Blog 95 – 8.17.15

In Jesus’ day there were two strong opposing groups that argued that they each had a corner on the truth. The Pharisees and the Sadducees parallel the two great philosophical, religious, and political views points of our day, the Conservatives and the Liberals.

Sometimes the lines between the two may waiver a bit and there are many variations of these two themes but they are as divided and divisive as they were in Jesus day. Years ago in Bible college I had a course called New Testament Survey with Doctor Nelson Trick. I have always preferred the title Brother because in my mind their is no higher title. Anyway, Brother Trick had a wonderful sense of humor and was always coming up with funny little ways to help the vast quantity of material that he had to cover stick in our young minds. He told us the Pharisees were called that because they were not very “fair you see.” And the Sadducees derived their name because they were very “sad you see.”

The Liberals and Conservative of today both try to paint Jesus as one of them but he was neither a Pharisee nor a Sadducee in his day and his message if looked at honestly is not a good fit for either the Liberal or Conservative agenda today. Sadducees were the grand old party of their day. They were strict constitutionalist believing in a literal interpretation of the Old Testament and rejecting the oral interpretations or Supreme Court rulings of their day.

The Pharisees, on the other hand believed in heaven, an after life, and did regard the oral traditions as equal in authority to to the Old Testament and their answer was always to write a new regulation. They were all about the rules and bigger and bigger government, more restrictions. Jesus preached neither of these two positions but often his message has been co-opted to make people think he was a Pharisee/Liberal/Democrat or a Sadducee/Conservative/Republican.

Jesus was very fair you see and though painted sometimes as a man of sorrows (it was our silly, stupid, and self destructive behavior that made Jesus sad at times) but a complete look at his life as depicted in the Gospels, I think, show a Jesus whose default setting was joy, who loved life and everyone and everything in it.

That is why Jesus is an encouraging word to so many people. Well, perhaps not to Lieutenant Dan of Forest Gump fame nor to Bill Mahr who rejects religion in general. They both make a pretty good case by the way. A fellow worker I was talking to about Jesus once told me there were some attractive things to him about Jesus’ teachings but that he was turned off by what he called “the lunatic fringe.” People calling themselves Christians do some crazy stuff and have some narrow and crazy beliefs. Can I hear an “Amen” or an “Ouch, I am the man.”

Jesus came, I think not to make a greater divide, nor to lay on us more rules to break. But, his message was then and is now, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Bill and Dan, love your neighbor as you love yourself. Loving either is loving God whether you realize it or not. And you religious folks, Liberal or Conservative, loving God is loving your neighbor and yourself. Let love have its perfect way in you and through you.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White

To paraphrase the dear departed Chairman of the Board: I have been a Republican, a Democrat, a pawn, and a king. I have played the game of us and them and I’ve learned one thing. No matter how hard we pretend there are two, there is really but One – one God, one Love, one view. And each time I look deep in my brother’s face, no matter the color of his eyes or his skin, I see God, myself, one heaven, and one human race.