That We All May Be One

“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves…they will hand you over to councils and flog you…do not worry about how you are to speak…for what you are to say will be give to you at that time…brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child…but the one who endures to the end will be saved…For truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:16 ff. passim)

Passages like this have challenged and troubled and confused Christians almost since the day they were written! Ordinary Christians and biblical scholars alike have wrestled with what Jesus could possibly have meant by these dire warnings, and particularly the notion that these trials and tribulations were going to happen very soon. (“You will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes!”).

Albert Schweitzer thought Jesus was simply wrong in his prediction! According to Schweitzer, Jesus thought the end of the world was near and so made these predictions, but he was wrong! Later scholars suggested that perhaps Jesus didn’t say these things at all, but they were put on his lips by the writers of the Gospels or by the early Church as they faced persecution and needed Jesus’ help to get through it!

More recently, Bishop N.T. Wright, a New Testament scholar in the Church of England and the darling of conservatives these days, has made another attempt at understanding such passages — one which is pretty radical for a conservative biblical scholar! He believes that Jesus did indeed speak such words, but that he was not talking about the end of the world or the end of time at all. Rather, he was talking about the fall of Jerusalem!

Like the prophets before him, in this scenario, Jesus is warning his disciples that the powers-that-be (at this time, the Romans) were going to sack Jerusalem unless people changed their ways and stopped threatening violent uprisings against them. God was going to judge his people and, once again, use a foreign power to carry out the punishment.

By this time in his ministry, Jesus was convinced that the people were not going to change their ways into the ways of peace, so he was warning his followers that things were going to get rough for them, and so to prepare for persecution. Moreover, all this was going to come down soon…shortly after his death…and that they were probably not even going to have time to preach the Gospel throughout Israel before all this would begin to happen.

Well, of course, we know that the Romans did indeed sack Jerusalem in 70 AD, after St. Paul and the other apostles had started a number of churches, he had written his major Epistles, and just as the four Gospels were beginning to be written! So, Tom Wright’s theory is an interesting one…and rather appealing to me at least.

We may never understand all the nuances of passages like this. But regardless of which theory you embrace, know that Jesus’ challenge to send his disciples out like “sheep in the midst of wolves,” his warning that they would be “handed over to councils” and flogged, and his assurance that they would be given what to say at that time for “it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you…”

Words like these have given strength and inspired courage to those early Christians (who did indeed face persecution — from Jews and Gentiles alike!), to missionaries and evangelists through the centuries who have faced similar trials, to African Americans in this country as they struggled for their civil rights, to South Africans in their fight against apartheid, and — dare I say it? — to Palestinian Christians today who are experiencing their own kind of apartheid.

All of these Christians — and ourselves — are assured by these words that whatever we face, we are to do it with wisdom and innocence, with confidence and courage, and know that we will never be deserted by the One who has called us, the One who has sent us, and the One who will, one day, welcome us home!

As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day, it is interesting to reflect on our “American expression” of Anglicanism. Much is made of the fact that some of the same framers of the U.S. Constitution had input into the framing of our polity as the Episcopal Church in this land. Hence, our own “constitutional” form of government, the two Houses of our General Convention (with the House of Bishops often compared to the Senate; the House of Deputies to the House of Representatives), and a “Presiding,” rather than “Arch-” Bishop as chief executive officer.

All this certainly has historical roots and is interesting at least for that reason. However, I would want to argue for much more ancient and theologically significant reasons for our “democratic polity.” And that is that the “mind of Christ is to be discerned within the Body of Christ” and that means the whole people of God — lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons.

Jesus’ own life in community, St. Paul’s rich image of the Church as the Body of Christ (i.e. I Corinthians 12-14 and elsewhere), the clear tradition of the ancient Church that, for example, bishops were “elected” by the people they would serve, not “appointed” by monarchs or “distant and unaccountable prelates” (in that delicious phrase from the House of Bishops’ response to the Primates’ Communique!) — all these are testimonies to the centrality of the entire “laos” (the whole, holy people of God) being involved in decision-making and in the discernment of the Holy Spirit’s leading in the Church.

Does this mean that such things as General Convention never make mistakes? Of course not. But then, we do not have an “infallibility doctrine” to defend! We do not believe in an infallible Pope, an infallible Book, or infallible Councils. That is why Anglicanism has always recognized its provisional nature and sits rather lightly on dogmatic formulae.

We say our prayers, try to listen to God’s Word and to one another, seek as broad a consensus as possible, and then make our decisions, always trying to leave room for dissent, and not seeking to impose them artificially upon others. This is not only characteristic of the “American expression” but of Anglicanism at its very best down through the centuries.         

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58). This line from our Gospel reading today features the mysterious phrase, “Son of Man.” Most scholars tell us that “Son of Man” was Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself and that is probably true, given the number of times the phrase appears in the Gospels.

 But there has been a lot of research and consideration, over the years, on exactly what Jesus meant by “Son of Man.” When I was in seminary, my New Testament professor – Fred Borsch (later Bishop of Los Angeles) – had published his doctoral dissertation under the title “The Son of Man in Myth and History,” tracing the use of the term in ancient literature.

 Later he published a book entitled “Christian and Gnostic Son of Man.” We suggested his next book might be called “The Son of Man goes to Camp” but he never took us up on it!Often, people think Son of Man refers to Jesus’ humanity while Son of God refers to his divinity, but it’s a lot more complicated than that.   

