Faith Venture

The Jews must have been quite religious at the time when Jesus lived. From the gospel accounts and other histories, Jerusalem and especially the Temple were very busy places during Passover in those years.

By religious, I mean observing holy days, rites, sacrifices, daily rituals. You say the right things. You do the right things. Notice that nowhere did I mention where your spirit is. Your intention.

By the time of Jesus last Passover, he had made enemies of just about every part of the Jewish establishment. Today, I’ll consider the Pharisees. And wonder why we are still like them even after learning all Jesus’ teachings about them.

The Jews were all about regaining their lost glory under David and Solomon. When they were an independent nation. They could worship Yahweh, the One God, in their Temple without foreign oversight. (Sounds a little like some of them today.)

The Pharisees thought they had the path to getting rid of the Romans. They would reclaim some of the prophetic teachings that said the people had stopped being observant of traditions and rituals and therefore God had withdrawn his favor. So, if only the people would become more observant, then God would come back and destroy the Romans.

They didn’t impress Jesus, though. He kept pointing out that their religious rituals were without meaning. They just went through the motions. And, they liked to tell other people how to act. They liked to judge others thereby making themselves (at least in their own minds) better than others. They were the chosen few that would lead to God’s redemption.

Jesus said things like the cup being clean on the outside and dirty on the inside. The Pharisees heard him, and they knew he was attacking them. But instead of cleaning up the inside, they attacked Jesus. He didn’t understand that they knew the way to God.

It’s something like the story of The Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky’s novel, “The Brothers Karamazov.” In the story, Jesus returns to medieval Spain at the time of the inquisitions. He is put in jail. The Grand Inquisitor (a Catholic Cardinal, and therefore supposedly a Christian) tells Jesus that he’ll have to kill him. Otherwise he’ll stir up the people in some fruitless search for freedom when what they really want is their daily ration of bread from the Church.

I’ve studied all this. I know the arguments. But sometimes I catch myself being a Pharisee. Is it more important to dress well? To attend church regularly? To say the right words?

Or is what’s inside a person more important? Do I take time to understand other people? Do I care for them and help them? Or just criticize.

One reason Jesus died was to undermine the power of the Pharisees–replacing a legal approach to God with a Spiritual one. We are to enter relationship with God, not a legal agreement.

Have we become Pharisees? Or did Jesus not die in vain because we understand that it’s all about relationship with a person, not a list of laws?

A beautiful sunrise over Machsee (kind of a lake) in Hannover this morning. That’s always an aid to meditation.

Reading in Luke this morning. No particular reason. That was open when I opened the New Testament on my iPad. But there Jesus was explaining to the disciples about how he would need to die and then be resurrected to complete his purpose on Earth.

But the disciples could not comprehend what he was saying. The meaning was hidden from them. I don’t think that passage means that God purposely withheld meaning. I think it means that sometimes we don’t know things. And we aren’t going to learn them–we also say things like “uncover the mystery” or “find the hidden meaning”–until our experiences and education/study prepare us to understand.

I would not criticize the disciples for not understanding. They were simply not quite prepared. Jesus was teaching them a little bit at a time. They would not fully understand until the experiences of the death, resurrection and subsequent teaching happened. Even then, it probably took the Pentecost experience where they openly began preaching to fully unlock the mystery for them.

We are not unlike that with our kids. We teach them certain things. But it is only in their heads–intellectual knowledge. Until they have the experience, they won’t really understand.

Just so with us. Many of us are brought up learning the Bible stories. But until we experience God, we don’t really know. That is where the “Spiritual Disciplines” help. Such activities as prayer, study, worship, community and others set us on the path to be open to God. “Some things must be believed to be seen.” It’s true in science, and it’s true with God. But when you open yourself to God, you open up the possibility to experience God. Trust me. It works.