Great Performances

www.davidblaiine.com

David Blaine is an amazingly talented individual.

If you have never seen him, you need to Google him and watch some of his videos.  He describes himself as a street magician, because he takes his illusions to the street, performing them up close, so close that it is hard to believe he isn't really performing magic.

So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? - John 6:30

In today's reading from John's Gospel, the crowd of followers and perhaps a good number of curiosity seekers had gathered around Jesus and asked him what he was going to do to dazzle them.

I guess we shouldn't blame them for not believing in him without some sort of proof that he was who they claimed he was.  Most probably had heard he was a healer and performed some amazing feats, so they came to see for themselves.

We would do the same, wouldn't we?

It may not seem right to compare Jesus to an illusionist, someone we know is entertaining us with slight of hand, but there were many who traveled the roads throughout the region performing "miracles."  The crowds traveling by boat from the big city (Tiberias) may have found it amusing to gather around and see what this Nazorean could do.

When I read these stories, I came away with a simple view of the population, a few unbelievers, Pharisees, scribes and other people in authority, and the masses who followed Jesus because they understood who he was and believed in him.

But that view is distorted, isn't it?

Just as we might gather around David Blaine and say, "Dazzle me into believing you are a true magician," the crowd may have had no real desire to believe at all.

As they said, "What work are you performing?"

It is hard for me to imagine Jesus as an entertainer, but the possibility that some who came to see him may have thought that way changes how I hear the story.

And what is the value in that?

If we are all called to share the Gospel, to go out in the world and tell people what we believe in and why (which is a tall order, I know), it may help to know that there are some, perhaps many, who might not see much of a difference between Jesus and a street magician.

In fact, they may think someone like David Blaine is a lot more fascinating and believable!

Does that mean we shouldn't try to tell people about Jesus?

No. But there is much more to the story than the miracles and healing.

It is hard to grasp the divine nature of a man who walked on this earth.  Many Christians struggle with that one, and throughout the history of the church, the arguments over that nature have led to bloodshed, so it is no wonder we tend to be silent.

How often do I hear people say they share their faith in their actions and not in their words?

Maybe they do that because they don't want to be confronted like Jesus, challenged to perform or defend or explain what is incomprehensible.

I read recently that in Jesus' time, traveling healers were not only common, but it was a profession.  They were paid handsomely to cure, to conjure up spirits and chant away demons.  One of the remarkable things about Jesus was the fact that he healed the poor, the destitute, those who could never have afforded help from the "professionals."

Hmm.  Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Why would he do that?

One of the books we are reading in our Education for Ministry class touches on the need to study Scripture in communion with others, to share our thoughts and listen to those of others.

For those of us who are seeking a deeper relationship with God and with each other, the journey is better taken in the company of others.

So, what great performances do we talk about?

Since Jesus sought to change the way we treat each other, we can start by following his example.

I can imagine him giving me this advice:  Go and perform some miracle today.  Do it for its own sake, not for money or pride or fame, or any other benefit.

Wow.  That's hard.

More to come...