:46)

What follows is a long discourse on who is able to witness to Jesus. (Chapter 8) That chapter might well leave us with the question: “if you believe you are an offspring of Abraham, should you not be a witness to Jesus for certainly Abraham and all the prophets witness to him as does the Father himself?” 

If you say: “No,” because you claim to be a child of Abraham and wise in these things then you prove yourself to be blind, in the metaphorical sense of the word. (9:41) If you say: “yes,” then you do not belong in the Gospel of John, for Jesus neither sought or needed the testimony of people. But, the Spirit would eventually give witness to him. (7:39) For now in the story, all faith is conditional.

Chapter 9 contains a miracle enigma. Yes, it is a healing story but it is also a story of judgement.  (9:39) Remember, we have been in chapter 8 were a credible “witness” to the authority and identity of Jesus has been debated hotly. What are we hunting for in chapter 9? [cue the jeopardy theme] A credible witness to the man’s identity, origin, and place in life. The devil is the Father or Lies (8:44) and Jesus has accused the authorities of being the devil’s children. What is the assumption of the authorities? Simple: Everyone is lying. How do they know this? Well . . . 

I grew up in a small town in northern Germany. Like small towns everywhere and at every time, people lived close to each other. As result, people made each other their business. Being a recluse was not possible since your reclusiveness was everyone’s biz. We all lived a somehow public life and we were all talked about and we all talked about each other. I think they call that “community.” It just is. 

The defense mechanism in community is to have part of who you are and how you are protected and private. As kids, we were told very clearly that what was discussed at the kitchen table stayed there. But, it only applied to our kitchen table, not anyone else’s though that was never said. It was just assumed. There was always a bit of keeping things in the darkness involved in living in a small town in my youth. It added layer of: “What is actually going on in those peoples’ minds,” to every conversation or situation. Speculation is a fertile field for evil and temptation. Contractual “darkness” is a deep well were evil is conveniently kept until it is full to overflowing. From it flow waters of death. Jesus gives drink that causes the heart to bring forth rivers of living waters. (7:39)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (3:19)

To what extent can people be trusted? The Pharisees in our story trusted no one. They do not trust the healed man, they do not trust his parents, they do not trust their own officers, they do not trust Nicodemus, they do not trust Jesus. The question must be asked: If you really do not trust anyone here on earth and expect dark secrets in all the hearts that you meet, how will you relate to God? In that state of mind does not the sentence: "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,” make perfect sense and does that temptation not say to you that God cannot be trusted either? 

The way we maintain our relationships with people is a clue to the way we treat our relationship to the Almighty. The blind man in his healed state was eventually ejected from the community. His presence exposed a flaw in the authorities. They did not know how to explain Jesus and the healing made it obvious. His last reply was basically all true and the authorities probably even taught the very same thing. But they cannot abide having their kitchen table thoughts exposed. If they expel this man from their midst because he has unwittingly exposed them, what will they do with God? The way we maintain our relationships with people is a clue to the way we treat our relationship to the Almighty.

After this, Good Friday is the only option left for the authorities. They are blind and not fit to be the shepherds of these people. Jesus will now speak of the Good Shepherd. (10) He will drive home the point that he is the Son in the raising of Lazarus. He must die. He does not fit in our darkness. He is too bright. (1:1-5)

He came down to his own - A story with footnotes. John 4:5-42 - Pr Kruse

  

Ad Infra 1,2 (do follow the footnotes, please)

A biblical conversation kind of story3 retold in Seven4 cycles.

Cycle one 5

“What have you done with your life?” 6

“Does anyone actually have the right to ask that of anyone else? I might be out of place, but you are out of line asking.” 7

Cycle two 8

“Does not God have the right to ask what you have done with the gift of life given to you?”9

“God? Don’t even go there. Show me how “God” has made anything easier— ever. Life is one thing after another — and it is complicated too — and I am doing fine”10

Cycle three11

“So, you have been trying the same thing over and over again and it hasn't worked, then you tried nothing and it didn't work either, then you dabbled loosely in everything and it hasn't mattered. You tried all those. So, tell me, how would you see or possibly recognize God if ever you met up? How do you know whether God and life don’t meet?”12

“Show me a religion that works. Please, do. I dare you.”13

Cycle Four 14

“Do you pray?”15

“I am spiritual but not religious, but I am really interested in Jainism right now.”16

Cycle Five17,18

“Tell me: How many religions you, as a “non religious” one, have toyed with so far? It was 5, right? And you have taken none of them serious. When true commitment was demanded, you started looking for something else that suited you.”19

“You know a lot about me. This is supernatural. Are you a swami or a prophet?20 I always thought that religions were basically bunk and that we needed to get in touch, so to speak, with the divine nature.  All religions have a chunk of truth in it — they are all like the so called “wise” blind men trying to figure out the elephant. We just have to agree to disagree here.”21

Cycle Six22

“What if you made up your own religion or piece one together out of the many? Would you not be the so-called wise man behind the elephant thinking the elephant was soft, warm, and mushy? And if you run around wildly, will you ever really touch your elephant long enough to understand any of it?23 Would it surprise you then that there is only one God and that one of the —what you like to call —“religions”24 is actually right? You are living a life of excuses to not do anything and you are likely to die that way. You will and must now meet God and it is the God of Abraham.”25

“It will all become obvious in the end. God will come down here one day and clean up.”26

Cycle Seven 27

“That time is now and it starts right here!”28

She rushes back to the town square.29 “Don’t ask me why, but I have just had a mystical experience. You got to come and listen to this guy. I know, I know, I followed nothing seriously ever, but you need to meet him. Could he be the Messiah?” 30

 --------------------------

1 Latin for: “to what is below.” It is also the title of a book that uses this strategy to say anything important in footnotes. Annoying but useful. I forgot the author’s name, by the way.

2 Be prepared to be annoyed 

3  John 4:5-42

4 Seven cycles because that is what the original has. 

5 "Give me a drink."  

 "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" 

6  Give me a drink might just be John’s way of Jesus asking what fruit she and her faith has born.

7 She is out of place at noon at the well or maybe at the well at the inappropriate time, but he, being there at the right time, ought not be talking to her as he ought to assume that she is wife or daughter of another man and he has no permission to speak to her. 

8 "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."  

 "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

9 A fairly blunt hint: You are speaking to God. She will take it as a pickup line. 

10 Wells are work, work, work. They might give you water to drink — after you clean it — but they are work. You either go there to get enough water to run the house, and you have to go evening and morning, or you go there to draw water for the folks — which is why the time for the men at the well is mid day. So, Jacob gave them a well. Big deal. It is all work. So Jacob is also father in faith — not Abraham, really? — What has he really done for us lately? All we have is this dumb old well. 

11 "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,  14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."  

"Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

12 When religion is one thing after another and just seems everyday it is natural to go “seeking.” She was probably not doing that in John, but then she is a Samaritan, a religion known to include “Judaism and . . .” Let us not forget that the kings of Israel like Herod were happy to be seen as Jew, but liked Roman religion for political purposes as well. “There is nothing new . . . “ Quo’eleth. 

13 It is hard to tell if she is really ready for something substantial or just sarcastic. Maybe it is a bit of both.

14 "Go, call your husband, and come back."  

"I have no husband.”

15 This is not about marriage. It is about faithfulness and Faith itself. 

16 She is right. She has no faith to speak of, none that has a claim on her at least. She dabbles in it

17 and Jesus calls her on it.

18 "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband';  18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!"  

"Sir, I see that you are a prophet.  20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem."  

19 In her time and place religion was more about being there and doing what is expected of you. Unless one converted to Christianity. Then all heaven broke loose. The question of true commitment is valid for her and our time, tough, and Jesus seems to be asking it here in John.

