“You Just Don’t Get It!”
Sermon Presented April 25, 2010
John 10:22-30
Our choice of words is crucial – whether we are a minister, politician, spouse, parent or friend. When we use the wrong words to express our thoughts, and I am as guilty of this as anyone, it can get us into serious trouble. I was reading in Newsweek last week that when Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he initiated healthcare reform which he called Romneycare – very similar to the federal healthcare reform recently signed into law. Now that the ultra-conservative branch of the Republican Party is disavowing the need for that kind of healthcare reform, Romney is speaking out against Obamacare. But the article claimed his goose appears to be cooked as a Republican presidential contender in 2012 because what he said and did years ago has come back to haunt him.
We say we want plain-talking leaders, but when they say what we don’t agree with, we tend to reject – not just their ideas – but them. Therefore many people in positions of leadership skirt controversial issues – that is, unless their bread and butter is dependent on espousing a certain position. Plain talk about the things of God creates similar problems because things of God are anything but plain! When a person begins speaking with unequivocal certainty about God, it’s a sure sign that the person is no longer speaking about God. (Feasting on the Word Year C Volume B, Gary D. Jones, p. 444)
There are multiple understandings of many scriptural texts, as there were differences of opinion 2000 years ago. The meaning of the word Messiah was one such concept for Jesus’ audience. Jesus is in Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of the Dedication – what we call Hanukkah, a feast that celebrates God’s salvation of Jerusalem through the heroic faith of the Maccabees in defeating the Syrians, and the rededication of the temple desecrated by the followers of Antiochus. This celebration is observed for eight days each December with lighted lamps and joyous festivities. (Joseph Bessler, Feasting on the Word Year C Volume 2, p. 444)
In the three verses prior to our text, we learn that the Jews are divided about what Jesus has said and done. Some genuinely want to know who Jesus is and some want him to make a claim that can’t be substantiated so they can reject him. That may be the way we listen to political and religious leaders today – if we support their ideas, we listen carefully, and if we don’t support them, nothing they say can change our minds. Hear the text as taken from John 10:22-30.
In this passage, the Jews in the temple ask Jesus outright if he is the Messiah. This is a loaded question and requires more than a yes or no answer! Jesus says – in answer to their question – that he has already told them through his works what they want to know. His role can’t be reduced to a title. They don’t yet understand what he is doing or who he is! Their understanding – or lack thereof – is based on experience and not language.
I have friends who speak fluent French. I am taking Christopher to France in June, and I don’t speak French. I have listened to French speaking CD’s, but still am limited in actual speaking to simple words like Bon Jour and Merci! When you don’t understand the language of a country or a text or a political movement, you are handicapped.
The primary difference between the Jews who are questioning Jesus and the Jews who are his disciples is that even though they have similar backgrounds and expectations for a Messiah, the Jews questioning Jesus make no effort to understand a different point of view, while the disciples follow Jesus, even though they don’t understand. They follow because they respect their inner compulsion to follow. They follow because they trust the one they follow.
In John’s gospel, until now, Jesus has only acknowledged that he is the Messiah to the woman at the well (4:26). The Jews have seen his healings and heard his claim to be the good shepherd, but that’s it! Jesus points them to his works, but now he also goes back to the shepherd image because the Messiah was to be a descendent of David – the shepherd boy who became King. Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd…” and Psalm 100 “We are his people and the sheep of his pasture” are etched into their minds. This is a powerful messianic image in Israel’s memory.
However, the key to biblical understanding is to follow Jesus on the path, because who we follow makes all the difference! Those who follow Jesus have a different understanding of his claim to be “one with God” than those who do not follow! We develop new sensitivities and understandings as we journey with Jesus.
Jesus’ claim to be one with God was more difficult for his audience to comprehend than the concept that he was the Messiah. You see, the Jewish people expected a Messiah – probably a military leader/king, but the claim to be “one with God” was beyond comprehension. The Greek word “one” as used in this text is neuter – not masculine, so Jesus isn’t saying he and God are the same person, or even of one nature or essence. Rather he is saying that he and God are united in the work they do. It’s impossible to distinguish Jesus’ work from God’s work because Jesus shares fully in God’s work. (Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. Luke-John, p. 677) And yet Jesus prayed to God – even crying out that God had abandoned him on the cross. How do we understand this concept – this truth? It isn’t something that comes easily, and we may never understand it to our satisfaction.
Christians become open to spiritual Truth as we follow Jesus; and non-Christians find Truth when they are open to receive it. As we mature, our spiritual lives need to grow into a deeper understanding. I am open to Truth today that I was closed to even a year ago, so it’s important to keep an open mind and heart. Jesus said to seek and you will find. As we gain new understanding and then act on it, we are drawn deeper into God’s presence. Those in Jesus’ audience with closed minds couldn’t receive the truth and were even antagonized by it. However, keep in mind that even closed minds can be opened as attested by the story of Saul that we looked at last Sunday.
Let’s look further at what it means to be “one” in the context of this teaching. In a marriage ceremony, Scripture says that the couple should be as one. That doesn’t mean that married couples become the same person – or even think alike or act in the same way. What it means is that their love for one another and their goals should flow together so that there are moments when their hearts beat as one. They aren’t the same person, but they can be one in the biblical sense.
When we share with friends or family on a deep level, we can sometimes glimpse their souls. At that moment we become “one”! We will never be the same person, but we can be one! The heart of Jesus beats in tune with the heart of God. Theirs is a total and complete mystical union; and I believe that you and I can experience moments of mystical union with God and with one another. Some of you have experienced a mystical union with God through a piece of music, a ballet performance, a painting, poetry, or meditating on the shore of a lake or the ocean.
The Jesuit priest, Anthony DeMello told this parable he titled “The Explorer.” In it, a man leaves his home village to explore the faraway and exotic Amazon River. When he returns to his village, the villagers are captivated as he tries to describe his many experiences, along with the incredible beauty of the place, with it thundering waterfalls, beautiful foliage, and extraordinary wildlife. He tries to put into words the feelings that flooded his heart when he heard the night sounds of the forest or sensed the dangers of the rapids, but he can’t. So he tells them they simply must go to the Amazon themselves. To help them with their journey, he draws a map. Immediately the villagers pounce on the map. They copy the map, so that everyone can have his or her own copy. They frame the map for the town hall and their homes. They study the map regularly and discuss it often, until the villagers consider themselves experts on the Amazon – for they know the location of each waterfall and rapids, every turn and bend. (Gary D. Jones, Feasting on the Word Year C Volume 2, p. 448)
I believe that Christians often operate like those villagers, wanting a pastor or author or the Bible or a friend to tell us plainly about the things of God. We have the map – we have the words – but we have never taken the time or made the effort to make our own personal journey and experience the living Lord for ourselves. For as DeMello suggests in his parable, there can be a certain futility about drawing maps for explorers who aren’t willing to make the journey for themselves. (ibid)
We can’t be expected to understand all that is written about Jesus – or about God. We have the words – the maps, but not the understanding we need from these alone. We need the experience to go along with it. And when it comes to God, that experience comes over a lifetime of following Jesus, so it’s up to us to rely less on words and more on experience. When the two come together, we know we are on the right track!
04/25/2010
