30 March 2005

Jesus get a longer look in "The Prophetic Imagination" by Walter Brueggemann.

A fourth aspect of what Brueggemann says is a part of Jesus' radical criticism.
Jesus' attitude toward the temple (Mark 11:15-19; John 218-22 was finally the most ominous threat because there he spoke directly about the destruction. In so doing he of course voices the intent of the enemies of the church and the state. Moreover, in his speech about the temple he quotes from the temple sermon of Jeremiah (Jer. 7:11), thereby mobilizing that painful memory of dismantling criticism and the in fact radically replicating it here. In critiquing the temple, Jesus struck at the center of the doctrine of election...Thus Jesus advances the critical tradition of Jeremiah against the royal tradition reflected in Isaiah.

This kind of criticism that cuts to the very heart of the tradition and power that has built up a people and made great promises to them cannot be tolerated. It cannot be tolerated because there is still a corporate memory that recalls that this very center of the religious community can be wiped out. When there is great loss, there is often the attitude that we can never let it happen again...we must do everything we can to prevent such destruction and loss. This brings us to what is so human about all of us. When we dig in and become entrenched and say "never again," we often become the ones who oppress and restrict and make gods of the patterns and objects of our lives and we will serve them at all cost. I remember a speaker who insisted that a god is that to which we give our lives even if it means sacrificing our children and our own lives - everything. At that time, he was making reference to our worship of nuclear weapons and the military-industrial complex as a whole. We will secure ourselves even if it means we must destroy others by not taking care of the basic needs of most of the people. Jesus was holding up a mirror so that the religious and cultural leaders could see what was taking place. They could not and would not stand for such a clear portrayal of their world...and...they did not.

Connection: Always take another look at what is being served in our lives today. The gods of our lives try to stay hidden beneath the many causes and good order of the day...but they are there waiting to be served by us. It is not easy to stay out of their reach and hold on us.

You, O God, and the one true God who liberates and brings life. We are likely to forget that fact and therefore we call upon you Spirit of life to remind us of your place in our lives as Lord of All. Amen.