20 She is getting the hint that she is sitting in front of someone who “knows.” It is not clear that she has come to the point of acknowledging that she is speaking to God 

21 though she senses the possibility and it frankly scares her. She sees the need to fog the conversation a bit by getting in esoteric arguments about religion. 

22 "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.  24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."  

 "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us."  

23 OK: The elephant needs some explaining. It is a rather arrogant Indian tale about a shah who blinded three wise men he had taken hostage in a foreign land. Then he set them loose to discover an elephant. The first touched the trunk and thought the elephant to be like a large snake, the second touched the leg and found it to be like a tree, the third was about 20 feet behind the elephant, on the ground, and proclaimed: “An elephant is soft, warm and mushy!” It is an arrogant tale because it supposes that the observer, the shah, knows what the wise men are contemplating. It is conveniently used to say: “What use do I have of wisdom?”

24 Scary Quotes 

25 In other words: If you are looking for light, child of this dark world, commit to and believe in God and to Jesus Christ (Jn 14:1)

26 To find something, you must be in the right place and you must be at the right place at the right time. Looking for your glasses under the passenger seat of the car only makes sense if you have lost your glasses. They may be there once you loose them there but they won’t be there right now if you won’t lose them until next Sunday right before church. It’s simple Einstein. It is a time issue, just as their meeting is. She is not supposed to be there in time. It is noon. He is not supposed to be there in time either, according to her. It is not the end and she would like to stall coming face to face with Messiah or God until further notice. She is not looking for Messiah right now. He can be here, at another time, as far as she is concerned. But both, and this she still denies, have a right to the “there:” She as a human being and Jesus as Son of God and Messiah. I guess it would be more comfortable to have God at a distance, both in time and space?

27 “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”

28 What explanation is yet needed? He reveals himself as the Messiah she says she is waiting for. She is now faced with God the Son at the well. Time and space have collapsed on her. She isn’t supposed to be there in the eyes of the world but she is. He is not supposed to be there in the eyes of the world, or at least not yet, but he is. He, as a faithful man, ought not talk to her but he does. He ought not talk to her, as the God of Abraham, as she is neither prophet nor patriarch. She ought not talk to him as a human but does. She is not a priest, yet she talked with the almighty and lived. In John, it seems that meetings with Jesus are transformational. Before the cross they evoke faith or rejection. After the resurrection they evoke conversion.(Jn 20:24-29 but also Acts 9:1-18)

29 I was going to have her rush into the men’s locker room at the local college faculty health club at first but that makes no present day sense. In her time the market square, around noon, was men’s territory only

30 and arguing about the Messiah or religion was men’s prerogative only. But time and place have somehow been transcended. The Messiah is present and after the resurrection must be assumed to be so always. Her invitation, imperfect and out of place — the market square — and out of time — she should not to be there right then — and out of character — she was neither priest nor prophet — it might have been, it caused a meeting of many with Jesus and as a result transformation of many. 

The Texta for Sunday, March 16th, 2014, the 2nd Sunday in Lent

First Reading: Genesis 12:1–4a

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  ²I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  ³I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

⁴So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.

Second Reading: Romans 4:1–5, 13–17

What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh?  ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  ³For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."  ⁴Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.  ⁵But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.  ¹³For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.  ¹⁴If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.  ¹⁵For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

¹⁶For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,  ¹⁷as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Gospel: John 3:1–17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.  ²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."  ³Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."  ⁴Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"  ⁵Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.  ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.  ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.'  ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."  ⁹Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"  ¹⁰Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.  ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?  ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Yeah. Right!

The linguistics professor was lecturing about the function of double negatives: “In English, a double negative becomes a positive. In contrast, in Russian, a double negative remains a negative, only it becomes a really, really strong negative. There are no examples of a double positive becoming a negative, though.” From the back of the room a voice was heard: “Yeah, right . . .” - found on Facebook.

