Reflection - Hesitation

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032917.cfm
IS 49:8-15
JN 5:17-30

There's must be something engaging about ranking deeds and documenting successes and failures. The extent to which you can find such cataloging and record-keeping is amazing. 

The most notable scientific achievements!

The top one hundred movies of the last century!

The all-time greatest NFL teams!

Major turning points in recorded history!

We encounter these testaments in magazines, newspapers, and the internet. We find that they are kept in all fields of mankind's experience. In art. In sports. In philosophy. In science. In history. In military battles. In space exploration. Etc., etc., etc. Often such documentation is hard to resist perusing. I'm not sure what is so attractive about such lists. Maybe it's just our fascination with trivia.

This past week I was reading a Scripture passage in which the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. Luke records the incident in his usual style. It is an event he finds worth reporting for which no time, date or specific place is offered. It involved a man who had not requested a cure---indeed, he physically had no voice with which to plead for one. Jesus' action certainly did no harm. Rather, it was, in fact, an unexpected blessing which focused attention on the cosmic battle whose initial skirmishes were being played out there on the hills of Judea. 

As I was reading Jesus' response, I sensed that I was hearing his reply for the very first time. "If," he says, "it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Luke 11:20) For some reason those words bounced around in my head looking for a familiar place to land. They didn't find one. It was as if I had never before heard them but instead, was there, hearing Jesus speak them . . . in his quiet, matter-of-fact manner . . . to a group of indignant Jewish officials. . . and I was witnessing the whole thing from just a few feet away.

I have never seen Jesus' statement or its consequences on a list; yet, that morning, as I read the text, it struck me that this was one of, if not the most remarkable statement in human history: "the kingdom of God has come upon you." We may not think about it much; but for those who believe Jesus' words are true, the import of the statement is as earth-shaking as proclaiming: "no one in the whole world is hungry," OR "tomorrow the earth will be replaced with a new and improved version," OR "all peoples can now live in peace without fear of man or beast." In fact, that's exactly what Jesus 

words mean. It's what was promised through the prophets, and we've been hearing about it for at least a week in our daily Scripture readings.

Last Friday we heard from the prophet Hoseah

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,

I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.

I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily;

His splendor shall be like the olive tree

     and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.

Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain;

They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be

     like the wine of Lebanon. (Hosea 14)

This past Monday it was from Isaiah

Thus says the LORD:

Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;

The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create;

For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;

I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people.

No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying;

No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;

He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,

and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.

They shall live in the houses they build,

and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant. (Isaiah 65).  

On Tuesday these were the prophet Ezekiel's words: 

Wherever the river flows,

     every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,

and there shall be abundant fish,

for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;

their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.

Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,

for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.

Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine. (Ezekiel 47)

And today Isaiah says: 

Thus says the LORD:

In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you;

and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,

To restore the land and allot the desolate heritages,

Saying to the prisoners: Come out! To those in darkness: Show yourselves!

Along the ways they shall find pasture,

     on every bare height shall their pastures be.

They shall not hunger or thirst,

     nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;

For [the Lord] who pities them

     leads them and guides them beside springs of water.

I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level.

Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,

     break forth into song, you mountains.

For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted.

[He] will never forget you. (Isaiah 49)

The words of the prophets were multi-dimensional words of promise---- promises to the Chosen People at the time the words were spoken and promises of what it would be like in the coming future Kingdom of God. The student of Scripture can easily find a number of these promises throughout the Old Testament, but particularly in the books of the Prophets and in the Wisdom literature. As to the occasion we are reflecting on here, Jesus says to those with questionable discernment: "If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." A statement like that requires some serious thought and, ultimately, a 'yes' or 'no' response.

When I was formally studying Scripture, my Scripture professor was disposed toward unsettling his students. He would drop some dissonant comment which, though pertinent to his discussion, was obscure in its meaning and provocative of further thought. Then he would proceed with his lecture as if nothing was amiss. To this end he remarked during one class session that Jesus came to bring the Kingdom and what we got was the church. Disconcerting to say the least. 

His statement might be taken to infer that the church was the best Jesus could do given the constraints of his situation . . . Or not. His statement might be understood to suggest that Jesus' mission was unsuccessful . . . or not. His statement might be read as to imply that the church is a second-rate option to the Kingdom but that's the best that could be managed . . . Or not.  His statement could be interpreted by some to mean that the Kingdom hasn't come . . . Or not. His statement could be read to mean we should be happy to get as much as we did . . . Or not. 

My own thoughts on the statement have oscillated over the years. Jesus did, in fact, come to bring the Kingdom. What we've got is, in fact, the church. But, as regards these two propositions, I would have to say, first of all that they are not mutually exclusive. It's not like we can have one or the other, but not both. We do have both; but it seems to me that I choose to---I might even say 'prefer to' ---live primarily in the church. I prefer to live amid this body of admitted sinners, struggling to one degree or another to surrender to life in the Kingdom. It's as if I am addicted to the bread and water I have at hand rather than risking all to find out if there's really a banquet behind door number two, the door to the Kingdom. 

I ponder why this is so. What is it that constrains me. So I came up with my own top ten most notable reasons as to why I hesitate to fully embrace the Kingdom Jesus offers.

     10  I don't want to be sent to preach the Gospel to S American cannibals. 

       9. I am comfortable with what I have and don't want to give it up.

       8. I have no desire to be beheaded.

       7.  I prefer to make up my own rules as I go along. 

       6. I can' fulfill my current obligations and don't want to take on more.

       5. My life is tough enough without being seen as 'the righteous one.'

       4. God doesn't give clear directions.

       3. My hearing is bad, my eyes are failing, and my heart is hard. 

       2.  I haven't seen the Kingdom banquet menu.

       1.   I have trust issues, especially with those I haven't met or hardly know.