The Trap

The Trap

Jesus tells another story, a parable, and it’s a trap. It’s about a Pharisee and a Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee, a respected teacher and authority on matters of Torah, gives a somewhat puffed up rundown of how he has practiced Torah fasting and tithing beyond the commands, unlike others “like this tax collector.” The Tax Collector, considered by many to be collaborating with the Roman oppressors by collecting tolls and taxes for Caesar and tacking on more for himself, on the other hand, looks up to God and simply says, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Luke, as narrator, frames it as being aimed at those who consider themselves righteous – in a right relationship with God – and who therefore “despise others.” And Luke tacks on a familiar conclusion by this time in his gospel: “…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Thus, how Luke frames the story leads one to the standard interpretation: the Tax Collector, because of his humility, leaves “justified,” while the Pharisee, as a result of his perceived arrogance, does not.

There are several problems with this interpretation. 1) Such an interpretation leads to negative and quite distorted views of Judaism and Torah, leading directly to tacit or outright anti-Semitism. Such negative views of Judaism and Temple ritual stands against both the teachings of Jesus and the witness of his followers who, long after his death and resurrection, Luke tells us in his second volume, The Acts of the Apostles, “day by day” continue to worship in the Temple together. 2) The parables of Jesus are meant to shock, surprise and make us think in new and different ways, which the standard interpretation does not do. The standard zero-sum solution, one must be justified and one is not, in the end is limits Divine Grace and Generosity, and leads us to practice the kind of elitist chauvinism this caricature of a Pharisee suggests. We are happy to be “saved” ourselves; we are less happy when those we dislike or look down on are also saved, especially if they are “sinners.” 3) And of course, all of us are sinners. There is that.

The standard interpretation suffers from several misconceptions of the world Jesus lives in regarding the place of the Temple in Judaism, the place of faithful practice of prayer and Torah in a communitarian culture, and as usual, an English translation issue. If it is at all shocking that the Tax Collector, a self-confessed sinner, is justified, a deeper understanding of the world in which this parable lives can lead to an even more shocking conclusion!

Worshipping in the Jerusalem Temple was not limited to male descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. Quite the contrary, people from all over the ancient world, female and male, were welcome as the Temple had a place for everyone to stand: the Holy of Holies for the Ark of the Covenant, the Sacrificing Altar for the Priests, a court for Jewish men, a court for Jewish women, and an outer court for everyone else, i.e. Gentiles. Life in the Temple, and throughout the land of Israel, was communitarian. Jewish prayers speak to “Our Father…Give us…Forgive us….”. Praying in the plural recognizes that each member of the community is responsible for every other. The Temple is where we come to remember this and make things right.

That is, the negative practices, sins, of one person can negatively impact everyone else, just as the good deeds of one person can positively impact the whole community. Similarly, the Temple sacrifices were offered for the well-being of the whole community. In the story before us, it is likely that first-century Jews understood that the Tax Collector with his prayer of atonement might tap into the merits and practices of the Pharisee, especially since he stands in the very place where atonement can be attained: the Temple. Just as one person’s actions can bring calamity upon the community, so can the merited behavior of one person save the whole community. It is just such an understanding that leads Christians to believe that Jesus’s actions and faithfulness allows others to be justified.

Then there is the problem with verse 14a, most often translated, “I tell you, this man [the Tax Collector] went down to his house justified rather than the other.” Yet, it can also be rendered, “To you, I say, descending to his house, this one is justified alongside that one.” The Greek word in question is para, from which we get such words as ‘parallel,’ ‘paradox,’ and ‘parable.’ It can mean “rather than,” but just as often it means, “alongside of,” or “because of.” To judge one or the other as “better” is to fall into the trap of the parable. To judge one or the other leaves us believing that God’s mercy and forgiveness is limited – which goes against that core Biblical teaching that “the sun shines on both the good and the bad, on the just and unjust alike.” To dismiss them both also traps us, since few of us are as overwhelmingly good as the Pharisee, nor as sinful as the Tax collector.

Which is why the more challenging interpretation of the parable rests on the very generosity that allows the Tax Collector to benefit from the collective repentance of the Temple system and the good deeds people like the Pharisee. [Amy Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus, p. 211] Yet, often this is what we want for ourselves, but don’t want others to have. Yet, deep down inside we know this does not sound like a consequence Jesus wants to teach us. Jesus teaches and practices the wideness of God’s mercy. God’s love, forgiveness and mercy are limitless and available to all. There’s enough for everyone. It is not a zero-sum, either-or world that Jesus practices.

