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Just in case you thought Jesus got himself killed for being meek and mild mannered, this week we have a text full of Jesus swearing, cursing and insulting.
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Once again we have another story of a challenge and confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders and elites. In this case, the Pharisees.
We have skipped over the mocking, sarcastic question of the Sadducees concerning resurrection, Matthew 22:23-33.
Bruce Malina suggests that the two questions in this text parallel the last two of the four questions that are asked at the Passover meal:
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Once again we have another story of a challenge and confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders and elites. In this case, the Pharisees and those who supported Herod as King (that is, as vassal King of the real rulers - the Romans).
Their opening remarks to Jesus are pure slime. They set Jesus up with exaggerated praise with the intention he will fall flat on his face from the high pedestal they have just placed him on.
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This parable is based on the social protocols practiced among elites.
Note that in verse 3, the slaves go to "those who had been invited." That is, when the King first set the date of his sons wedding banquet, he sent out a notice to all the right people; the A List people he needed to attend in order to make sure his son's wedding was THE social event he needed it to be in order to ensure the King's own social standing, his own honour status.
Sending out a first notice like this, allows the invited guests to check around and see who else has been invited. If the right people have been invited and will be attending, they will also attend. And if the "right" people are not attending?
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The only problem with this passage for most preachers is to not wag our fingers at the ungrateful 90%. The other problem will be to not smugly count ourselves among the righteous 10%.
As usual with Biblical stories, it is important not to get distracted by the special effects. How the 10 are made clean is simply not explained in the text, and should not be explained - or explained away - in the sermon. As usual, the crucial element of the story is the relationships between Jesus and the others in the story. Focus on the interactions between Jesus and the lepers.
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It beats me why the creators of the Lectionary have us reading events from Holy Week for the months of October and November.
I guess it is to give us ample opportunity to explain that the clash between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time is NOT a clash between Christianity and Judaism; they should NOT be read as Jesus teaching that Christianity replaces Judaism; the Church replaces Israel. The phrase in Verse 43, "Taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruit of the Kingdom," does NOT mean "taken away from you Jews and given to Christians."
However, it is true that in so far as the religious LEADERS are concerned, this parable is a direct challenge to them, because, as usual, on the question of who is entitled to what, Jesus reframes the terms of reference for answering that question. The leaders would answer the question in terms of their status; Jesus answers the question in terms of activity - producing the fruit of the Kingdom.
Who, ACTUALLY, is producing the fruit of the Kingdom? It could be the religious leaders, nay, it should be the religious leaders. But are they? Are we?
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Last week, Jesus told us a parable to show our "need to pray always and never lose heart," Luke 18:1 (the parable of the widow who persisted in seeking justice. Click here to read my comments on that passage.)
And now, Jesus tells us a parable to show our need to avoid pride, hubris, smugness, self-righteousness, etc. should we happen, in fact, to actually "pray always."
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This passage echoes themes found at the beginning of Chapter 11: A neighbour asking for bread in the middle of the night; ask, seek, knock; and sinful human fathers who know to give their children what they need when they ask.
The remarks that frame the actual parable of the persistent widow make 2 points and raise 1 question:
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As always with John, it is important to remember that John is not writing a daily diary - "What I did with Jesus today" - nor a historical biography - "Jesus: The Man, His Times, His Achievements."
John is writing at the end of his life, at the end of the first century (nearly 70 years after Jesus' execution and resurrection), at a time when the early Christian communities are under severe persecution from the Romans, and have lost all connections with their original Jewish roots. He is NOT writing to "the general public." He is writing to a threatened, small, inner group, who have no first-hand memory or experience of Jesus or of being Jewish. Their physical - and more importantly - their eternal lives are at stake. They need to "see" Jesus. They need to be embedded in Jesus, abiding in Jesus, so that they can withstand the fear and pain of Roman arrest, torture, and bloody executions.
