Let’s
\ntalk about messianic expectations for a minute, as in, what were the
\nexpectations of the messiah for the ancient Jewish people? \u00a0Also,
\nwhere did the whole idea come from? \u00a0(Believe it or not, I think this
\nis going to come around to something relevant.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nexpectation that God was going to set things right by working
\nwith\/through a messiah was an idea that emerged during the Babylonian
\nexile, probably after the royal line was intentionally extinguished
\nby the Babylonians. \u00a0Until that point, there was an expectation that
\nthe monarchial line of David was always going to sit on the throne in
\nJerusalem, and when the monarchial line was extinguished, things got
\nconfusing. \u00a0(To be fair, I think that David and his descendants were
\na more significant part of propagating that story than God was, but
\nfor the people it was discombobulating anyway.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Things
\nwere all up in the air. \u00a0The Promised Land was intimately correlated
\nwith God’s covenant with the people, and they’d lost it. \u00a0The story
\nof God giving the people their freedom was their primary narrative,
\nand they’d lost that too. \u00a0Losing the monarchy was just another loss
\nin the midst of blow after blow to the people’s lives and faith.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It
\nisn’t clear where the story started, but it did. \u00a0The story came to
\nbe that God was going to restore the fortunes of ancient Israel
\nthrough the messiah. \u00a0The expectation itself, though, wasn’t
\nconsistent. \u00a0Sometimes there was going to be a new king, a just king,
\na good king, and he was going to lead the country into a new freedom
\nand dominance. \u00a0Sometimes there was going to be a new military
\nleader, a general, who lead the people to win all the battles, and
\nrestore their land (and often other people’s too). \u00a0Sometimes it was
\na new high priest, one able to lead the people to connect again with
\ntheir God, and restore worship in a new temple. Sometimes the messiah
\nwas going to be a new prophet, who spoke with the power and truth of
\nthe prophets of old, a new Moses and a new Elijah rolled into one,
\nwhose capacity to speak the truth would bring down the power
\nstructures and allow God’s new power structure to emerge.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And
\noften, the messiah was a combination of several of those things. \u00a0But
\nin each case, the messiah restored the nation of ancient Israel
\nthrough either political, economic, or military might, and the rest
\ncame into being too. \u00a0God was going to work through the messiah, and
\nGod was going to restore the fortunes of Israel through the messiah,
\nand it would all be OK again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Since
\nit make the most sense to connect the goodness of the future God was
\ngoing to create with the goodness of the past where God was known to
\nhave worked, most people assumed that the messiah would be a
\ndescendant of David, of which there were many even though the king
\nand his children had died. \u00a0This expectation is why Matthew and Luke
\ngo through such pains to tell us that Jesus, like David, was born in
\nNazareth and review his lineage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When
\nwe remember what the expectations for the messiah were, we can see a
\nfew things more clearly: \u00a0first why potential messiah candidates were
\ncropping up under the oppression of the Roman Empire \u2013 when people
\nwere looking for God to save them again, and secondly why some of the
\nJews of the day did NOT think that Jesus fit the bill. \u00a0After all,
\nthe fortunes of Ancient Israel were NOT reversed by Jesus, not
\npolitically, nor economically, nor in military might. \u00a0Quite the
\nopposite even, by the time the Gospels were written the second temple
\nhad been destroyed, Jerusalem had been ravaged, and the masses had
\nbeen killed AGAIN in 70CE.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
All <\/p>\n I <\/p>\n But, It <\/p>\n We <\/p>\n Yet, <\/p>\n The <\/p>\n In <\/p>\n It <\/p>\n Jesus <\/p>\n Or <\/p>\n God <\/p>\n So, <\/p>\n 1<\/a>Gail – <\/p>\n Rev. Sara E. Baron <\/p>\n First United Methodist Church of Schenectady <\/p>\n 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305 Pronouns: she\/her\/hers <\/p>\n http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nof that is back story to pick up the meaning in the lesson today from
\nthe Gospel of John, where Jesus is asked if he is the Messiah. \u00a0In
\nthe Gospel, the Jewish authorities really annoyed that he won’t tell
\nthem, the literal translation of \u201chow long are you going to make us
\nwait\u201d is \u201chow long are you going to take away our life?\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n However, this is the Gospel of John we’re dealing with, and that
\nmeans we should be looking for metaphor rather than historical fact.
\nJohn is using this story to teach his readers that Jesus IS the
\nmessiah, and that it is better to be one of his sheep than not to be.<\/p>\n
\nthink the Gospel of John leaves the door open for other shepherds who
\ntake care of their sheep too, a many flocks each with their own
\nshepherd approach, and I like that. \u00a0I also love the image of Jesus
\nas a shepherd who has taken care of his sheep long enough that we
\nknow his voice and trust him to lead us well, to good food, safe
\npastures, and still waters. \u00a0And that Jesus takes care of his sheep,
\neven protecting us from those who would seek to do us harm.<\/p>\n
\nI wonder if we are like the members of the Jewish establishment in
\nthis story, asking who the messiah is. \u00a0I wonder if we are still in
\nthe messianic mindset. \u00a0That is, I wonder if we are waiting for God
\nto act, and for God to act through someone else, to make things
\nbetter. \u00a0Or perhaps I should say, I wonder WHEN we are in that
\nmindset, since I know we aren’t always there.<\/p>\n
\nis sort of funny, since we are the inheritors of the tradition that
\nclaims the messiah has already come, that we seem to continue to seek
\na messiah! \u00a0As far as I can figure out the stories of Jesus and of
\nresurrection, the narrative is that God was working with and through
\nJesus in his life and then after Jesus died, that capacity he had to
\ntransform the world was gifted to his followers, so that now we can
\nwork together to continue his work. \u00a0We can now show the world what
\nlove looks like. \u00a0We can now empower God’s beloveds. \u00a0We can now be
\nsources of healing. We can now teach of a God of
\nnever-ending-all-inclusive grace! \u00a0What was once the work of one is
\nnow the shared work of many.<\/p>\n
\naren’t supposed to be waiting for God, because we believe that God is
\nworking with US, and sometimes waiting on US. \u00a0We aren’t supposed to
\nbe waiting for someone else to fix things anymore, because we’ve
\nlearned that WE are supposed to be working with God in fixing things
\nfor everyone. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nsometimes we still expect other people to do it, or maybe God to do.