We are plowing well turned fields again this Sunday. John 3:1-17 is not only well known and memorized, it is also a frequent visitor in our lectionary cycles. We have wrestled with it so much that we should have wrestled it safely to the ground and ought to be breaking its arms by now. Or maybe it has us in a hold — who can tell.

God sent the Son into the world — let us dwell on that motion for now. The last word: “World,” comes up in 79 verses in John. (I think if you click here you will get to an inter web search  http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=world&version1=ESV&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no&startnumber=51 ) The other Gospels use it less than 10 times each. 

Following how that term: “World,” is used in John is a bit of a rabbit hole, so take the red pill and you will see how deep this rabbit hole goes. (Yes, a “Matrix” reference)

Actually, there are a few observations that may help us. The world is not condemned . . . well actually it might be, but that is not Jesus’ doing nor apparently did God send Jesus as condemnation. No, it will condemn itself. (3:18)

Second: there is a bunch of judging going on. Jesus was sent as judgement, (9:39) but not to judge. (12:47) In the latter verse, there will be judgement but it will come by the word Jesus has spoken, because it is God’s word, and those who are judged will judge themselves by it, maybe because they hear it but misuse it, maybe because they reject it.

Third: There will be someone called the Advocate or Helper. The Advocate will convict, and judge but not condemn: 

“8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

In other words, the Advocate will make sure that the world knows that it is walking in darkness and that, if it ends up condemned it is its own doing and its on bloody fault. 

Fourth: there is a “Ruler of this world,” who is a dark force and there are children of darkness who love darkness rather than light but do so because they are blind and there are  children of light who see things for what they are. (the episode of Chapter 9 is about them) 

Fifth: Jesus is in the world as a light. (1:1-13) So are those who have heard and followed him and have been made clean by his word. Jesus brings God’s word again and in turn, God’s word in not understood but through Jesus. To claim to know but not acknowledge Jesus is to walk in darkness. (8:31-59, 14:1-7) The obverse is also true: If you truly understand the word of God you come to Jesus. (6:37)

Six: In John, Jesus’ mission is to be the light and he gladly accepts it, hence the rejection to beg: “Father save me from this hour.” (12:27) This is the Love that God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, have for the world. It, the world is dark and under the rulership of the prince of darkness, but they aim to save it by showing the world how dark it actually is. (The red pill again — yes, that Matrix reference . . .)

The whole irony thing that John is famous for, the subtle sense that the whole Gospel might just be gnostic because it seems to be saying one thing but relying on an unspoken thing that only the few know to actually understand what is being said might actually be quite simple: It is in the 90’s and the church has been booted out of the synagogue. But church and synagogue claim the same heritage. They speak the same language but the mean different things by what they say — again and from above don’t mean the same thing except when they do or don’t when they aren’t but then, you know, or do you? The language is the same but the meaning is not. In the words of Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” (Princess Bride) 

Conversion has stopped among the Jews — perhaps. All that is left is enmity and arguing. Whatever space the empire had allowed for the Jews to be peculiar, if the empire actually ever did that, has collapsed on the church which is now open to the charge of being anti emperor by claiming another Lord. They sing the same Psalms. They claim the same Abraham. 

What does one do? Becoming Amish is one option. The other is to love the world for what it is, engaging it, and always praying for its conversion. Dom Helder Camara once wrote that his most ardent prayer was for the Prodigal Son’s older brother. He always prayer that he would “go in.” Our Springfield Ohio colleague, Bill Zimmann sometimes asked with a smile: “Do you think God loves the devil?” The strange answer, at least from John, might actually be: “Yes.” It is the devil who has condemned himself, has been judged by his deeds, and lives as one convicted — no wonder he is always angry. 

