Powered By Blogger

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Comfort the afflicted; afflict the comfortable

    A friend inquired about the pharisees and sadduccees, and it led me to write the following, in answer the particular question.

     Part of Jesus' mission was to "comfort the afflicted" and to "afflict the comfortable". The pharisees had a history of real religious piety, and were the descendants of those who rejected the Greek influences on Judaism, but to a fault as time wore on. They got themselves into a position of self-righteousness based upon outward religious observance, losing sight of the substance of the Law, namely, mercy and faith. Not all of them, certainly, and Jesus had friends who were pharisees. His purpose, among others, was to disclose that mercy, such as "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." And as in the passage where he cures a woman of her 18 year infirmity, on a Sabbath, but the synagogue leader objects and starts naming the law, "There are other days to be cured, come then, and not on the Sabbath." Ridiculous. A miracle takes place, and he cannot see it, or appreciate it. Lots of people like that today, focussing on the law (either in the secular sense or the religious. . .). St. Paul had great struggles with this thinking, to the point of being abused and beaten and stoned. His insistence that righteousness comes from faith in Christ was abhorrent to those who, for one, found Jesus too much (and killed him, by the way) and were sadly stuck in their addiction to legality. You've known people like that, so attuned to what's "right" that they forget to have compassion or kindness. People suffered in their consciences because of the scrupulosity of the pharisees. I might add much of my struggles have been from a too severe conversion that lacked compassion on myself. Eventually, things explode, or one turns into a tyrant, to himself or others. Better to have a kind eye, in other words, but also one that opposes the way some make themselves better than others and look down on them. That is, a kind eye towards those abused by the powerful, to the point of opposing the powerful. Hence the deliberate humiliation of Jesus on the cross, to show that being so and suffering so may be a sign of greatness (for sure in His case!).


The sadduccees had their good points, and were devoted, as a class, to the priestly office and rituals of the Law. They had become, unfortunately, likewise blind to the higher elements of the Torah, indeed, only accepting the legal and ritualistic elements, good as they were, yet lacking in something. Sadducees generally did not even accept the prophets, who often blasted mere ritual, "Does God drink the blood of goats? If I were hungry, I would not tell you. Your sacrifices are loathsome to me." and such things. To a priest, offering bloody sacrifices as a way of life, those are fighting words. So, when Jesus cleanses the temple, and talks about it being cast down, and himself being able to "raise it in three days", you can imagine the shock to their system. It was one of the major points of condemnation they used at his (show) trial. His attitude of apparent disrespect was a crime in their eyes. But, of course, He was trying to shake them out of their sullen view of humanity. This is why, when He answers their question about the resurrection, He refers to Moses' conversation with the Lord at the burning bush, showing that such a belief is central to the most basic, Hebrew faith, right there at the call of Moses, and not from some "esoteric" prophet. The pharisees, of course, approved of His answer, and they were all quiet.

As for being drawn to Jesus, this is testimony of His powerful personality and His self-assured declarations. There was a magnetic quality to His person, and no one could just ignore Him.

In Acts, 6:7, as Luke describes the growth of the Church, he says, "and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jersualem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith." This small notation is often lost on those who read Acts, and it explains some of the struggles of the early Church. Imagine the priests, who were keepers of the rituals of the Temple, hearing that food was only food, and not central to salvation. Heck, the Maccabees era was almost all about obedience to the dietary laws of Israel's Law, or at least a lot about it. A whole family of seven brothers was executed with their mother for not eating pork! Thank God for Jesus when you're eating a pork barbecue sandwich. But anyway, these men (and their families) were drawn to the "New Way" in a remarkable fashion, finding the faith to be liberating. What they had been worshiping had come close to them, and not put away behind a curtain any longer. The Letter to the Hebrews brings all of this together, as it explains that Jesus is the place where as well as the Person in whom we meet the here-to-fore remote God. How awesome is that? He's not found by ritualism for its own sake, nor is He remote and commanding obedience for obedience's sake. He's near to us and "personified" in Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what food you eat, or what your background or your racial make-up is. The heart of His salvific plan has come to completion and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. His friendship and closeness take away the veil, if we have eyes to see.

No comments:

Post a Comment