From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Fourteenth Week after Pentecost
John 10:31-42
The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.
He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.
Much ado has been made of this passage as to the deep conflict between Jesus’ theology and that of the Jewish authorities. Jesus proclaims that he is “of God;” the Jewish scribes say that no mortal can claim to be of, or like God. Such a claim, they say, is blasphemous. But this conflict was also present among Christians in the early church. This Gospel to the early church fathers smacked of Docetism, a philosophy that held that Jesus was in fact God but merely “seemed” human. Early on, this was considered a heresy in the church. Ironically, it became orthodox theology in the fifth century. At the Council of Chalcedon Jesus was said to be fully God and fully human, and it seems that the church over its history has leaned more toward the former than the latter.
Jesus’ point is that to do the things God does, then one is of God. When we love, we are in God. To sacrifice for one’s neighbor, to welcome the outcast, to take care of the orphan and widow, to care for the sick and imprisoned, to serve justice… then one is of God. It is our capacity to love, as Jesus loved, that makes us “godlike.” The Jewish authorities should have known better. The practice of Torah was considered to be the means by which God’s life was loosed on earth. So this really isn’t an ingenuous theological argument; this is all about authority. Jesus’ life and teaching challenged the hypocrisy of the powers that be. He put new and fresh words onto the worn dogma of the religious institution of the first century. He called on the powers that be to repent and rededicate to the “Good News” of God… that all should live in this world as equals, sharing the abundance of the created order. He called for a radical return to the tried and true faith.
In other words the threat of stoning had much more to do with Jesus challenging the status quo, than it had to do with a mere theological debate. At the time of this Gospels’ writing many of the faithful had been silenced, stoned to death. Power will find any argument, any justification, to protect its interests.
I have learned a lot about this dynamic over the last three weeks. Our Black Lives Matter banner got stolen from our front doors Saturday night. I have had numerous phone calls saying that to support Black Lives Matter is not Christian; that we are in effect supporting “terrorists, arsonists, anarchists, Marxists,” and the like. My simple explanation to these callers has been: “We support BLM because we want to follow Jesus; that Jesus’ life and ministry was focused on the lives that mattered least in his world.” Seems simple, but those words fell on willfully deaf ears.
I have come to realize that this is a power struggle between the white, privileged establishment that has benefited enormously from the inherent advantages of our social and economic, and political system… and African Americans who have been abused and shamed and denied any semblance of power in our republic since its founding. Those in power, the white establishment, are lashing out (at the mere hanging of a banner!). The fury with which they have responded tells me that racism is alive and well, and deeply entrenched. We have hard work ahead of us, but I am convinced that reparative justice for our Black brothers and sisters is a timely and urgent Gospel issue.
Having said all this, there are many, many white folks who have affirmed and praised our position. The Black community overwhelmingly feels that they have us, and people for whom we speak, as allies for their cause for dignity and justice. There is hope, but there is hardened resistance. My prayer is that our solidarity can make a difference. We will persist, good and faithful people. I’ve ordered three more banners to say that’s so.
A Prayer for those who Influence Public Opinion (BCP p. 827)
O God, you proclaim your truth in every age by many voices: Direct in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will just; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