It is naive to think that loving the world will instantaneously change it or that proclamation and even teaching will convert it instantaneously. The story of Thomas speaks to this. Yet, the work is before the church: Live in this world. Love it a bit. Don’t fall for its lies or adopt its ways. Be light. Be love. (St Terese Lisieux) The linguistics professor was lecturing about the function of double negatives: “In English, a double negative becomes a positive. In contrast, in Russian, a double negative remains a negative, only it becomes a really, really strong negative. There are no examples of a double positive becoming a negative, though.” From the back of the room a voice was heard: “Yeah, right . . .” - found on Facebook.

We are plowing well turned fields again this Sunday. John 3:1-17 is not only well known and memorized, it is also a frequent visitor in our lectionary cycles. We have wrestled with it so much that we should have wrestled it safely to the ground and ought to be breaking its arms by now. Or maybe it has us in a hold — who can tell.

God sent the Son into the world — let us dwell on that motion for now. The last word: “World,” comes up in 79 verses in John. (I think if you click here you will get to an inter web search  http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=world&version1=ESV&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no&startnumber=51 ) The other Gospels use it less than 10 times each. 

Following how that term: “World,” is used in John is a bit of a rabbit hole, so take the red pill and you will see how deep this rabbit hole goes. (Yes, a “Matrix” reference)

Actually, there are a few observations that may help us. The world is not condemned . . . well actually it might be, but that is not Jesus’ doing nor apparently did God send Jesus as condemnation. No, it will condemn itself. (3:18)

Second: there is a bunch of judging going on. Jesus was sent as judgement, (9:39) but not to judge. (12:47) In the latter verse, there will be judgement but it will come by the word Jesus has spoken, because it is God’s word, and those who are judged will judge themselves by it, maybe because they hear it but misuse it, maybe because they reject it.

Third: There will be someone called the Advocate or Helper. The Advocate will convict, and judge but not condemn: 

“8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

In other words, the Advocate will make sure that the world knows that it is walking in darkness and that, if it ends up condemned it is its own doing and its on bloody fault. 

Fourth: there is a “Ruler of this world,” who is a dark force and there are children of darkness who love darkness rather than light but do so because they are blind and there are  children of light who see things for what they are. (the episode of Chapter 9 is about them) 

Fifth: Jesus is in the world as a light. (1:1-13) So are those who have heard and followed him and have been made clean by his word. Jesus brings God’s word again and in turn, God’s word in not understood but through Jesus. To claim to know but not acknowledge Jesus is to walk in darkness. (8:31-59, 14:1-7) The obverse is also true: If you truly understand the word of God you come to Jesus. (6:37)

Six: In John, Jesus’ mission is to be the light and he gladly accepts it, hence the rejection to beg: “Father save me from this hour.” (12:27) This is the Love that God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, have for the world. It, the world is dark and under the rulership of the prince of darkness, but they aim to save it by showing the world how dark it actually is. (The red pill again — yes, that Matrix reference . . .)

The whole irony thing that John is famous for, the subtle sense that the whole Gospel might just be gnostic because it seems to be saying one thing but relying on an unspoken thing that only the few know to actually understand what is being said might actually be quite simple: It is in the 90’s and the church has been booted out of the synagogue. But church and synagogue claim the same heritage. They speak the same language but the mean different things by what they say — again and from above don’t mean the same thing except when they do or don’t when they aren’t but then, you know, or do you? The language is the same but the meaning is not. In the words of Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” (Princess Bride) 

Conversion has stopped among the Jews — perhaps. All that is left is enmity and arguing. Whatever space the empire had allowed for the Jews to be peculiar, if the empire actually ever did that, has collapsed on the church which is now open to the charge of being anti emperor by claiming another Lord. They sing the same Psalms. They claim the same Abraham. 

What does one do? Becoming Amish is one option. The other is to love the world for what it is, engaging it, and always praying for its conversion. Dom Helder Camara once wrote that his most ardent prayer was for the Prodigal Son’s older brother. He always prayer that he would “go in.” Our Springfield Ohio colleague, Bill Zimmann sometimes asked with a smile: “Do you think God loves the devil?” The strange answer, at least from John, might actually be: “Yes.” It is the devil who has condemned himself, has been judged by his deeds, and lives as one convicted — no wonder he is always angry. 

