December 8, 2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1.27)

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7.6)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I heard the other day that Jesus taught simple lessons that were easy to understand. If that was the case, then how challenged were the disciples themselves who continued to ask for explanations. And if that is the case, then what about Jesus’ detractors? They certainly understood what Jesus was because they desired to interpret it in every way but the one they knew it meant. That would be a different kind of stupid, wouldn’t it? Perhaps the challenge for us all is not the words which Jesus used to frame the lessons of righteousness He was called to teach. Maybe it is our own need and perception of reality which causes “eyes to see not see” and “ears to hear not hear.” It may be easier to deny the truth but is it beneficial to do so? After all, the consequences between not understanding and feigning a lack of understanding are vastly different. If I truly do not understand, then I can’t actually be held accountable for it. But, if I know the truth and the challenge it presents to effect that truth is more than I am willing or capable to offer and so I deny the truth, then I am also aware of the consequence which those lessons warn me of.

And I gather that is what Jesus offered to those who were listening that day on the mount[ainside] near Capernaum: consequences. Leaving the interpretation of “dogs and pigs” as well as “sacred and pearls” to the mind of the audience, Jesus puts forth the consequences. “Don’t give DOGS the sacred food…even if it is just the scraps off the table.” So, when the non-Jewish woman approached Jesus with the request to heal her daughter, she most certainly was not casting a sacred request to a “dog.” It was Jesus of Nazareth, a great teacher and worker of miracles, who stood before her as He stood before even His own enemies who indeed looked upon Him as equal to or greater than (in the negative sense) a “dog.” They even accused Him of being possessed by Beelzebub or perhaps being Beelzebub himself. That would have made, in the Greek mind, Jesus a “hound of hell.” To the Jewish leadership, it was tantamount to being a Samaritan or an outcast like a scapegoat. He would have been far from sacred and far from welcome even to sit at their feet. Because the woman saw Jesus for who He was, He saw her for who she was. To Jesus, she was no mongrel dog who should stay outside the house and forage for scraps and garbage. Even house dogs were treated better than that. Hmmm, house “dogs.” Imagine if “dogs” were also images of male prostitutes used in temple worship, false temple worship, just as were women who had been committed to “the service of the temple.” Keep that in mind when you next hear the story of the “woman caught in adultery” and by whom she was so conveniently caught. Regardless, Jesus saw this woman without concern for her status in life related to anyone beside Himself. He saw her through the eyes of faith by which she saw Him. She spoke the truth in love and with wisdom that reached His own heart. She was not “of the House of Israel,” yet she was reacting to Him as if she knew full well what those who should know denied. She presented Him with a sacred honor. He presented her with a sacred response. The consequence of her wisdom was the healing of her daughter.

We know of the story of the merchant who sold all he had to possess a pearl of great price which had been overlooked among the refuse of harvesting. We know of the man who sold all he had to possess a field in which, while plowing for the planting of a harvest, found a buried treasure. The treasure went with the land. By tradition, seek Jeremiah for example, a treasure was buried in an unmarked space when a conquering enemy was approaching. After the time of their captivity was ended and they returned to the land, they would dig up the treasure and be rich again. In this case, no one had returned to claim the land so it was purchased and the rights of all its “treasure” would be his. Such stories were wisdom teachings and such wisdom was often represented as “pearls.” But, why would anyone invest wisdom and its benefits to those who could not, much less would not, enjoy them? So, casting pearls before swine, like the sower sowing seed on hard and rocky soil, offered little to no benefit. Jesus lauded the effort of the farmer for his steadfast work knowing that it took less effort to sow completely and harvest some than to make the whole of the ground workable and leave little time to sow and harvest (or settle for a small piece of ground out of a whole possession.) But, hear again about the pigs and the dogs. Their food was scraps and throw-aways. But, then who were those “pigs and dogs” but the throw aways and cast out of the world and of Israel. And who was Jesus called to minister to but “the lost of Israel and the cast out and cast away.”

So, is there an antithetical reasoning being presented by Jesus? As I reflected upon yesterday: who is who and what is what? With the lead in of “judge not and remember when you do the measure you use is the same measure used to then judge you,” we see that double-edged sword of God’s word at work. God’s justice and mercy apply to the just and the unjust. It is not bound by ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, privilege or the lack of it, etc. There is but one way, one truth and one life and we are all called to strive to dwell in the midst of it. It is the dwelling place of righteousness and Jesus is the model citizen of that kingdom which knows no end. In this teaching, Jesus again calls us all to investigate our attitudes and our intentions for our thoughts and actions. Are we aligned with the fragile and broken world or are we in step with the Kingdom of God and His righteousness which endures forever?

PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain this eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.