Reaching the Unreachable
Sometimes it is hard to tell fact from fiction.
Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God. - Luke 18:31-43
I came upon Episcopal Church Memes on FaceBook the other day, and I saw the meme I posted here, with Jesus is talking about love and hate.
The message is that he never said to hate anyone, and in the comments, at least one person took exception to this on a grand scale. He posted the following comment:
Just read Matthew 10:34-36 and Luke 14:26-28. I don't believe that man , the miracle worker, ever existed. Somebody made up this character and wrote that story and said that's what he said and did. And Yes, "hate some one: is attributed to this character named, Jesus.
Matthew 10:34-36 talks about conflict, not hate: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’"
And he was quoting scripture.
Now in Luke, he does talk about hating family members. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
What I find interesting here is the struggle the man is going through with his belief. He has taken to social media to use Jesus' own words, as recorded by the Gospel writers, from stories they heard told over the years, to try to prove Jesus never existed.
In today's Gospel reading, the disciples hear what Jesus is saying and they have trouble understanding. They knew him personally and struggled. So, it makes sense we, who come to him only through second hand stories will struggle as well, right?
Over 5,000 shared that meme and 540 commented. That's not bad.
Back in Jesus' day, healing and controversy were the two main tools of the trade, which was spreading the Good News. Today, we don't have the power of healing as much, but we can sure stir up controversy.
That may just be a really good strategy.
More to come...