It is naive to think that loving the world will instantaneously change it or that proclamation and even teaching will convert it instantaneously. The story of Thomas speaks to this. Yet, the work is before the church: Live in this world. Love it a bit. Don’t fall for its lies or adopt its ways. Be light. Be love. (St Terese Lisieux)

The Texts for the 1st Sunday in Lent, March 9th, 2014

First Reading: Genesis 2:15–17; 3:1–7

Chapter 2

¹⁵The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.  ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;  ¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

 

Chapter 3

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?"  ²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;  ³but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'"  ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die;  ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.  ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12–19

¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned —  ¹³sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law.  ¹⁴Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

¹⁵But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.  ¹⁶And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.  ¹⁷If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.  ¹⁹For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1–11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  ²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.  ³The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."  ⁴But he answered, "It is written,

'One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

  ⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,  ⁶saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you,'

and 'On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

  ⁷Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;  ⁹and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."  ¹⁰Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

'Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.'"

  ¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

he Text in Greek - Pr. Fourman

Matthew 4:1-11

v1 ανηχθη (αναγω) aor. pas. "[Jesus] was led" - Matthew's choice of word, as distinct from Mark and Luke, probably has exodus overtones. Jesus was led into the wilderness as Israel was led into the wilderness.

πειρασθηναι (παιραζω) aor. inf. pas. "to be tempted" - The infinitive expresses purpose, "in order to" (Mark and Luke use a participle). Note how Matthew has the temptation after the 40 days, while Mark and Luke has it during.

του διαβολου (ος) "the devil" – literally "the enemy; the tester, the accuser, the evil one".

v2 νηστευσας (νηστευω) aor. part. "after fasting" - adverbial, note how Matthew fills in the details of fasting, ie. going without food for a period, possibly pointing his readers to the "fast" of Israel in the wilderness (Ex.34:28, Deut.9:9). 

υστερον adv. "afterward”;  temporal adverb; he was hungry later – so not a symbolic fast.

v3 The first temptation - stones into bread. As with all the temptations, this is a test of faith. Will God supply Jesus' needs in the journey to the cross or should he rely upon his own ingenuity? Israel failed this very test in the wilderness so, the first temptation tests Jesus willingness to rely upon God's provision.

ο πειραζων (πειραζω) pres. part. "the one testing”. A descriptive of the devil's persona; he tempts to an evil end, can do more than tempt?

προσελθων (προσερχομαι) aor. part. "having approached” 

ει + ind. "if" - a conditional clause 1st class, where the condition is assumed to be a reality; so maybe “Since you are the υιος "the Son [of God]" - not "a son of God."

ινα + subj. "so that [these stones become bread] - a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Jesus should speak.  Sop the tempter is suggestion the content of his speech here, not his actions (this power belongs to God, not Jesus).

  
v4 ο ... αποκριθεις (αποκρινομαι) aor. pas. part. "the one {tempted} answered”. 

γεγραπται (γραφω) perf. pas. "it is written" - The formal introduction to quotations; literally “it stands written”.  Soooooo; Jesus’ first defense to the temptation of interpreting God’s will to favor his own needs is to default to Scripture?  Horrors!

v5 The second temptation – at the pinnacle of the temple, note that in Luke the order of the next two temptations is reversed, although Matthew's order seems more appropriate given the devil's "worship me" is the most serious temptation. 

παραλαμβανει (παραλαμβανω) pres. "took him" – the present tense is probably historic, used for dramatic effect.

