To love above all

 It may seem somewhat difficult to understand why the reading for today includes the commandment to love (Mk.12:28-34) with the need to pay taxes to Caesar (Mk 12:13-17) but in a fundamental way these two are interrelated. In the same breath we are introduced to the story that is laid out in Ruth with regards Naomi and her daughter in law. All of these stories revolve around one thing and that is the concept of love. A concept that we hold dear to the heart of the Christian story and one that is the utter centre of our God. We are asked in all of scripture for two things and that is to love God and our neighbours as ourselves. The central word in both of these commandments is the word love, not like, not befriend, not anything else but love. Love which is often interpreted in our modern frame of the world as mushy softness surrounded by pinks and roses, is not the love that we are examining or imputing onto God in these readings.

Perhaps, the easiest f these to really understand and to have our heartstrings pulled by is the story of Naomi and Ruth. The very concept of love that this entails can be easily understood within the outlines of the human condition, There is nothing in the story that cannot but inspire us to understand a concept of love that is willing to leave behind the country of birth. The inspiration of love for country is something that often transcends generations such that people will be unwilling to leave a country if there is a generational connection. In Ruth's case she is leaving a country of birth with a generational connection for something and somewhere that is totally foreign. This may not seem to traumatic in today's world where substituting one country for another appears to be something that is really very easy and non-traumatic. Yet, in cultures that are highly familial based this move can be exceptionally difficult for both parties involved. Yet, this is not a simple case of following a lover or beloved party but rather making the sacrifice for a third party unconnected by any bond other than love.

This is easy, is it not? Ruth's story is simple and can be applied to our lives but we do not see that amount of love in our lives today. What we get instead is a total rejection of the concept of love. So rather than have love blossoming we encourage others towards hate as we stop those who out of love would follow to new countries or new situations. We do not see the concept of love in the migration of fellow human beings across the world but rather a movement that will bring division and hatred and thus must be stopped. Ruth reaches out in love towards an unknown country as a result of interacting with one person from that country. She eventually finds happiness and a solid foothold in the country that becomes hers through love. Yet, we deny the possibility of that love by denying the possibility of migration as we protect our insubstantial borders that are produced by political negotiating. Yet, love often becomes a fundamental criterium of those that live for any length of time in a country. We just have to regard our own genealogical past to see that this is the case.

Love above self

If we can have such love for a country that is unknown to us how much more can we love something that we are born to. We are commanded to love in an astonishing way. We often view the challenge of the taxes as one that either encompasses all things in God or doing what is right in terms of the legal situation where we live. There is of course the politics behind the episode being that the temple should not have had Caesar's money in the first place. But let us be a little topsy turvey as we have in the past few weeks. If we think about how we accommodate everything we want in life it often comes down to who is going to pay. We can complain about those who are our leaders and we can complain about how poor a job they are doing but we have to understand that if we truly love our neighbour then we should be willing to render to Caesar so that as much can be done to alleviate injustice and poverty as possible. Even if the current policies and those who we vote into power do not appear to have the same agenda. In the same breath we must also render to God as much love as we render to our fellow citizens. In praise of God, however we conceive of God, we engender the soul of love in the community which alleviates the poverty of loneliness and despair as we reach out in faith and love to those who are in need.

Opening our eyes

Coming out of Jericho Christ heals the blind man Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52) after the question "What do you want me to do for you?". In the midst of blindness and being unable to see Bartimaeus' response is to receive his sight. In looking at this particular pericope one wonders about seeing and sight especially when we look at figures such as Christ. Bartimaeus may have only wanted a return of physical sight, which in itself is a startling proposition, especially for someone who had probably been blind for quite some time perhaps even from birth. With the hindsight of much theological debate over the centuries that this story has been told we probably look at it for a deeper and more profound meaning. The fact that it is put alongside Job 42:1-6 increases this feeling of depth that is perhaps present in the passage. However, we need to constantly remind ourselves that in doing so we are placing layers of interpretation on a story that may not have been intentionally placed by the author, who may have only been talking about the return of physical sight.

