A man leaves a local grocery store and notices two cub
scouts, perhaps six or seven years old, selling candy bars to raise money for
their pack. Well, the man wants to
support the youngsters, but, being a diabetic, doesn’t eat any sweets. “I’ll buy a candy bar from you on one
condition,” he tells them. “You have to
eat it for me.” The boys’ eyes become as
big as saucers: “Mister, you have deal.”
They hand him a candy bar and he hands them a dollar. Then he gives it back to them. One of the boys looks very apprehensive and
whispers something privately to the other.
They agree on something, turn to the man, and announce they can’t take
it from him. “Why not,” the puzzled man asks? “Because our mother taught us never to take
candy from a stranger.”
Rules. They
matter. Lee Iacocca was taking about
business when he said, “Start with good people, lay out the rules,
communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you
can’t miss”. He could have been talking
about religion just as easily. Religion
and rules seem to go hand in hand.
Think about how the 10 Commandments lay a foundation for a morality
and civility. Our society counts on
religion to instill in its adherents the values necessary for common life and
cohesion. We expect our places of
worship to teach its members not to lie, not to cheat, not to steal, and not to
harm. We expect them to teach the
importance of respecting authority and doing one’s duty. And we expect these places to castigate those
who don’t. We don’t expect the main
point of the sermon to be “If it feels good, do it.” It should be something like, “God is
watching, so you better behave”, only perhaps a little more nuanced. Again, religion and rules go hand in hand.
Jesus puzzles the religious leaders of his day because his actions are
not oriented toward the accepted rules of his society. Think about the times he lands in hot water
with holy rollers. He does things on the
Sabbath he is not supposed to do. He doesn’t
require his protégées to observe accepted customs and traditions. And, as we find in today’s reading from Luke,
he associates with people who don’t obey to the rules – tax collectors,
prostitutes, and other known sinners.
How can someone who is supposed to uphold the rules be so
comfortable with those who do not follow them?
Jesus’ actions and those who criticize him raise a fundamental question
about religion: Which is more important… rules or relationships?
The Pharisees and the Scribes answer this question
unequivocally. First and foremost, you
have to follow the rules in order to be a good person. If you follow the rules then you can be
included in the group. If you don’t,
then you are excluded, shunned, and sometimes even stoned to death.
By his words and actions Jesus demonstrates a belief relationships
matter more than rules. It’s not that he
is against the rules per se, but he rejects the idea one’s goodness is
determined by them. For Jesus, each
person has value, each person deserves respect, and each person is loved by
God. A person is not good because he or
she follows the rules. Each of us is
good because God creates good.
If this is true, you may ask why even bother following the
rules? Well, it is important to do so because
they guide us toward healthy and whole relationships with ourselves, with
others, with God, and with all of creation.
The function of rules is not to determine who is good and who is
not. They function to guide us on a path
toward happiness.
Susan Hanyes, one of our candidates for bishop,
impressed me when she shared her thoughts about the immigration challenge
facing our nation. She described how her
ministry has led her to meet with immigrants as well as ICE workers. She described learning first-hand the
terrible plight of those desperate to flee horrible conditions in their own
country and the tremendous challenges faced by officials tasked with overseeing
the immigration process by maintaining our policies and procedures. Rev. Hanyes said her experience has helped
her to see the immigration crisis is a tremendously complicated problem not
easily solved through solutions being proffered by folks on the extreme left and
right.
It is an example of how being in relationship with
people – especially with those who differ most from you – has a way of opening your
eyes and seeing the world in a whole new way.
Do this and you will find easy answers and “black and white” perspectives
no longer seem so sure and solid.
Years ago I served as rector in a parish where a
retired priest carried a great deal of influence. Reared and trained in a different era, he was
dead set against the ordination of women, which the Episcopal Church had been
doing for about fifteen years by the time I met him. He spoke freely in the parish about his
objections and more than a few traditional-leaning folks followed his
lead. Then something unexpected
happened. Meg – a young woman who had
grown up in the church – discerned a call to the ordained ministry. I remember visiting with the retired priest one
day when he said, “Well, I don’t believe woman should be ordained, but if ever
there was one who should be, it is Meg.
She is a fine person.”
Relationships open us to new realities. They help us see people in a whole new
way. They broaden and deepen our
understanding, perspective, and positions.
Relationships challenge us and change us.
I find it so interesting how Jesus explains why he
befriends folks the religious leaders describe as rule-breaking sinners. He shifts the imagery from good and bad to
lost. He sees tax collectors,
prostitutes, and other sinners not as bad people, but as sheep who are lost. They are not being guided toward wholeness
and happiness by the rules set forth by God to serve as guide posts for the
way.
The only way to find people who are lost is to go
out and search for them. You find
someone who is missing not by shouting “You are a bad person” but by being
willing to look for them… going to where they are and being with them to lead
to safety.
And one thing I have learned over my years of
interacting with people in the church.
Each of us is lost in some way at
some time. That retired priest against
the ordination of women was lost in a way.
Me, I am lost in ways at times I don’t even see or understand. Rev. Hanyes realized she was lost only when
she began to meet people from all points of our immigration crisis. None of us is a bad person because each of us
is loved and valued by God. We are just
lost. Jesus came to be in relationship
with us. The question is, do you want to
be found?