το πτερυγιον (ον) "the highest point" – an actual place by the way, although the actual meaning here is unclear, tip or high-point of a building is commonly accepted but it has been suggested it simply describes the position of the temple itself, given that it was held to be the highest point in Israel and the center of the world.

v6 οτι a dependent statement of quotation. The Devil can also use Scripture, in this case the Psalms.  But now the reversal, and Jesus interprets Scripture, of course he does this b y USING Scriptures – and where have we heard this principal applied before? Oh wait, I remember!  Funny how quickly we forget own training and values.

v7 Jesus' quotes Deut.6:16, a verse which goes on to refer to the testing of God by Israel at Massa, Ex.17:1-7. It was there Israel questioned God's covenant promise for their security and sought to dictate his provision. The Deuteronomy reference encourages Israel to do better.

εφη (αφιημι) aor. "[Jesus] answered" – literally, he ‘revealed what he was thinking”.

ουκ εκπειρασεις (εκπειραζω) fut. "do not put [the Lord your God] to the test" - do no tempt - an imperatival future tense. In the sense that forcing God prove himself correct is faithless at its center. 

v8 υψηλον adj. "high" (literally high) δεικνυσιν (δεικνυμι) pres. "showed" - Probably more in the sense "revealed", exposed the mystery of the secular world; apparently the devil has a doctorate in sociology.

του κοσμου (ος) gen. "[kingdoms] of the world" – interesting use of cosmos….

v9 The third and most powerful temptation - a kingdom without a cross. Jesus will rightly possess an eternal kingdom by divine right, but like Israel of old, the way to glory is through the wilderness. Satan's compromise will trouble Jesus at the end; in Gethsemane he prays; "if it is possible, don't let this bitter ordeal come to me", again, we have a test of faith, either rely on God and his promise or on the world and its comfortable compromises.

δωσω (διδωμι) fut. "I will give" - Is it the devil's to give; does he really have the “whole world in his hands?

προσκυνησης (προσκυνεω) "worship" - do obeisance. This word is sometimes translated "to serve" but it means "to adore" or “prostrate before."

v10 υπαγε (υπαγω) pres. imp. "away from me" – imperative, Jesus now commands.  And once again he appeals to Scripture; “it stands written”.

λατρευσεις (λατρευω) fut. ind. "you shall adore, venerate, worship”. There is some confusion over the meaning of this verb. "Service" is probably not its intended meaning - the parallelism of the text (προσκυνησεις, "to fall down before = to do obeisance") supports the translation "worship, venerate.”

v11 αφιησιν (αφιημι) pres. ind. "left/abandons him" (note Luke's addition, "until a suitable time."

διηκονουν (διακονεω) "attended/served”; durative, sustained action, originally a word applied to waiting on tables; (Acts 6).  The angels' presence calls attention to the victory of obedience, i.e. the angels come and take care of him.

Standards - Pr. Kruse

Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed. The saints all passed through many temptations and trials to profit by them, while those who could not resist became reprobate and fell away. There is no state so holy, no place so secret that temptations and trials will not come. Man is never safe from them as long as he lives, for they come from within us—in sin we were born. When one temptation or trial passes, another comes; we shall always have something to suffer because we have lost the state of original blessedness. — Thomas a’ Kempis.

There is a strange “twofold-ness” of Jesus that is evident in the Gospels. No, not the fact that he is of two natures as good Caledonian formulations pose. Instead there is a twofold-ness in mastery over his foes. He commands spirits with mastery and indignation and they have no choice but to do has he commands. It is as if the spirits that beset the insane and infirm in the stories are but small nuisance critters that must be dealt with as any raccoon caught in the attic. Yet, with humans . . . 

The voice from heaven announced: “This is my son, with whom I am well pleased.” (3:16)  We sometimes argue who actually heard this voice. Only Jesus? Only John? The crowd? What seems to be certain is that the spirits heard. God’s announcement of Jesus at his baptism made one thing certain: The spirits now knew who he was and they would have to deal with him. They will loose at every turn. 