Amy Jill Levine likens this all to a middle-school-group-project. One person may have the wisdom, one artistic talent, one can provide the snacks, and one appears to contribute nothing. Yet, if the project gets an A, all four benefit, even the one who did nothing. “This may seem unfair, but what if it is because the other three of us dismiss him as lazy or stupid. The other three may signal disappointment at his being assigned to our group. He may have felt unworthy in our presence. Yet, he trusted us and the system. Had the rest of us been more generous with him rather than resentful, we would have learned more as well. And what if he didn’t care at all? What if he depended on us, even though we were fools for doing his work for him? What we do is still worthwhile. We can afford to be generous. There are other systems of justice (e.g. test grades, a final judgment) in which his contributions or sins well be assessed.” [ibid p 211- 212]

In the end, like all parables, the story is left unresolved. Does the Pharisee praise God, or praise and only care for himself? Does the Tax Collector change his job and offer restitution to those he ripped off, or must he continue to work for Caesar’s Empire? Is only the Tax Collector justified in the end? Or, is he justified along with and because of the extraordinary life of the Pharisee? Do we believe we are our sister’s and brother’s keeper? Do we choose to live in a communitarian world where we all have something to contribute, even if what we give is the opportunity for someone else to provide us a benefit? And if our good deeds aid someone else, rather than begrudge them, why not celebrate and live a life in which all are justified? Will we despise others? Or, will we work and pray on behalf of the common good for all people?

The choices are left to us. Deep down inside we all know the choices Jesus makes. Will we fall into the traps in this story? Or, will we walk in the way Jesus calls us to follow? We know God’s goodness and mercy exceeds all that we can either desire or ask for! Thanks be to God forever and ever. Amen!

Faith and Law

Emunah and Halakhah

Walking on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus tells another story, about a widow demanding justice from a judge. He says it is about prayer, but quickly it becomes about faith and justice. It ends asking, When the Son of Man appears, will he find faith on earth? [Luke 18-8] The Hebrew word for faith is אמונה, emunah, and is an action-oriented word meaning "support". This is important because the Western concept of faith places the action on the one you have faith in, such as "faith in God". But, the Hebrew word emunah places the responsibility of action on those of us who "support God". When the Israelites find themselves embattled with a foe, as long as Moses holds his hands up, they prevail. When he tires and lets them down, they lose ground. Eventually, two of the Israelites find a rock for him to sit on, and then each of them hold up one of his arms. This is emunah. This is what faith looks like in the Bible: supporting and assisting others. All others.

As in we are to support and to love our neighbor, especially widows, orphans and the alien who lives among us – we are to provide them with daily bread. We are to give them a place to stay. We are to provide safety for them. And, “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. [Leviticus 19:33-34] That is, true faith is striving for justice and peace for all people, loving your neighbor as yourself. And remembering where we come from and who saved us.

That is, we are to live according to the laws of the God of Israel: the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. This is called הֲלָכָה, halakhah – which is often translated as Judeo-Christian Law, but literally means “the path one walks.” The basic Biblical understanding of faith has nothing to do with what comes out of our mouths, what we say and believe. People are willing to say all kinds of things, and confess all sorts of beliefs, but it is our actions that matter in the world God creates for us, for all people and all creatures. In fact, halakhah demands that in addition to observing sabbath, praying at least twice a day, what to do when we wake up and go to bed, most important of all is the love we are to have for all other people and all creatures. Halakhah insists that neither people nor animals are to be mistreated. Neither God nor people look at what comes out of our mouths, but watch where our feet take us to provide justice for all people, all creatures and this fragile island home, the Earth. We are to walk the walk.

So, as we read that a widow comes to a judge asking for justice, [Luke 18:1-8] we immediately recall she represents a special protected class of people without resources. We are not told who her opponent is, nor what sort of justice she desires, but we do know that to live a life of faith, of halakha, it has to do with someone being required to do something that will improve her life. The judge we are told neither cares for God, nor does he care for people. We might say he is a secular rationalist. He does not reverence God, nor does he walk in God’s ways, and he does not follow human opinion polls, but rather does his job as he sees fit – which in some ways may make him an impartial and just judge.

