74. Parables on the Worth of Sinners

All of us can understand the desire to reject those who do not fit in. Think back to that Petri dish of tribalism: High School. There was always an in-crowd, and the in-crowd always rejected the misfits. It was the only way to remain the in-crowd, right? If you associated with the misfits, you could no longer claim to be the in-crowd, and being the in-crowd was central to your identity. This kind of thinking goes on everywhere in our lives: We define ourselves as much by those whom we reject as those whom we accept.

For Jesus, there was only one tribe to belong to, and it was called the kingdom of God. All were welcome to join that tribe if they met the conditions for entrance: Love God with all your soul, mind, heart and strength; love your neighbor as yourself; love your enemy.

The scribes and Pharisees, in their rejection and condemnation of sinners, were clearly not interested in the kingdom of God -- otherwise they would be helping sinners see what they needed to do to gain entrance. Instead, the scribes and Pharisees were interested in the “kingdom of men” and the ego gratification that came with feeling pious and superior to the sinners. In other words, they were interested in protecting their limited, egocentric identity at the expense of an identity based in God – which, if anything, is defined as an attitude of compassion and inclusion and mercy toward all.

Jesus perceived that the kingdom of God is our primary, collective identity, and that the survival of the Jews, and eventually of all humankind, depended on people gaining entrance. That is why when one who is outside the kingdom (a “sinner”) enters in, there is reason for all to rejoice.

75. God vs Mammon

There is probably nothing more urgent in the world today than to redefine our relationship to money. In our society and in much of the world, money is the final arbiter of value, the metric we use to measure the failure and success of our most critical decisions – from how we use our natural resources, to how we conduct foreign policy, to who we elect as our local, state and national leaders. Driving home the degree to which money has become our master, we have even renamed ourselves in its image, calling ourselves “consumers” and measuring our self-worth by our net worth. Through a powerful process of cultural mutation, we have become, as one economist put it, a new species: “Homo Economicus.”

Unfortunately, our economic selves are often at odds with our physical selves. For example, fearing the economic implications, we cannot bring ourselves to adequately address or even acknowledge the realities of global warming, deforestation, ozone depletion and a host of other life-threatening ills that have as their common root cause over-consumption. Trapped by our human-made cultural value system, we act as if our survival is more dependent on the artifice of economics than on the reality of a healthy biosphere.

This is why Jesus says you cannot serve both God and mammon: You cannot be free to see and respond to reality if you are already enslaved to the almighty dollar – or yen, or yuan, or baht, or euro or whatever.

Serve God, or serve mammon. One choice keeps our evolutionary possibilities alive; the other ultimately shuts them down. As a society it is clear what choice we have made. But it may not be too late to change our minds.

[See also “Teaching About Reliance on Wealth” (Commentary 12-67), “Relation of Possessions to Eternal Life” (Commentary 14-85), “The Rich Publican of Jericho” (Commentary 14-88).]

76. Parable on the Futility of Duty

The servants in Jesus’ parable lack freedom. When we operate out of duty or obligation we are like those servants – enslaved by the demands and expectations of our culture. This is not hard to relate to. Just think about all the things you do not because you want to do them, but because you feel you should do them. That is slavery. If you think about it long enough you’ll probably reach the conclusion that you operate in slave mode the vast majority of the time. But that is not how we are meant to live. We are meant to be free.

This is not to say that we should only do what we feel like doing; the point is to be aware of what we do and why, and to act out of conscious volition. Are we cutting two inches off the pot roast because that is how it was always done, or because the roast is indeed too big for our pan?

I remember talking to a friend of mine who said her goal was to own her home by the time she was 30. I asked her why she chose that goal. She could not answer. While most everyone she knew would say yes, great goal, she could not produce her own internal, autonomous reason for adopting it. She was driven by a cultural value system that had never been examined in the light of her own interests and priorities. Had she done so, she may have still kept the same goal, or she may not have. But whatever she decided, it would have been her choice; not an unconscious, inherited set of priorities.

When our choices are autonomous, they have lasting value. When they are not, disillusionment is often the result. Think about your own experience of acting out of duty, and ask yourself if the outcome wasn’t ultimately a loss of energy and drive mixed in with a good amount of resentment. Doing things out of duty is like running off of a non-rechargeable battery. We can do it for while but eventually we run out of energy and grind to a halt. This may be what depression is all about. But doing things based on an autonomous relationship with reality is like running off of an outlet: the energy supply never ends.

77. Several Sayings of Jesus

The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.

This hearkens back to Jesus’ earlier saying: the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Do not be a slave to custom and tradition. Choose to do what you do because it is the right thing for life. If the custom no longer serves a useful purpose, be free enough to leave it and move on.

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

Jesus seems to be saying that in the religious life, there is no middle ground. We are either aligned with God’s will, or we are not. Those who are aligned are serving the same power or purpose as Jesus. Those who are not aligned are serving some other power or purpose.