Even the prince on demons gets to loose. Unlike the Pharisees who continue their argument with him the entire Gospel long, the tempter realizes that he is not getting anywhere with his line of “suggestions.” He retreats accomplishing nothing only to behold humans to fully adopt his suggestions and in doing so brining on his ruin.

So, in the spirit world all was settled. Yes, our ancestors believed in spirits and gave them all the due needed to live safely. We are more advanced and have no good luck charms, lucky pennies, neither do we wear our favorite color shirt when we need an extra bit of support from “other” sources, nor do we wear our shirts inside out on game day because we believe that data has shown that when we do, our team will win, and when our team wins the Super Bowl then the stock market will rally the following week — or was that when the Stock Market is on the upswing the NFC team wins the super bowl? And neither is ghost hunting anything that would ever make it unto the television nor would there be ghost hunting tours of Gettysburg or old insane asylums. 

Anyway: in the world of humans it is another story. There the players are more a battleground than participants in the battle. There, Jesus does not work by command. There his work is done by belief or it is thwarted by the lack of it. (13:58) There the debate just never seems to stop (22, 23), disciples jokey for place (20:24), betrayal is a possibility (26:14), denial is an option (26:75), and the doubting never really ceases. (28:17) All of these are foreseen by Jesus but he seem content to let it be that way. In the human realm, he choses not to rule by force or command. 

If the spirits can oppress and the Tempter can misguide and coerce, and if Jesus can command them and is therefore more powerful, could he not do the same and even more to us than the spirits and the tempter? The questions might be asked: “why don’t he,” and “what might it mean that he does not?” 

Those questions can also be turned around. The demons see him and know they must obey and even their prince is bested by the Word that comes from his mouth. How is it that we do not obey the word when we hear it but argue, twist, and dice the Word? (23:1-36)

Under the best and most ideal conditions for faithfulness and allegiance to God, Adam and Eve met the tempter. Even in the idyllic life with everything going for them, they failed. In a world where things are much less clear do we really want to claim we have a chance to do better than they? No, we twist, we argue, and we ignore and as a result fall into sin, death, and the ever deepening sway of evil. Under that sway pharisees argue and die, and sin becomes the new normal, the glasses through which all things are seen and the new standard by which all things are judged. That standard admires power and is blinded by it so much as not to see the evil that is being worshipped by pursuit of it. That standard finds the amazing and amusing things of life worthy of exclusive attention and therefore overlooks the angels that point to the truly heavenly things in mangers. That standard finds the legitimacy of its actions in its own will and not in the will of God — it is the world of auto-nomianism. 

Wealth, possessions, honors, and pride. These are the ideals of the tempter.  He whispers to us that we need the praise and acceptance of others, and tells us that because of our successes, we deserve honors. He wants us to adopt the attitude of “look at me and what I have done.”

Christ instead calls his followers to go out into the world and lead everyone to freedom from precisely this. Spiritual poverty, insults, and humility. (Matt 5:1-12) These lead to true freedom. This means we live a life recognizing and accepting that all that we have is a gift from God. Possessions are not something to be worshipped. In regards to insults, we are to let God’s love lead us through the illusion of self-satisfaction and approval of others to a life of serving others. We are called to a life of selflessness, and such a life will put us at odds with the world, which could result in insults and rejection. Finally, Christ calls us to a life of humility, a life of unconditional love and service for God and others. (http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/how-the-two-standards-meditation-can-help-outside-of-a-retreat/)

It takes different eyes to see heaven and to discern hell. We do not have those eyes. Jesus does. He can and did see the temptations for what they were: an invitation to sin, death and the devil. The Gospels show us his resistance to them to say to us, much like the voice at his baptism and on the Mountain: This is the one to follow. He knows the way. Listen to him!

We are to be free. This is God’s hope and will. It is also the reason why we are not commanded like demons who will never be free. No, we are being led to freedom by Christ, the one who crushed the serpent’s head because he knew him for what he was — he knew him as our jailer and he came to set us free.