Yet, he betrays his lack of concern for people in that he does care about his reputation. For when the text says that due to her persistence she will “wear him out,” the word literally means to “give him a black eye.” That is, his reputation will suffer if he does not grant her justice as understood in the halakhah YHWH has commanded. He will lose both his reputation and his privileged place in the community. The story is about faith, emunah, and that faith means doing justice, doing love of neighbor, including love of widows, orphans and resident aliens. This was summed up neatly by the prophet Micah approximately 700 years before the time of Jesus: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Granted, the judge in the story is not particularly humble, but he does do what is required whether or not he regards the teachings of halakhah. Jesus’s question, “When the Son of Man returns will he find faith on earth?” it means he expects to find anyone who claims to be walking in his way to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. That is, emunah, or faith, is the sum of our actions on behalf of God and of others – all others. There is no neutral stance – faith is action, action is faith. It is also true that prayer is action, and action is prayer.

This is true even among the most mundane things that we do, e.g. wash our hands, do the dishes, share a meal with others, observe sabbath. When everything we do is for God and for others, there is justice for all, and that is the sign that we are faithful people. This attentiveness to what we do is what Tich Nhat Hanh calls being mindful of every little thing we do. We are to remember that it is not about having faith “in God, and that God will do something for us,” but rather that the word emunah requires action from those of us who support God, support others, and walk on the path of God’s ways, God’s halakhah. It’s about being mindful of what we do.

That is, we are those people who speak God’s truth to Power, and are the hands and feet of God in this world. Bishop Desmond Tutu spoke of the life of faith as not remaining neutral and doing nothing in the face of injustice and the falseness of this world. Those who suffer are not at all impressed by our neutrality. The recently deceased  Congressman Elijah Cummings, my representative in the United States Congress, summed this up earlier this year commenting on the risk, pain, sacrifice and suffering Michael Cohen had undertaken by testifying before the House Oversight Committee: “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question we’ll be asked is: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say and do nothing?”

This parable of Jesus declares a resounding, “No!” Jesus expects to see those of us who call ourselves Christians, whose faith means to walk the path he walked to Jerusalem and do the things that faith calls us to do on behalf of others, not standing on the side lines, but engaged in actions that declare that our hope and our faith is that the falseness of this world is ultimately bounded by a greater truth. And that acts of faith, hope, justice and charity are the very essence of what it means to be human, created in the image of God. Female and male, God creates us in God’s own image which is that of a God who loves, gives and is merciful.

As the Old Testament declares repeatedly, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” [Exodus 34:6] This is the God Jesus knows. The God who has faith in us to walk in his way. Jesus walks in the way of this God, in the ways of emunah and halakhah. In this little parable, Jesus urges us to be persistent in having the kind of faith that continually is acting on behalf of God and of others. So that when we are dancing with the angels there will be no question that we are not those people who live their lives on the side lines, but that we are those who walk in the way of the Lord. The question remains, When the Son of man comes will he find faith on earth?

Faith Is A Verb

Faith Is A Verb

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" (insert a still audible,”Sighhhhhhh…” before he answers): "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. – Luke 17:5-6 The disciples want more faith. As if faith is a commodity. As if faith is quantifiable. According to Jesus, just the tiniest bit of faith is enough. Mustard seeds are tiny – and yet, that seed can grow into a tree of anywhere from six to thirty feet tall under ideal conditions!

Faith is best understood as a verb, not a noun. Or, suggests Fredrick Buechner, more as a process than a possession. “It is on-again-off-again rather than once-and-for-all. Faith is not being sure where you’re going but going anyway. A journey without maps. Tillich said that doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” And as to doubt Buechner writes, “Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don’t have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.” [Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Frederick Buechner, Harper&Row, pp 20&25]

Faith, then, has at least two dimensions: 1) This first dimension, as Hebrews has it, is our assurance or trust in things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And we know that the vast majority of creation, the universe, remains unseen; and 2) To act and to live in ways that sustain the hope that the falseness of this world is ultimately bounded by a greater truth and light despite the fact that the world rarely provides much evidence that such hope is justified. [Stanley Hauerwas, A Community of Character]

Faith throughout the Bible means something like holding up or supporting others when they are weary or in need – even when we may be exhausted ourselves. It also can mean allowing others to support and hold us up – especially when we are exhausted or losing our faith.

