Sunday’s first reading and Gospel are easily compared and contrasted. The first reading is from Numbers titled so because it numbers the men “fit for military service.” The men are unruly and as Moses has killed unruly people before he may again. This time Moses accepts that he needs more commanders for all the unruly soldiers numbered, “The Lord… taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, bestowed it on seventy elders.” Two elders were not present at the ritual and yet started commanding which upset Joshua, Moses’ military assistant. Josua complained, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” But Moses only wished he had more such men. The Gospel tells a comparable story but with exactly contrasting values. Jesus is not a commander like Moses but a commoner, not a warmaker but a peacemaker, and is not gathering soldiers for a killing campaign but disciples for a healing mission. When some disciples see a commoner peacefully healing in Jesus’ Spirit they complain, “Teacher, we saw someone healing in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not stop him.”
How did Jesus’ clear witness as a commoner, a peacemaker, and a healer – immediately emulated – become so irrelevant? How is it instead that Moses-like rulers, warmakers, and killers routinely make the claim to be Christ-like? Among the reasons are two great diversions contributing to Jesus’ irrelevance. The first diversion is that Jesus who started a people’s movement didn’t, and that he instead started a ruler dominated institution. Catholics and Orthodox divert with this untruth, especially fundamentalist ones whose false god is The Church. The second diversion is that Jesus who was a man of action wasn’t, and that he instead wants us focused on beliefs from a book. Protestants divert with this untruth, again especially fundamentalist ones whose false god is The Bible. These and other diversions were caused by whiners, complainers like those in today’s readings. These complainers were usually wealthy and men accustomed to Moses-like rule. They complained about women (Paul in 1 Tim 2:8-3:1). Women were gathering disciples in their homes; house churches. They complained about outcasts (Acts 6:1-4). Outcasts required ministry that kept the men from their studies. Their complaints made Jesus’ vibrant and diverse faith community irrelevant as they established a male priesthood ruling over an institution (Catholicism and Orthodoxy) focused on writings (Protestantism). They sanctified Moses-like priestly rule and justified Moses-like warfare. (Rom 13:1-2; Heb 9:1-14). Jesus’ witness of commoners, peacemaking, and healing was subsumed under the priestly class’ biblical religion that sanctified rulers, warmakers, and killers – the old way. As ‘Christian’ rulers, were practicing empire’s same old warrior religion, they formally aligned with the empire that had actually ruled over and killed Jesus, Rome. More than irony, betrayal. Bible reading church rulers subsequently never found an empire they didn’t like; Carolingian, Crusading, Colonialist, ad nausea. Men who called themselves Christ-like but were actually Moses-like ruled over, waged war upon, and killed commoners, peacemakers and healers who really were Christ-like – and they did it all in Jesus’ name. Self titled christians made Jesus irrelevant. They made his peacemaking and healing actions irrelevant as they made irrelevant those who were practitioners of them. They have been practiced by the commoners among us, the laborers, seafarers, midwives, and so many more among us who never confined their discipleship to church attendance or book knowledge. We never did need priestly men ruling an institution and a Bible. As we appreciate expressions of virtue in their tradition, we can live free of them as any frames of reference. We can live with commoners, peacemakers, and healers as our frame of reference.
The diversions help explain how a disobedient commoner ordered killed by rulers, is now represented by elite rulers, sacred and secular. It explains how a loving man who always reached out in love, is now represented by a cruel religion that dogmatizes his suffering and death as saving us and justifies the suffering and death of others. It explains how a man who acted as a peaceful healer, especially in conflict, is the mascot of the violent profession of soldiers who tortured and killed him and have tortured and killed innumerable others. No matter the group we are in, let us gather in, love, and heal and this be peacemakers.
Prayer: Spirit, we shall let all people be the company we keep.
Question: How do I tend to get diverted from healing and peacamking?
September 30, 2018 Gospel Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48 Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time