This is not an example of religious intolerance; it is simply stating the obvious. This may be more clear if we put it another way: We are either complying with the laws of reality, or we are rebelling against them. There are really no other choices.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.

Who were the false prophets Jesus was referring to? The scribes and Pharisees – those who professed to teach the path to God, but who in actuality preached irrational adherence to outdated rules and customs that, rather than serving the God’s will, served only their own egocentric drive for power, prestige and wealth.

78. Parable on Deferred Judgement

The first thing we might ask ourselves after reading this parable is, what is a fig tree doing in a vineyard? It does not seem to belong. Worse, it produces no fruit, so the caretaker is instructed to cut it down. But the caretaker demurs, saying, let me see if I can’t nurture this tree so that it bears some fruit, before we make an irreversible decision.

What comes to mind when reading this parable is the situation where a stranger is inserted into an established gathering – say a group of co-workers, or friends from a social club. Often our initial impulse is to reject the stranger – to ignore them and to feel relief when they depart. Picking up the vibes, the stranger in turn may be quiet and not add much value to whatever is going on, justifying the group’s original impulse to reject him or her.

In such situations, Jesus is recommending a different response. Don’t instinctively reject the foreign element, the stranger. Be inclusive. Make them feel welcome. Create the conditions for their participation and see what contribution they might make before passing judgment.

79. Time of the Kingdom of God

The Pharisees believed that the kingdom of God would arrive on the heels of an apocalyptic event, where the righteous are lifted to the heavens and the sinners sent to burn in hell. As we’ve seen, Jesus had a very different conception of the kingdom of God. It is not a physical place you can point to, but an attitude of being, a spirit of love and compassion and inclusion. Jesus no doubt saw himself as a vehicle of that spirit, and that may be what he meant when he said, “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

[See also “Discourse on the Kingdom of God” (Commentary 7-34), “Limits of the Kingdom of God” (Commentary 12-69), “Essential for Entrance into Kingdom” (Commentary 14-84), and “Time of the Kingdom of God” (Commentary 14-89).]

80. Parables on Importunity in Prayer

Persistence in general pays off, does it not? So also in prayer. This parable harkens back to Jesus’ instruction to “seek, knock and ask” and it shall be given to you. If you want to know what God’s will is for your life, if you are struggling to make some important decision and need guidance, be persistent in your appeal, and you will get the answer you seek. Maybe not the answer you want, but certainly the answer you need.

81. Several Sayings of Jesus

Have faith in God. All things are possible to him that believeth. If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea; and it would have obeyed you.

“Have faith in God.” What is faith? What is God? These are two huge questions that need to be explored before we can reasonably attempt to understand this saying.

Earlier we discussed faith as looking forward to a positive outcome, based on experience. Should we have faith that we can jump off a cliff and fly like a bird? Of course not. Nothing in our experience would justify such a belief. That is not faith. That is ignorance.

Someone once said that faith is not sitting on a chair that is not there; faith is the nobler of two hypotheses.

And what is God? In our exploration we have used God to mean ultimate Reality. The proposition here is that there is an objective reality (of which we are part) and that it is, at least to some extent, discoverable and knowable.

So is Jesus simply saying, have faith in Reality? Have faith in a process, a set of discoverable laws, that when obeyed can be used to accomplish wondrous things?

Perhaps what Jesus meant would be clearer if he had put it this way:

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this man, Be thou lifted up, and be thou set down on the surface of the moon; and he would have obeyed you.

And his name would be Neil Armstrong.

A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Even so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father.

This saying seems at odds with earlier teachings about doing things in secret so that our Father, who seeth in secret, can recompense us. One possible explanation is that Jesus is making a slightly different point, one more related to his teaching about not hiding your light under a bushel. If you have discovered something of value, share it, so that others may reap the same benefits.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. For with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you. Freely ye received, freely give.

People frequently report that when they do things for others, they invariably get more out of the experience than those who are the recipients of the giving. (Our saying that “it is better to give than to receive” is probably a reflection of this fundamental truth.) Often, the act of giving fills us with a sense of connection and gratitude that we do not get any other way.

Of course, given that all life is one, interconnected whole, this makes perfect sense. When we give to others, we are giving to a whole system that includes ourselves. So we are both the giver and the recipient. It can be no other way.

The condition, however, is that the giving be free – no attachments, no expectations of response, no desire for reciprocity. Freely ye received, freely give.

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

This teaching is often interpreted as Jesus acknowledging his own Godhood. It stands in stark contrast to his other teachings, which are all remarkably lacking in self-reference. Because of this, Sharman did not believe this teaching was authentic. We each can draw our own conclusion

82. Parable on the Basis of Justification

If we fully face our own humanity, we will not harshly judge or condemn others, because we understand what it means to say “there but for the grace of God, go I.”

The Pharisee is alienated from his own humanity, and maintains the illusion of superiority. The publican – a sinner in the eyes of Jews for cooperating with the Romans and collecting their taxes – harbors no such illusions, and faces himself head-on.

We are all publicans. We are all Pharisees. The key to it all is acceptance.