 There are at least three ways to understand the phrase. One would be the way it is used in the Book of Daniel: “As I looked on, in a night vision, I saw one like a son of Adam coming with heaven’s clouds.  He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented to him.  Dominion and glory and rule were given to him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his rule is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

 In that passage, in a dream, Daniel has a vision of a heavenly figure who will come in the  form of a human being. This son of Adam (or “son of man”) will be appointed by the Most High God, the Ancient of Days, as a kind of ruler and judge. Jesus may have understood the phrase in that way – he certainly knew the Book of Daniel!

 Or, it could be interpreted as Mark quotes Jesus’ instructions to his disciples concerning his own death: “The son of man is being turned over to his enemies, and they will end up killing him. And three days after he is killed he will rise.” (Mark 9:31) In this context, Son of Man seems to be Jesus’ unique way of referring to himself. Son of Man here is the equivalent of saying “I”. I will be turned over to my enemies…they will end up crucifying me…and three days later I will rise. Again…possible.

 There is a third possibility which intrigues me and it is the way Roman Catholic biblical scholar, John Dominic Crossan, translates our Gospel passage for today: He takes the phrase and renders it the way we usually do in translating Psalm 8: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You have made him but little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor”.

 In other words, here the phrase simply means “human being”.  So Crossan translates our passage today:  “Every fox has a den.  Every bird has a nest. Only humans are homeless.” Isn’t that great? Nature takes care of its own, providing dens for foxes and nests for birds. Only human beings cause one another to be homeless!

 Well, I’m not sure we need to choose between those three options. An ideal translation (according to the late New Testament scholar, Robert Funk) would be one in which all three possibilities are held in tension.  Each of them has something to teach us.

 The heavenly figure “Son of Adam” reminds us of the cosmic Christ. Within years, and certainly decades, after Jesus’ death and resurrection his followers were assigning to him a heavenly role, associating him with the very nature of God, and giving him a role in the final judgment and the ultimate salvation of the world! One like a son of Adam coming with heaven’s clouds…his dominion an everlasting dominion that will not pass away.

 The second rendering – assuming that Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite way of referring to himself – reminds us that he was an itinerant sage. He literally had no place to lay his head and was dependent, throughout his ministry, on the kindness of friends and foes alike for basic food and drink and certainly for lodging.

 But the third reading has its place as well. Not least because it gives us something to do, some way to respond to today’s Gospel. Every fox has a den. Every bird has a nest. Only humans are homeless! June 20 was World Refugee Day.  Every year on that date the world recognizes and honors the courage and strength of refugees.  According to the Episcopal Church’s Public Policy Network:

 Iraq is now home to one of the world’s largest populations of internally displaced persons.  The United Nations reports that every day 2,000 Iraqis are displaced.  There are over 2 million Iraqi refugees and many are in imminent danger, particularly because they are a targeted religious minority or are associated with the US involvement in Iraq…

 We are faced with a crisis for Iraqi refugees that must be addressed by our Congress. Just this week Senators Edward Kennedy and Gordon Smith introduced the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, calling on our government to offer resettlement to at-risk persons in Iraq and the surrounding region. If you don’t already belong to the Episcopal Church’s Public Policy Network, now would be an excellent time to join!

 Just Google Episcopal Public Policy Network, sign up, and you’ll receive regular updates and easy ways to write your Congress people. Specifically now, to urge them to support the Kennedy-Smith bill that recognizes that the US has an obligation to bring relief to Iraqis seeking refuge. Why?

 Because: Every fox has a den.  Every bird has a nest. Only humans are homeless!

I just returned from the west coast where I accompanied my wife, Susanne, to the annual conference of the North American Association for the Diaconate. It’s a continuing education event and business meeting for deacons in the US and Canada, and they had over 200 gathered for this one. Not least, I’m sure, because the Presiding Bishop delivered a keynote address and spent some time with the group.

Deacons are often seen as servants who minister to the poor, the sick and the elderly in our congregations. And they do that. Or, they are seen as advocates who speak out for the marginalized and tug the sleeve of the church to remind us of our responsibilities to the lost and the last and the least. And they do that as well.

As I wrote in an earlier post, Bishop Katharine also challenged them, and the church, to take a look at another aspect of diaconal ministry – and that is our mission of evangelism and congregational development! “Instead of bishops and dioceses deciding on where new congregations or faith communities ought to be started by studying demographics and neighborhood income levels or even ethnicity,” she said, “how about asking the deacons (and lay people with diaconal ministries) where the gospel most needs to be heard – and start new communities there?” She mentioned specifically prison ministry, immigrant ommunities, and places where young people live and congregate. 

Perhaps that might be another way for deacons – and the church – to have a “John the Baptist” ministry! In the Gospel according to St. Luke, John’s father Zechariah – on the day of his son’s birth, said “…you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins…” (Luke 1:76-77).

And, of course, John did that, “preparing the way” for Jesus by his own preaching, his repentance-baptism, and by stepping aside for Jesus. Peter knew about this aspect of John’s ministry and said, in Acts 13, “…as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘what do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am nor worthy to untie.”

 I think that’s a model for our evangelistic efforts as well. We don’t “convert” anybody – that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. But what we do need to do is to “go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.”

We need to get outside the doors of our churches and chapels, search for the lost and the last and the least, build relationships with them, and create communities in which people can be introduced to the Living God, to Jesus the Christ, and to the Holy Spirit who will do the converting if we will simply do our part.

So, whether we are lay persons, bishops, priests or deacons, let’s commit ourselves to a “John the Baptist” ministry – going before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways and giving knowledge of salvation to…people in the forgiveness of their sins.