Texts: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
“We regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.”
My friends, our lessons today point the way to a paradigm of life that is so vastly different from the one in which we live. Changing our paradigms for life is what Lent is all about, and so it seems fitting today for us to reflect together upon the dark realities of hatred, prejudice, and fear and upon the contrasting vision of life that Jesus brings.
It is a sad fact that prejudice is one of the most predictable patterns of any human community, and indeed one of the most common attitudes of the average human being. Our own nation is struggling to find ways to overcome the legacy of 400 years of systematic racial and ethnic discrimination, but it is not unique to this land. In Africa even today, dominant tribes abuse and discriminate against weaker neighboring tribes. In Europe, distrust of foreign workers from Arabic lands and the Middle East is a growing and widespread problem. All of us here have been educated recently on the depth of distrust and resentment between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam in the Middle East.
All of this is part of the human point of view to which Paul is referring. This point of view sees difference as threat and the other as a danger.
In his earthly ministry, Jesus was relentless is undermining and subverting this human point of view. This parable of the prodigal son, as it is commonly called, is one example of his intention to teach his listeners a different way of seeing reality.
Only Luke’s gospel records this amazing story which intends to turn the established order of righteousness on its head. The original weight and force of this parable is not found in the actions and attitudes of the prodigal son. It is found in the reactions of the older son and the father.
Just look at the context. The grumbling scribes and Pharisees are the older brother. Jesus has the position of the father, and the tax collectors and sinners are the younger brother. The ones on the inside – the Pharisees, the hard-working brother – can easily point to the many flaws of the outsiders. They are obvious for all to see.
And to be fair and honest, I can relate in some ways to the feeling of the scribes and Pharisees, the attitude of the older brother. It is not easy for me to sympathize with those who are reaping the consequences of poor decisions.
It seems like every winter we hear about groups of mountain climbers who get lost in bad weather and need to be rescued. Last month I heard about a climber who fell into the crater of Mt. St. Helens because he was standing near the lip peering in and the snow gave way under him. I confess that I become incensed when I think about the millions of taxpayer dollars spent on these search-and-rescue operations when anyone with a brain would know not to climb in the mountains in winter! Why should we have to spend our money and to risk more lives in order to save people who are stupid?
But…then I think about the older brother, and about Jesus’ warning to the scribes and Pharisees, and about the dangers of a hardened heart.
It is very easy to focus upon that which divides us from others, to dwell upon the us-versus-them mentality. It is very easy for us humans, isn’t it? It seems almost natural, like second nature to distrust the other, the outsider.
But Jesus teaches us that this path leads to pain and suffering. Listen, please: It is one of God’s goals for your life that you finally reach a point where you see every single woman as your sister, and every single man as your brother. Every single one, without distinction or exception!
Not that it’s so easy to live this way! But this why the Holy Spirit is continuing to train us in this way of life.
In 1979 in Nicaragua, during the Revolution against the brutal military dictatorship of General Somoza, Tomás Borge was one of the revolutionary leaders of the people who was captured by the military and thrown into a dungeon. There he was chained to a wall and tortured. He was forced to watch as the soldiers dragged his wife into the dungeon, violated her physically, and then murdered her. The soldiers later castrated Borge as a way to humiliate him and to break his spirit.
But, thanks be to God, justice prevailed and the people’s revolution succeeded and Borge was finally freed. He was paraded by cheering crowds through the streets of Managua as a true hero of the nation. But as he marched along, Borge saw in the crowd the face of one of his captor’s, one of the men who had killed his wife.
So Borge broke ranks with the parade and ran over to this man. He grabbed his former captor by the shoulders, shook him and yelled, “Do you remember me? Do you remember me?” This man trembled with fear, fearing for his own life now, and he pretended that he had never seen Borge before. But Tomás Borge persisted and said to him, “I will never forget your face! I will never forget it!” And he asked, “Now do you understand what this revolution is all about?”
That very frightened and confused man could only answer weakly, “Yes.Yes”, all the while hoping and praying to avoid the obvious retaliation for what he had done. But Borge responded, “No! You don’t understand what this revolution is all about!” Then Borge embraced the man and shouted out, “I forgive you! I forgive you! That’s what this revolution is all about!”
Not only in Nicaragua, but everywhere, at all times and in all places: that is what the revolution of Jesus Christ is all about! “We regard no one from a human point of view.” Do you realize how revolutionary this statement is? Can you imagine with me for a moment what our world would be like if the human point of view was consistently replaced by God’s point of view? Can you imagine a world where forgiveness of wrongs is the instinctual response of the average human being rather than the desire for revenge?
Recently, a friend told me of his father’s secretary who was cut off while driving by a pick-up truck. In frustration, she made an obscene hand gesture. The driver of the truck saw this, stopped his vehicle, walked over to hers, tapped on her window, and when she rolled it down, he knocked her in the face and broke her nose! Just like that!
Don’t fool yourself, my friends. This is the kind of world we live in. Anger and violence are all around. Forgiveness and reconciliation are in fact a very rare commodity.
But, my friends, the good news is this: God has a plan to change the world!
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” In Jesus Christ, we average human beings are immersed into a brand new reality called the kingdom of God. Jesus teaches us how to live a full, joyous and abundant life through the ministry of reconciliation. And the Holy Spirit empowers us to grow in grace and love. This is what it means to become the righteousness of God. One heart, one soul at a time – God is doing away with the human point of view. I pray that you will know what it means to sign up and join in this revolution. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment