Dependent we are. I’m amazed each day at the number of
people who now admit openly to employing marijuana to relax them from the cares
of the world when everyone knows that alcohol does it just as well, or a Mozart
piano concerto, or a Chapter of Proust, whittling, playing an instrument, or, truth
be known, the Book of Psalms.
The Galilean gave us some other options on that famous spot on
the southern slopes of the Korazim Plateau. From the beginning, in my beloved Beatitudes,
he teaches dependency on patience and remaining stoic in the face of adversity,
ending with, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (5:12 KJV)
Yes, that’s about as far from the modern “Prosperity Gospel”
as we can get. Yes, you could chase Franklin Graham with a copy of “The Sermon.”
He represents another case of dependency in our modern world, that of
dependency on politics to achieve our religious aims. I’ve nothing against democracies,
but the political arena might not be the best place in the world to look for
moral or ethical salvation. It’s obvious that the Galilean thought along these
lines.
For example, farther down a few verses in the Gospel of
Matthew, in 5:16, he exhorts us to, “Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Are
we then to depend upon our reflected light to glorify the Father? It would appear
so. Oh my.
He even commands us to depend upon accomplishing the impossible.
I mean, turning the other cheek? Don’t think impure thoughts on those bikini ads?
Don’t divorce your wife for a younger woman? Twice? “Swear not at all? Love
your enemies? Bless them that curse you? Do good to them that hate you? Pray
for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you?
Give me a break. Facebook would dry up. Much of modern American
Christianity would crumble like foundations made of sand. He must be joking.
No, in fact, going further, he commands, in verse 48,
perfection: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.” Now ain’t that a fine howdy-do?
We could go on and on. May we find it sufficient to say that
the Galilean, before that diverse crowd of individuals, outlined a different
dependency paradigm? May we also point out that nowhere did he say, “Depend on
me and send money?” Nor did he recommend dependency upon chants, incantations, or
slavish attention to rituals. He didn’t mention that we should run after every
false prophet we saw. He didn’t even mention his need for a new, expensive, state-of-the-art
boat with which to spread the Gospel. Perhaps he was telling us that if we want
to depend upon something, we’d best make it high, holy, and housed within our
hearts.
He sure as hell didn’t tell us to depend on politicians.
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