Opening our eyes to a new way of seeing can perhaps be likened to having our eyes opened for the first time. Over the last few weeks I have been expanding on how we need to re-look at the things around us and this passage emphasises this for us. Can we really imagine what it means to see for the first time? I think this is pretty impossible considering the person has to take in what their other senses have been telling them in a different way. How can you explain a colour or visual stimulus in words that make sense when you cannot have direct experience of it? There are innumerable videos and stories that talk about or purporting to show someone's reaction to seeing for the first time but these do not tell us of the inner turmoil or sense of awe that the person may be experiencing.  Some of them are not about someone seeing for the first time but about seeing after a period of blindness and this is very different. In the Bartimaeus story we are not sure as to his status was he seeing for the first time or seeing once more although more often then not the former is implied.

Only when God opens our eyes do we truly see

In looking at ourselves we perceive only what those around us encourage us to see. In other words we only see ourselves as an image of how others see us. Our perceptions are also controlled by how tradition views us. In allowing these things to limit our vision of ourselves we limit how we could become. Let me suggest a possible vision by asking What is a Parish? There are many answers to this but most would probably indicate some sort of boundary encompassed area served by a priest or ordained person. Others might say that it is a designated area for the purposes of planning. Thus, we are constrained by the word itself as to what we think it is. So let us see as God sees and open our blind eyes to the possibilities that are present in God's vision and not be blinded by our own conceptions of what the future could be. Blind Bartimaeus sees, whether for the first time or not, a new way forward and a new life because Christ opened his eyes to the future possibilities that are inherent in God's presence. We are all sometimes blind to possibilities before us because of our circumstances and how the past has formed us. Christ opens our eyes to the possibilities that are ahead of us if we were to open our own eyes.

Job's eyes are also opened to his own blindness in challenging God in the midst of his despair. However, it is in turning towards God and asking for his teaching with a humble heart (Job 42.4) rather than pride that sees Job through. Luis Espinal writes in Gastar la vida that we need God's help to step into an unknown future but we need to do so with our eyes open to God's grace and presence who is ahead of us in the blinding mists of time. We are guaranteed our interlocutor and the presence of God's grace by the presence of Christ who is close to God (Heb. 7:26-27). We in our mortality have to seek God's face and ask him as humbly as Job for guidance and the opening of our eyes to the possibilities that are within our future. It is only when we open our eyes to the contrary possibilities that God grants us are we fully able to see with God's grace and love.

The conception of greatness

 Who do you think is great? If I was to ask this question of each of you there would be a completely different answer depending on what you think greatness actually means. If I was to ask it of a younger generation than would normally read this I would suggest that the answer I receive would be even more divergent and surprising than those of you who regularly read this blog. The reading from Mark's gospel is mirrored in other passages that refer to this same incident or a similar one in the life of the disciples and Christ (Mk. 10:35-45). For many the disciples requests would appear to be reasonable for the day and age as surely that is what greatness is about; being in positions of power and authority. But just as we spoke last week Christ reverses everything seeing it from a completely different perspective and suggests that greatness is not found in power and authority but in its reversal i.e. the poor and the lowly.

Over many years humanity in all its gloriousness has invested power and authority in those who are presumed to be great. Whether they be prime ministers, kings and queens or even bishops of the church and of course nowadays we presume to add to that power brokers who are rich and famous in some capacity or another. This is because we make an assumption that the best person to lead us are those who have what we imbue them with but more often than not those that we invest with power and authority. These are possibly the worst ones that we could ever place into such positions. We are taken in by their own hype and portrayal of who they are rather than listening to quieter voices that tell us other things. Most of those who we revere as having some form of authority, reminding ourselves that authority is only legitimate power, have either put themselves forward or been put forward by others with their own agendas. Just think here in terms of the premier or the prime minister or even the lowly parliamentarian. Even the bishop is there at the behest of an appointment process that more often then not is fraught with political ramifications and debate to get the "right" person. What we look for is not what God looks for because we are too often beguiled by the political communication of those who desperately want their candidate or their person in a place wielding authority so that their ends are met.

