During our chat in Fellowship Hour, Ron B. talked about the lack of workmanship in the roofing industry. It never came to my mind that an actual hammer was used to fasten roofing shingles before a nail gun or stapler. According to Ron, it requires skill to put shingles together. To do so, a hammer is preferred over a conveniently manufactured stapler. Otherwise, nails that are not as durable as they used to be become easily rusty after about eight years. This can be a cause for leaks.
There’s simple wisdom in Ron’s story. My takeaway is that there’s a tension between a long-term and short-term solution. A quick fix is always tempting and popular, especially in our fast-paced culture. Fast food, for example, alleviates hunger quickly. Instant gratification and dopamine are closely linked in the brain’s reward system, which influences decision-making, prioritizing immediate pleasure over long-term benefits. What makes our decisions skillful is looking at their long-term effects. In the gospel lesson this morning, we see the constant following of the crowd wherever Jesus goes. There seems to be an invisible tension between what Jesus wants and what the crowd wants. Usually, we would assume that tension isn’t a positive thing, but not always. The tension between Jesus and the crowd keeps its balance by Jesus’ compassion. His desire to “teach” is challenged by the crowd’s desire for a cure, yet he doesn’t push his wish. He does what he can while taking all his chances, I imagine, to teach the presence of God. Unfortunately, the gospel lesson doesn’t tell us if anyone from the crowd “learned” from Jesus’ teaching. All are there to be cured. The crowd’s desire for a cure from Jesus is understandable. Who doesn’t want their loved ones to be cured of illnesses? We all do, and Jesus does get the urgent need. I guess the tension between Jesus and the crowd isn’t so much about either/or but his compassion for them to go beyond taking advantage of his miraculous power of curing the ill. He wants the crowd to move beyond miracles. He wants to offer them long-term relief and resolution to their sufferings in life that don’t always require his physical presence as well as his supernatural power. What then is this long-term resolution Jesus so desires to teach? Again and again, for him, there’s nothing more imperative and essential than the presence of God within. All those whom he miraculously cures would eventually die. Think about Lazarus. He is returned to life after he dies, but this doesn’t mean he’s immortal. He dies again. All, yes every single human being and all living species, are subject to aging, illness, and death. Considering these human conditions, medicine still is a short-term resolution. It’s no big surprise that modern medicine always strives to be a long-term answer for humanity to live forever. Jesus finds his long-term solution to human conditions within. No need to look further but always and only within. The presence of God within costs nothing, but one has to “pay” full attention. It’s always free and always available to all, but one has to “invest” one’s time. Perhaps its hidden nature in plain sight and one’s ignorance would be why no one values it though it is priceless. The presence of God within may be the overlooked jewel. Nevertheless, Jesus continues to cure, not just for the sake of quick relief but for the long-lasting relief that no longer requires him physically, so they would cultivate God’s presence within themselves. This cultivation of the presence would be what St. Paul talks about in his letters to the Ephesians: “In him, the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.” (Ephesians 2:22, italics mine) So my friends in Christ, quick fix or enduring remedy? Prayerfully, the latter! It's hard to comprehend the tragic and unfair death of a person with the integrity and wisdom of St. John the Baptist. It wouldn’t trouble us if he had died of old age or illness. But to be beheaded because of the politically driven ulterior motives of Herodias and her daughter Salome? For Herodias’ sake, she had been “watching over” the words and deeds of John and was displeased with his criticism of her marriage to Herod. After all, the right ingredients of the dance, and perhaps lots of drinks, so easily convinced Herod’s mind. Herod generously and solemnly offered Salome, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” Her response was so simple: “The head of John the Baptist.”
