I was listening
to an interview with a psychologist on Radio 4 recently. He was asked who he would most like to
interview, and he replied, ‘Jesus Christ, I would like to speak with him about
the meaning of life’. A very brave man
indeed!
Jesus would no
doubt have turned him inside out and confounded all his questions, and probably
end up telling him to sell everything he owns, give all his money to the poor
and follow him. It would not have ended
well for the psychologist!
As the chief
priests and elders found out in our gospel reading this week, conversations
with Jesus can be dangerous. The
challenges can come so fast that it will leave our heads spinning and our lives
on the line.
It would be
easy for us to judge the priests and elders, but what if we looked at ourselves
first and our tendency to want to keep things the same and maintain the status
quo? What if we ask ourselves about our
own resistance to change and allowing ourselves to be transformed?
The chief
priests and elders are trying to trap Jesus with a question about the source of
his authority, but Jesus turns the tables on them and asks a question of his
own and places the question back on them.
Not only does he outwit them, but he unmasks their own deepest
priorities and concerns. They are not really interested in Jesus’ identity, but
only concerned with their own privilege and power, and Jesus’ question leaves
them speechless.
Would we too be
left speechless if we were asked about Jesus’ identity?
But Jesus does
not let up. He tells a parable, asks
another question, scolds the priests and elders for their lack of belief and
tells them that faithful tax collectors and prostitutes will enter heaven
before them.
I can imagine
how stunned and angry the chief priests and elders must have felt. They started out thinking to get the better
of Jesus and found themselves being told that they will follow tax collectors
and prostitutes into heaven. How did
that happen?
This is the
consequence of engaging with Jesus. He
is not interested in discussions about the meaning of life, as the psychologist
would have found out. Instead he wants
to challenge us to faith. Faith in his
identity as the Son of God and faith to follow him.
Are we ready to
make this declaration about our faith? To declare Jesus as the Son of God, and
to follow him. That is what he asks of us.
Will we rise to his challenge?
Blessings
Ann
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