\nAnd sometimes that’s OK \u2013 not everything is ours to do and trusting
\nothers to also do their part is not only OK, it is excellent. \u00a0But
\nwaiting on a messiah, waiting on God to work though ONE person to fix
\n things, THAT isn’t our job. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\ntransformation from being a follower of Christ to doing Christ’s work
\nis evident in the disciples in the book of Acts. \u00a0In our story today,
\nPeter raises a woman from the dead, just like Jesus raised a girl in
\nMark. \u00a0In the Mark version, Jesus is said to speak in Aramaic, saying
\nlittle girl, arise, which is recorded as \u201cTalitha, cum.\u201d \u00a0In
\nActs, the grown woman is named Tabitha, and Peter says, \u201cTabitha,
\nget up!\u201d \u00a0The parallelisms are clear enough, which means the
\ndifferences are what make things interesting. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nMark, Jesus is directive, and he has witnesses, and he simply takes
\nher hand, says the words, and it happens. \u00a0In Acts, Peter is quieter,
\nhe does not have witnesses, but he is said to pray and seek direction
\nbefore he speaks. \u00a0In Mark the girl’s value is mostly established
\nfrom the love her powerful father has for her. \u00a0In Acts, the woman is
\na disciple, a person who has devoted her life to care of the poor, a
\nbeloved member of the community, whose worth seems to come from the
\nways she has lived her faith. \u00a0I really love the little detail that
\nthe widows all showed Peter the clothing she’d made for them. \u00a0Widows
\nwere among the poorest members of society, and she’d cared for them
\nso well that what she’d made was worth bragging about. \u00a0Her life
\nmattered to theirs.<\/p>\n
\nseems clear to me that Peter is being presented as LIKE Jesus, but
\nnot AS a new Jesus. \u00a0Peter now has the connection to God that allows
\nhim to see what others cannot, but he has to nurture that connection,
\nwhich we see when he prays before he acts. \u00a0Peter is PART of the
\ninheritance of Jesus’ power and work, but he isn’t the whole thing
\n(Tabitha is part of it too). \u00a0Peter is, then, like all of us. \u00a0Able
\nto follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and WITH the rest of the
\ncommunity able to continue his work, but none of us are supposed to
\nreplace Jesus. \u00a0We’re not asked to do it on our own. \u00a0Our tradition
\nsays we’ve already had a messiah, and thus we don’t have to.<\/p>\n
\nsays, \u201clittle girl arise\u201d and Peter says \u201cTabitha, get up\u201d,
\nand I find myself wondering about how often we hear God asking us to
\ndo the same. \u00a0\u201cGet up.\u201d \u00a0\u201cGet moving.\u201d \u00a0\u201cGet to work!\u201d
\nI’m not sure how much of what we hear is actually God and how much is
\nour own inner critic, combined with the unrelenting expectations of
\nthe world. \u00a0When I look at the Bible holistically, there is a balance
\nbetween the \u201cget ups\u201d and the \u201csit down and rest a whiles.\u201d
\nGod who freed the people from slavery in Egypt used that slavery to
\nexplain the need for Sabbath, for a full day of rest EVERY WEEK, in
\norder to fully establish the humanity of all. \u00a0God is as worried
\nabout rest as God is worried about \u201cget up and do!\u201d \u00a0We, however,
\nare often much more worried about \u201cget up and do\u201d so we tend to
\nlisten better to that one.<\/p>\n
\nat least I do. \u00a0Sorry for all the times I project myself onto all of
\nyou.<\/p>\n
\nis seeking for us BALANCE: \u00a0the capacity to make a contribution to
\nthe world, and the space to savor the goodness of life, the time for
\nintimate relationships, and the joy of getting things done. \u00a0God
\ngives us the gift of LIFE, and then guides us to living it in the
\nfullest. \u00a0We may hear a lot of \u201cget ups\u201d but only because we
\naren’t as tuned into the \u201crest a whiles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI ask of all of us: \u00a0can we remember we aren’t called to be the
\nmessiah, even if we’re lucky enough to get to be part of continuing
\nhis work? \u00a0And can we listen as well the urging of God to rest as we
\ndo to act? \u00a0Can we receive the gifts of life, and savor them, even as
\nwe seek to make sure everyone gets the gifts? Can we receive the
\ngifts of rest and the gifts of calls to action, and listen to them
\nboth? \u00a0I suppose we can at least try. \u00a0Amen\n<\/p>\n
\n\tO’Day, New Interpreter’s Bible Volume IX: John, <\/i>Leander
\n\tE. Keck editorial board convener (Nashville: Abingdon Press,1995)
\n\t 676.<\/p>\n