Lent: rebel without a cause

So you might have noticed that I have a problem with authority.  It's one of the main reasons I can't diet-- just go ahead and try to tell me what to eat.  You're not the boss of me.  *sigh*  I have this damn rebellious streak and it's a mile wide and it is the biggest pain in the ass.  For example, it severely limits the number of jobs I can have, because I simply cannot work for someone I don't respect.  At my last job (where I worked for a wonderful woman who was not a problem), the employees were still talking about the previous boss, who was a problem.  The stories were awful.  I asked one of them one day, so why did you stay?  And she shrugged and said, "I figured I'd outlast her."  And she did.  But I wouldn't have made it six weeks working for that woman.  I would have given up a great job with great benefits because I could not take orders from someone I didn't think deserved to be able to give them.

A couple of weeks ago I told you I decided it was time to start re-thinking Christianity again. [note from AB: the first draft of this post was written over a month ago.] I hate these posts because I worry that they make me sound like some kind of religious fanatic, and I guess I am in some ways, but just not in the way you'd think.  But like I said, it won't go away.

So of course I immediately started looking around for a book to read, because when I need to think about something, that's what I do.  I read.  We were in the middle of packing up the house, and Dean would have just gone ahead and pulled out all my fingernails if I bought any new books.  I lost count of how many boxes of books we packed.  So I started poking around in the books I already had and found one that someone gave me several years ago, Flesh and Blood Jesus:  Learning to Be Fully Human From the Son of Man.  It's by a guy that I heard speak a number of times when I was in college, and I liked him very much.  It was a place to start.

The first couple of chapters were pretty standard stuff.  There were a few new insights mixed in with some fairly run-of-the-mill interpretations.  But then I got to chapter 4, which was on Jesus' attitude toward authority.  And the author had some interesting things to say.  He pointed out that Jesus didn't always react to authority in the way that you'd expect.  And he didn't always react the same way.  He had a variety of options.  I do, too.  (*light bulb*)

1.  Jesus and his mom at the wedding in Cana (John 2.1-11).  The hosts are running out of wine.  Jesus' mom pulls him aside and tells him to take care of the problem.  Remember, we're doing the "Bible as Literature" thing here and interpreting the story within its own confines; we're not questioning whether or not it is factual or "true."  (I have no idea whether or not it's true.)  In the story, Mary knows that Jesus can do something about the problem.  (How does she know? has he been practicing his miracles around the house?)  Jesus doesn't want to.  This is early in his career, and he's not ready for people to know that he can do party tricks.  But she confidently tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do.  And he does.  He turns water into wine, and it's good wine, and the party is saved.  The entire story is less than 300 words, but there are a number of telling little details.  Her confidence that he can fix the problem; his willingness to do what she asks in spite of his initial reluctance-- I read it as amused respect and trust between the two of them.  They know each other.  There is no power struggle going on here.  I want you to do this.  But I don't want to.  Yeah, but I really want you to do this.  Okay, then, I'll do it.

2.  Render unto Caesar.  The Jews were expecting a political Messiah.  They were an oppressed people; their country had been taken over by the Romans.  They are looking for a Messiah who will deliver them from political oppression.  But Jesus' agenda never included politics.  He didn't lead rebellions; he didn't plan midnight raids on the barracks. When the local Jewish leaders ask him if they should pay taxes to the Romans, it is a loaded question.  If he says yes, his fellow Jews will be disappointed; if he says no, then they can turn him over to the Roman authorities for inciting insurrection. Jesus does neither.  He asks for a coin, and holding it out, shows them Caesar's profile on the coin.  Give Caesar the things that are Caesar's.  Give God the things that are God's.  He didn't get his back up, he didn't unthinkingly rebel against authority.  He used his brain and came up with a different way to respond.

3.  Jesus in the temple.  There was an entire superstructure in place at the Jerusalem temple that revolved around selling animals for sacrifice to people who were visiting the temple.  It must have been quite profitable for those doing the selling.  But it angered Jesus.  He responded swiftly and violently; he wades in and overturns tables, throws money boxes, sets the animals free.  Interesting that he doesn't rebel against the government, but he reacts violently against religious hypocrisy, yes?  Let the political leaders do their thing.  Vote your conscience, say your piece, but political power is not important in the long view of things. But mess with my temple, and your ass is grass.

See what I mean?  My version of rebellion is knee-jerk.  Some diet guru tries to tell me what I can eat?  I DON'T THINK SO.  Some flunky higher up the corporate ladder wants me to spend two days wasting time on corporate bureaucracy?  HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME?  Anybody tries to tell me what to do, I get pissed.

But Jesus was thoughtful.  He had more than one option, and he chose his response based on the situation. I'm working on it.