What kind of life did Jesus’ live? I mean, really live, day-to-day.
He came from a simple, rural village in Galilee. He had a trade, carpentry; he gave it up to be an itinerant prophet. He depended on others for food and shelter. There were, I am sure, considerable hardships of his itinerant life. And what about the personal cost? Jesus left his family, friends, and familiar surroundings behind. He was a prophet who believed there needed to be an apocalyptic, cultural and religious transformation. Jesus ministered to the marginalized, but he, too, was marginalized.
John P. Meir in his book A Marginal Jew Volume III wrote there were several “oddities” that contributed to Jesus being marginalized from the prevailing culture. At a time when the religious leadership of Israel was becoming more educated and learned, Jesus “… had no particular credentials as a highly educated Jew.” His religious education, Meir wrote, whether it was oral or written, was inferior to the learning of the Pharisees in Jerusalem.
Meir also said Jesus was marginalized because he was a celibate man, which was highly unusual for his culture. Some contemporary scholars say that Jesus was probably married, because men were in those times and in that culture. Meir, however, disagrees with them, not finding any surviving evidence of a wife or family.
AND, Meir writes, because Jesus accepted baptism by John the Baptist, he became part of a rebellious voice calling for change.
Jesus was not satisfied with the prevailing religious and social culture—a culture which allowed foreign rule over the Hebrew people. He also believed their religion culture kept them separated from each other and others.
Added to this, we see a charismatic, zealous, and dedicated person who thought about religion and Yahweh in a very different way than the past or present religious leaders of his people. Jesus lived on the margins of his first century culture.
We may not think often about his day-to-day existence as the itinerant teacher, healer, and story teller, because the beginning and the end of his life are too momentous. Yet between the two, we know a Jesus who wanted to drastically change his people.
Today, we hear the parables and the stories of healing and we hear the good news of relationship, relationship with God and with each other. Relationship was first, Jesus said, and then their Law. We know Jesus believed their Law was primary, because when Jesus healed the leper, he told her to go to the priest so she could be declared ritually clean.
We hear in the story that the leper’s good news wasn’t that “good” for Jesus. Afterwards, the crowds were so large he had to literally teach, minister, and heal outside the towns and villages—religiously and geographically marginalized. They overwhelmed him at times. The Gospels tell us he had to go into the desert or out on the sea for rest and prayer.
Good news CAN BRING unexpected results. News of a baby on the way may be good news, but it changes responsibilities, the budget, and relationships, especially if there are older siblings.
Good news may be good for me but not necessarily good news for others. Advancement at work for one may mean someone else is passed over. An engagement may be good news for one person, but may mean something else for an ex-partner.
Why is it, when we hear, “God never gives us more than we can handle,” do we think it is bad news? Sometimes, good news is hard to handle. Are we ready for the relationship for which we have hoped? Can we deal with the responsibilities of that long-awaited promotion?
Perhaps Jesus warned the leper not to say anything to anyone, but to go to the priest first, because he knew what would probably happen. He knew that the miracles might get in the way of his message.
After all, good news is about faith. Jesus knew their faith lacked something—a personal relationship with Yahweh. For his people, the Law stood in the way of love. In the first century, their religion was not personal it was tribal. He said, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation [of the law], nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." (Gospel of Luke)
However we view God, whatever our vision of the Source of Creation, for our lives to make a difference, we need a faith grounded in love. Yes, Jesus healed, however he healed, we do not know. We know only that he must have allowed himself to fully love Yahweh and others.
We know, each of us that love heals.
Faith does not keep the drunk driver from killing our loved ones. Our faith doesn’t make us immune to cancer, challenging relationships, or betrayal. The faith Jesus told us about sustains us through the good news and the bad news.
Our faith gives us the strength and the courage to live. Yes, simply to live this life we’ve been miraculously given.
Our faith gives us the strength and the courage to love.
A friend of mine told me her son Ronnie was asked to move to another project in his company. He was told he’d be the supervisor. But when he got there, someone less experienced showed up as the new supervisor. He didn’t say anything. He took over the duties assigned and worked as he usually does.
His mother didn’t say this, but I can. His actions reveal a deep faith in the good news of Jesus. It shows a trust in something we cannot see, hear, touch, or sense in a literal way. Faith and trust are necessary for good news to be good news.
Later, his mother told me, after two months on that project, the manager of the division came to him, promoted him, and made him supervisor of the project. When he asked why, the manager said, “We are righting a wrong.”
It is wrong to marginalize people. It is wrong to see suffering and not try to alleviate their pain. Jesus good news means we are responsible for healing, loving, including, and accepting ourselves and each other.
The leper may have shouted the good news before Jesus was ready to minister to the crowds that resulted. We never know where the good news will take us; what we do know, is that we must be prepared to face the crowds when they come.
Posted by UNMC Office at February 16, 2009 10:56 AM