Pentecost 17B, 2000
Mark 8: 27-38
RECLAIMING THE HUMANITY OF JESUS...
“He comes as yet unknown into a hamlet of Lower Galilee.
He is watched by the cold, hard eyes of peasants
living long enough at subsistence level
to know exactly where the line is drawn between poverty and destitution.
“He speaks about the rule of God,
and they listen as much from curiosity as anything else.”
(John D Crossan)
John Dominic Crossan,
the author of the epigraph of this sermon about the one called Jesus, is an Irishman,
a former priest and now retired professor of biblical studies,
and a leader in the contemporary understanding of Christian thought
as expressed through The Jesus Seminar/Westar Institute.
(He also celebrated his 90th birthday this year, 2024)
I respond very positively to the work of Westar Institute
because I feel their work is refreshingly honest.
The words which I used to introduce this Contemporary Exploration...
are taken from Crossan’s 500+ page book: The Historical Jesus. The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant.
And as you may have guessed from its title
it offers a picture of this Jesus as a Jewish peasant,
living under Roman rule.
Many have likened this study to a similar work on the historical Jesus
by Albert Schweitzer, published more than 80 years ago.
Now I [stil] haven’t read the whole book
but what I can say from my reading so far is, during the time of Jesus
there seems to have been at least two streams of thought within Judaism:
exclusive Judaism, and
inclusive Judaism.
• Exclusive Judaism sought to preserve the ancient traditions
as conservatively as possible.
• Inclusive Judaism sought to adapt the ancient traditions
through association, combination and collaboration.
I mention this because these two streams
act as background for Jesus’ teaching as a sage.
And they act as foreground for the question storyteller ‘Mark' has Jesus asking his disciples in today’s gospel story:
What are people saying about me?
Who do people say I am?
oo0oo
I, like all of you I'm sure, have my own picture of Jesus.
It is shaped by the stories in the gospels and the thinking of several theologians and biblical scholars.
It is a constructed picture - more as a painting than a photograph -
and I admit I have ignored those things I find questionable
as does any biblical student or Bible interpretation.
For instance:
I first became aware of the work of The Jesus Seminar in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Initially it was comprised of a group of more than
75 internationally recognised biblical scholars
who met to share their thinking and research on the Bible.
In their first report, titled
The Five Gospels. The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus,
they voted on the authenticity of the stories of the New Testament...
• Jesus probably said those words (Red)
• Jesus probably said something like those words (Pink)
• Jesus didn’t say it but it contains his ideas (Grey)
• Jesus didn’t say it. They have been put into his mouth by his followers or the early church (Black).
When I checked today’s gospel story
I found those scholars reckon it falls into the fourth category.
And somehow I agree.
It does suggest Jesus in an atypical situation.
Apart from John’s Gospel, maybe written
as much as 90 years after the life of Jesus,
Jesus does not initiate a dialogue with his own identity as the focus.
So does this conclusion from modern biblical scholarship
change my picture of Jesus?
No.
In my picture of Jesus, I see him as a young man,
going to see his cousin John,
and being ‘washed’ by John.
In my picture of Jesus, I see him as a young man,
going to see his cousin John,
and being ‘washed’ by John.
What moves me is that Jesus began his public activities with a sense of inadequacy.
He went to the Jordan to be empowered, for he knew his imperfection.
Or perhaps better, his sense of being ‘human’.
The next thing that strikes a vibrant chord in me, is the story of the so-called ‘calling’ of his intimates.
He attracted those who would ultimately be close to him
ordinary folk
fisherfolk
labourers.
Then I am touched by his love of and compassion for, people.
Around him, so the stories tell us, thronged
sick people
hopeless people
common people.
He gave a special place to those whom society condemned:
scoundrels,
harlots
widows
mentally ill...
The 'lost sheep'
and not the flock that was safely in the fold.
My picture of Jesus is of one who invites all to become people of ‘S-I-Z-E’ (Loomer):
to enlarge our picture of God to include humanity,
self to include neighbour,
and to discover the sacred in nature and our ordinary life.
My picture of Jesus is also of one who taught ‘good humanism’…
turn the other cheek
walk the second mile
give to others more than they ask
love enemies
show endless patience.
It is in the ‘humanistic’ side of Jesus we find all are members
of one common natural family, no matter
what their other pretensions may be.
oo0oo
I look forward to finishing my read of Crossan’s book, all 500 + pages of it.
And discovering more of his wisdom
about the wisdom of the Galilean of whom he writes.
Bibliography:
Crossan, J. D. The Historical Jesus. The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant. Nth Blackburn. CollinsDove, 1991.
Funk, R. W. & R. W. Hoover. (ed) The Five Gospels. The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus. New York. McMillan Publishing, 1993.
Loomer, B. M. “S-I-Z-E is the Measure” in H. James & B. Lee. (ed) Religious Experience and Process Theology. The Pastoral Implications of a Major Modern Movement. Paulist Press, 1976.