While reading the Sports section of the Baltimore Sun the other morning (Thursday, October 3, 2019) Peter Schmuck described what was undoubtedly the best thing that happened at M&T Bank Stadium last Sunday: the celebration of O.J. Brigance’s 50^th Birthday. Brigance was on the Ravens 2001 Super Bowl winning team and had a 13-year NFL career. In 2007 he was diagnosed with ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Yet, he remains with the organization as a senior adviser for player development. And he, and his wife Chanda have founded the Brigance Brigade Foundation to help victims and families of victims of the disease deal with the impact of ALS on their lives. The day Brigance was diagnosed, he and Chanda fell to the floor in the kitchen racked with tears and uncertainty. “Through their faith, O.J. and Chanda knew they would be OK and their attention turned to others in need. The Brigances chose to be a beacon of light for those affected — to show you can remain positive, continue to love and continue to feel the blessings of the life you were given, no matter the circumstances.” [Schmuck, ibid]

As 60,000 fans sang happy birthday to him, Brigance broke out in a big smile that lit up the entire stadium. Thanks to AAC (augmentative alternative communication) devices and Tobii Eye Trackers, people with ALS (PALS) can speak. And after the singing OJ addressed the crowd: “It’s an honor to be considered an inspiration, but we began this whole journey to help those that are walking the same journey. We have focused on how we can be a blessing to others, instead of focusing purely on what is happening with us. The opportunity to establish a lasting legacy of hope is something that we are very proud of. One of our greatest joys comes when someone shares how our actions or words have encouraged them in their lives.” [Ibid]

Brigance is not alone in living his life of faith despite ALS. A long-time friend in Maine, Sue Gawler, a Botanist and Regional Vegetation Ecologist at NatureServe, succumbed to the disease a little over four years ago. After not having seen her for many years, she began to communicate with me on Facebook, responding to my posted sermons. As a scientist she was also a person of deep faith, and like Brigance, she also possessed an irrepressible 50,000 Watt smile. It was a low time in my life, and I was constantly buoyed by her positive spirit as we ‘discussed’ the intersections of science and religion. As her ALS progressed, she eventually got an AAC device and Tobii Eye Tracker. She kept up with the world and all her friends who, like myself, felt supported by her while we tried our best to support her. Our FaceBook conversations helped to get me through some of my darkest times. While in Maine conducting a memorial service for a musician friend of some nearly 50 years, I called her brother John to see if I could visit. Alas, she had just gone down for a nap, but Kirk Jr, my friend of 50 plus years John Koehler and I, did stop in Belgrade Lakes, Maine, to talk with John. “It’s the darndest thing,” said her brother, “but despite everything else, her smile remains even on the most difficult days. It just continues to shine all the time. Those face muscles have just been trained to do nothing but smile.”

Sue posted this on her 60^th birthday: “What a fantabulous 60th birthday I had last Friday,,! First,, all the wonderful posts from you, my fb friends.... I read them all, and sent love to each of you as I did; I'm sorry not to have the eye strength to Like each one.” The day after she died her sister posted this, “Able to say goodbye to my darling sister today. What a beautiful inspiration she has been to us all! She wanted to die peacefully, and that's what she accomplished. Right up until the end, she managed it all with such wisdom, and with exquisite compassion for her loved ones. And now . . . Radiating loving-kindness over the entire world . . .Meg Gawler”

Recently, another friend, Robert Benjamin, has been diagnosed with ALS. Bob and I were religion majors and studied Hebrew together in college. We have kept in touch throughout the years, with Bob usually calling me with a theological or Biblical question. I was devastated to learn of his diagnosis, but that devastation is turned to wonder when I talk to him on the phone, which is difficult for him, and when I visited him last May. Bob is Jewish and in a continuing care center. He joined a Christian Bible Study group there to continue his faith journey, and has become one of the leaders in the group. He also heard of a woman who missed her Catholic Mass on the Sundays there was no visiting priest. Bob said, “Let’s you and I have time together on those Sundays and worship together.” He told me that since he has accepted his diagnosis, he has found a whole new purpose in life beyond his career at Goldman Sachs. He lives his faith through supporting the faith of others – all others, no matter how their faith may differ from his. As I traveled around the facility with Bob in his motorized chair, the greetings and smiles from everyone we passed in the halls were testimony to the positive power of Bob’s witness to his faith. Like OJ and Sue, Bob lives his faith in action.

These stories of faith, I believe, illustrate what Jesus was telling his disciples. There is no quantity to faith, only quality. And there is only quality in faith when you live it, share it and give it away. For that is what is meant by the Bible’s instruction, to love one’s neighbor, whoever it may be. The falseness of this world is bounded by greater truth and light thanks to people like OJ Brigance, Sue Gawler and Bob Benjamin. A mustard seeds bit of faith does change lives.