Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I have longed to gather
your children together and you were not willing! How much anguish there is in that simple
statement, so much despair and love combined.
Jesus reaches out to a community that disrespects him, disregards his
message and does not want to receive the gift of love and healing he offers
them. But even though he disagrees with
them, he does not talk about violence towards them, he does not threaten them
with destruction or punishment. He
speaks not from hate or fear or racism or religious intolerance of another
faith, but from a sense of community.
These are his people, they are hurting and don’t know it, they are
hungry and are not aware of it.
They don’t want to be a part of his group, they want
to be stand-offish and aloof from what he is offering. Some of them are political bullies and are
quite happy with the power they have and will do anything to keep that power. They will even manipulate and trick the
government of the time into executing Jesus, an innocent man.
We talked last week about how all humans need control
in their lives and the importance of having an awareness of our need for
control so that we don’t use it in destructive ways, by micromanaging or
dictating, but also that we don’t abdicate our responsibility to use control
wisely and appropriately. There are
times when we need to control ourselves, or to provide appropriate guidance for
others. But most importantly, we need to
become aware of the dynamics of control – when we are being too passive or when
we are being too controlling.
Today’s scriptures speak to another human need, that
of inclusion. That too is a
continuum. There are folks who want to
include everybody and want to be included by everybody. There are also folks who don’t want to
include anyone or be included by anyone.
Groucho Marx once famously said, “I refuse to join any
club who would have me as a member”. He
and others pride themselves in being self-sufficient, or above the need for
human connection. Maybe they’ve been
burned by previous groups, and don’t want to risk being hurt or
manipulated. The other extreme is the
person who wants to be included in every single group they hear of, and how
they are so desperate to be accepted that they alienate the very people they
are trying to impress. They talk too
much, or nod too much or agree too much.
The scariest book I ever read was called “That Hideous Strength”, about
how people did anything to become part of the inner circle, the in group. We see this in young people who join gangs
with violent initiation rites, or froshing rituals in university groups. Maybe we can even see that in people who are
so desperate to be important and powerful that they commit atrocities like the
one in New Zealand. Their lust to be accepted has been so strong that they
commit acts of violence.
Being a lone wolf can be just as unhealthy. I remember struggling to be accepted in
elementary school where some of the kids would bully anyone different. There are countless movies about the underdog
who wins acceptance, or who realizes how powerless the bullies are, or gets
revenge on them. But an underdog can
become arrogant as a way of dealing with the rejection they experience. Groucho Marx’s quote might be fueled by his experience
of being an outsider who became desirable only after he became famous.
Paul wanted a community that included people, that
practiced hospitality, inclusion and acceptance the way he had been welcomed
and included. He had been eager to prove
himself to the political powers in Jerusalem by persecuting the first followers
of Christ.
When he experienced his loss of sight on the road to
Damascus, he was accepted into the homes of Christians who healed not just his
eyes but his desperate longing to connect, to find approval, to feel sanctified
and loved. He wanted to share that same
experience of healing and hospitality with everyone he met and travelled far
and wide to do so. But even he drew the
line. People who played politics for
their own safety regardless of how that impacted others were labeled as enemies
of the Cross. People who were only
interested in material things, filling their bellies, only focused on the here
and now were worshiping their appetites, ‘Their God is their belly’. They who wanted to be seen as glorious or
special or admirable were labeled as shameful, and for those who pretended to
be religious but were actually more interested in their own status as
intellectuals were also seen as enemies of the cross.
We are called to be radically inclusive, to practice
hospitality in the name of Jesus who ate with prostitutes, sinners, tax
collectors, the poor and the disenfranchised.
We are called to be sensitive to the needs of other people to be
included in our community in ways that work for them, not by smothering them with
more love than they can handle, nor by ignoring those who look or act or dress
differently that we do. We are called to
be aware of when our own needs for inclusion may become unhealthy and come at
the expense of others. We are called to
love our neighbors and pray for our enemies for they too are human beings. For God so loved the world, the Bible says,
and we are to love the world, warts and all.
Some days this is easier said than done.
But I hope we can find the courage together to stand against hate, to
challenge fear-mongering, to speak against the trend to polarize communities
into ‘us’ versus ‘them’. We need to
speak out and challenge assumptions of entitlement or superiority when we hear
them.
Maybe if someone in Grafton, New South Wales had
spoken up, 49 people in New Zealand would still be alive today. I’ve never been to Grafton, but I’ve stayed
in Brisbane which was nearby, and walked the streets of Christchurch. The people there are decent, hard-working
folks not that different from us. But
hatred grew in one young boy’s soul, for whatever reason, until he thought that
he had a right to destroy others. May we
find ways to use our words and actions wherever we encounter those who hunger
for inclusion in such destructive ways.
May we be a beacon of hope and courage to challenge the world like Jesus
challenged Jerusalem. May it be so for
us all.