What makes us stand out is who we are not what we project

So what should we be looking for if not the political communications of those who seek power and authority to wield? Christ's condemnation of those who seek power and authority should make us stop and think about who we place in such positions. A discerning read of the passage would suggest that it is the total opposite of our expectations that we should look for. We normally appoint the person that wants the position and in any appointment process we undertake this is what we look for. For us it stands to reason that those that want the position must be the ones we select from just like any other job interview, simple really. What would happen if we actually select a person who does not put their hand up for the position? In other words we deliberately seek for someone who would not want the position and seek is the word as they would not really be on our radar for the position we want them to fill. Like taking the cleaner or clown and asking him to lead the local Council. To our minds this is ludicrous and not something we really want, a clown as the leader of a nation or company (sorry that has been done to death with Trump).

This is not quite the conception we want but rather to seek out the person who is conceivably the better person for the position. Have you ever been in a position when you know of someone who is right for the position but has not been shortlisted or offered the position? If you were to ask them if they wanted the job they probably would say no but circumstances dictate that they are the correct people. What is not required is someone who believes they know it all especially when it comes to ministry in the church. That is when God comes in the night and asks them the questions that Job got (Job 38:1-7) and like Job's friends they are unable to give a good answer unlike Job who knows his limits. I always have an issue when people categorically state they have a ministry especially when it is one that appears to suit their temperament because more often then not that is when you will have a failure. I am particularly reminded here of those videos you find that show a CEO dressed as a beggar to see the reaction of the applicant or employees. It shows the truth of a person rather than their portrayal at a rehearsed interview. This is what God wants, the true person who actuates God's love and humility and not the rehearsed behaviours that we think are appropriate but just lead to our own wants being fulfilled.

An upside down world

 Conventional wisdom and the norms of he world suggest that being rich, powerful and selfish creates the perfect living arrangement. In being rich we have no worry about what we buy or eat; being powerful means that others do not come between us and what we desire; being selfish suggests that others are of no consequence. In light of the Gospel, the Good news, this convention is meaningless as all the categories that we thought of as being true are turned in a topsy turvey manner so that we no longer recognise what is true and what is false. We are not used to seeing things from this point of view as we struggle with perspective and understanding what it means to be a person of faith when our traditional views are turned upside down. This appears as if we have to look at modalities in the same manner we would look at Escher prints and the fantastical art from the Surrealists.

Are we prepared to see things from a different perspective

Christ states the opposites of what we expect when in Mark's gospel and in the others when he states "But many who are first will be last and the last first" (10:31). So how do we practically change our view point especially in a world that does not engender the best of faith. Christ's statement in Mark comes after the question from the rich man as to how to gain eternal life. This is followed by the disciples talking about how difficult this is if the rich are unable to enter and the story of the camel going through the eye of the needle. Our difficulty is in thinking that our talents and our riches pave the way into the presence of God. It is almost harking back to the question of works and faith. It is not quite the same however as here we are talking about the difference between our worldly wealth and the wealth we have in terms of faith and the spirit. It is not our worldly abilities that assist us in this case but rather our connection to God and our ability to see things from the perspective of God.

We take account of things only from our own build in worldly experiences but we are being asked to put that to one side. We cannot get rid of it. It is similar to us having a seat in the wings of the theatre and being offered the ability to see from the centre of the front row. Our seat is in the wings but we are being asked to take the perspective of the front row. The change can become a permanent one but for the moment it is just a temporary change until we can actually manage the swap and make it permanent. In enabling our ability to see from a different perspective we begin to see as Christ and discard our own view. The Hebrew's passage reminds us quite clearly with regards to the power of  God's word, perhaps as revealed in scripture (Heb. 4:12). In context to what we are referring to it is obvious that turning the perspective around reveals more to us then we would normally guess. So in this case let us just suspend our normal thought processes and try to see the world in a different light.

