Messianic Messiness
Sometimes things don't fit the prescribed pattern or conventional wisdom.
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?' They said to him, 'The son of David.' He said to them, 'How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,"The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet'"? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?' - Matthew 22:41-45
In today's reading from Matthew's Gospel. Jesus seems to be arguing against himself, challenging the very idea that he could be the Messiah, since he is a descendant of David.
Why would he do that?
Perhaps he wanted to end the speculation about him. No way I could be the Messiah, he might be saying, and that would quiet down all who wanted to accuse him of it.
Of course that doesn't make it easy for those who want to believe in him.
But Christians today really don't think of Jesus as a Messiah, even though we enjoy Handel's Messiah and sing the Hallelujah Chorus with joy.
We take on a much more difficult challenge, trying to explain why we believe Jesus is God.
Last night, in our Education for Ministry class, we talked about the Gospel of John, the one Gospel that brings home the point that Jesus was, is and always has been divine.
"What if we didn't have that Gospel?" I asked. "What would we Christians believe about Jesus?"
This passage in Matthew is a good example of why we might have come up with a very different picture of our Lord, and I find that intriguing.
When it comes to explaining our faith to others who have different beliefs, we Christians have many ways to find common ground. We can talk about Jesus the teacher and prophet, the fully human Jewish leader of a sect who believed the end time was upon us.
We can talk about Jesus the healer who traveled from place to place reaching out to those in need, offering of himself.
We can talk about Jesus the protester, who challenged the rich and those in power to give up all they had for the poor and the widows.
We can talk about all these things and not once mention the divinity of Jesus or any other Messianic messiness that gets us in trouble with those of other faiths, and also some Christians as well.
It may sound strange, but we all don't truly believe the same thing when it comes to Jesus, and yet we all recite the creed that makes it very clear who we are talking about.
Paul challenged us to share the gospel without shame, and I think we should try to do that. We believe God is active in our lives, that he became one of us to save us from ourselves and that he continues to be a living force and source of strength within us through his spirit.
Yes, that is radical and it sets us apart from everyone else. It doesn't make us better, but it makes us unique in that it is much more difficult to explain.
If we don't try, though, we raise doubts. And who wants to live in doubt?
More to come...