We might ask the hard question of why. Why does God not intervene and stop this evil scheme? Raising this question is a very human response since we are prone to make sense of events that do not meet our expectations and predictions. This question of why then informs us more about our expectations of what God is supposed to do and our disappointment when God does not meet those expectations. If we push this reflection, then we might conclude, “‘That’ God who meets our expectations and predictions doesn’t exist.” or “God in reality is different from our expectations and predictions.” We might still seek “the” answer to this why. There are numerous theology books on the subject of theodicy or the problem of evil. I won’t delve into all the different ways of justifying why God doesn’t prevent evil. It’s because no reason can justify a death caused by humans, regardless of what good might come from it. No suffering can be justified; there is no cause that is worth more than life itself. The only one who can make meaning out of suffering is the person who is actually going through it, not an outsider or bystander. So, I recommend that we live and bear with this difficult “why,” but I wouldn’t want us to be clueless about it. Rather, I direct our attention to Jesus who asks the same question, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” on the cross and receives no answer himself. Let’s look at what Jesus does after encountering the death of John. One might stay away from any association with John out of fear that Herodias would try to kill those who share John’s criticism of her and Herod. Jesus does the opposite. He continues the teachings of John. It’s not a mistake that his message is the same as John’s: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3:2) Instead of dissociating himself from John, Jesus takes over to the point where some are saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; and for this reason, these powers are at work in him.” (Mark 6:14) Even Herod himself believes, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” (Mark 6:16) Jesus’ actions can be perceived as heroic, but there’s more. He has the ultimate reason to continue John’s ministry: the inner presence of God that John taught. The question of why isn’t to be answered by our creation of what God ought to be but lived out within the understanding that God is beyond life and death. Cultivating this presence of God within, Jesus demonstrates how to live with the why and invites us to live out the why. In this way, God is not a far-distant being but a reality intimately embodied within us. This reality of God’s presence within moves Jesus to carry on no matter what. My friends in Christ, I invite you to take the journey from why to where and then to here and now within, especially when you encounter hardships and challenges in life. This is the journey the risen Christ is with you always. One of the most practical tips on relationships that Jesus has ever offered us can be found in today’s gospel lesson: “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”
Why are prophets without honor and recognition among people they have known since they were young? Is it because these people know who they really are, or because they believe that the prophets are the same as they used to be and there’s no expectation that they have changed? Probably yes to all these questions. But the heart of the matter lies in their rejection of any change that has taken place in the lives of the prophets. Their narrative might go like this: “I cannot accept that you’ve changed so radically when I remain the same. I still remember who you used to be, and don’t you act ‘holier than thou’ to me!” Has anyone experienced this unwelcome or unaccepting response from those you’ve known for a while when you shared your insights that demonstrate you’ve developed and matured spiritually? In Jesus’ case, those who have known him and are from his neighborhood are clearly rejecting this radically new image of Jesus and his words and behaviors. So, they say, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” They are upset that he has changed so much. In their eyes, he should be, and still is, one of them—uninteresting, undistinguished, and unvaried. Now he’s trying to be someone else. After all, their reactions say more about who they are rather than who Jesus was or truly is. Jesus has changed, and they haven’t yet. At this point, let’s look into what changes have occurred in Jesus. They can see the wisdom in him and the skillful deeds he performs. He does what he teaches and teaches what he does. This is the power of his thoughts, words, and deeds. This consistency shines through him, which his old friends and neighbors can see but don’t want to accept as a source of their own change. The source of Jesus’ radical transformation is from within. He proclaims what he experiences within. That’s the good news he is so determined to share with all. The presence of God is already planted. It is patiently waiting to be seen, cultivated, and developed. This act of seeing, cultivating, and developing is nothing but the change of the heart that searches within, not without. Unfortunately, his old neighbors and friends aren’t yet ready to look within. A sense of envy gets in their way of the presence of God within. They close their boundaries out of jealousy and isolate themselves with walls of ignorance. When our emotional and spiritual boundaries are closed, there’s no learning. This defense of boundaries may feel like protecting ourselves, but one ends up being locked up in one’s own world. Jesus isn’t accepted in his hometown. His disciples are sent and are also expected to be rejected. When the teaching of God’s inner presence is refused, Jesus tells them to shake off their feet. This shouldn’t be perceived as a mark of God’s rejection of them but as a sign to return to them. Now, let’s narrow today’s lesson down to ourselves. Is there a part of you that doesn’t accept the change that the presence of God brings to your mind? Is there a voice that says, “You’re always like that. Don’t even bother changing yourself. Don’t try to be someone who is not you!” Or is there a voice that discourages you from praying, contemplating, and meditating? If so, shake off the dust. Put a post-it on that part and continue to cultivate the part of you that sees and experiences the inner presence of God. This is the holy work you can do for yourself and others. The more we convince and change those parts of ourselves that are not willing to be transformed by the Breath of God, the more we become whole, holistic, and holy, radiating the divine light from within. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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