Let us take a look at how we see being rich and successful. Most would suggest that this is what we all strive for in some form or another. It is our way of getting the world to look at us for once. Instead of looking at it from that point of view let us look at it from God's point of view. Each time we look at the rich and famous we need to ask ourselves what would God want us to do if we were rich and famous? If we are truly servants of God and have left everything behind then riches mean nothing to us unless they are serving God's purposes. This is, perhaps, what Christ is attempting to get across. Not that it is a problem being rich but if we are not doing God's work with our riches then it does not matter. In today's world what God wants us to do with our riches is irrespective so long as we accrue fame and fortune. This is not giving away everything to follow God it is retaining everything to follow ourselves. By seeing the use that riches can be put to and changing our perspective we can begin truly to follow God.

A problem of assignment

 Throughout time humanity has suffered from a number and numerous calamities of one sort or another If we think about it in terms of disease, violence, nature or any other means we can come up with a long list of resultant calamities from Ebola and the Black Death to COVID and Tsunamis; from the Titanic to the Hutu / Tutsi massacres. Often when we think about these disasters we automatically think "Where was God?". In all of these situations somewhere someone has got up on a pulpit and either suggested that it is all our fault through sin or else that God was missing in action and there is no point in continuing to worship the so called God if he cannot do anything in the face of such disasters. Classically for Christians these scenarios are seen in the book of Job.  We often struggle with his situation and how we interpret it. Just as we struggle with our own interpretation of disaster situations. What is the point of Job's story or the story of our own disasters and pandemics? Do we become apathetic bystanders who accept everything thrown at them, which appears to be Job's point or do we battle on for ourselves refusing to bow to the inevitable?

Job's story is more than just sitting back in apathy listening to a bunch of people try and argue about God and God's presence. God is not a humanised personality that gets you out of everything. God is not living up there somewhere as an all seeing all powerful entity laughing at the fate of us all. If we begin on this premise then we are more likely to be starting to look for God's presence in the world rather than for an outside source. God came to humanity in the form of a person who we acknowledge as being Jesus the Christ and it is to Christ that we look in times of disaster. In the passage from Mark's gospel which is tied in with Job, we see Christ suffering the little children to be brought to the front and not shunned (Mk 10:13-16). It is in this moment we see the possibilities of God's presence in our lives during the disasters that surround us. Huh! Yes, in the eyes of a child and the presence of children we see God's presence in the midst of disaster not looking towards adults and a seemingly unresponsive God. Children often do not see the disaster unfolding around them and it is we who dismiss this as their incomprehension of the facts. Perhaps we need to look at this from a very different aspect rather than from the all knowing, not, eyes of adulthood.

Seeds of hope in the midst of disaster

It is often said that out of calamity comes resolution and strength. There are many stories that anecdotally tell us of this from social media rescues in the aftermath of hurricanes to shopping mall survivors following floods and typhoons. All of these tell of one thing and that is the resilience of people in the face of disaster. A resilience that for some is created by faith and an understanding of God's presence in the closeness of their lives. What has this to do with children? The point is that this is how children to a certain extent view disaster as it occurs in their midst. They move forward with a clarity of vision that is based on trust, admittedly not in God, but on their adults who will find a way through the awfulness to bring them into joy. This is the attitude that needs to be taken as we move forward in the face of disaster and it is what scripture from Job through Hebrews to the Gospel are seeking to outline for us. It is not that God will intervene and make things right, it is that things will work through and we have hope in God to suggest that these disasters will form us in such a manner that we can begin once more to act with God's love and understanding in the world.

A while ago I spoke about how we have lost, in this country, our understanding of love of neighbour. Perhaps, out of the disasters of the present age we will begin again to see the need for this community action in the world. Not just locally but in terms of the wider context of our world. We always raise the concerns of those who are refugees, of those who are using violence to achieve ends, of those who do not look to others around them as people but rather as objects to be used. This is the answer that Job provides for us, it is not that we can survive as individuals but that we can survive anything that comes away with God's love expressed through our love of the other. Even when the other is so monstrously different to ourselves that we fear for our own identity.