The Promised Son
Commentary for the January 15, 2022, Sabbath School Lesson
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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3, NIV
We live in a time of deep divisions in western society. A global pandemic has only heightened those divisions. Far too many would rather fight their neighbor whom they can see rather than the invisible viral plague that stalks the land. While the airlines experienced lengthy shutdowns to control the spread of contagion, once they were back in service, the greater danger seems to be from violent passengers jeopardizing everyone on the flight by acting out their aggressions over minor issues. It reminds me of family road trips with children squabbling in the rear seat over who touched whom and the father hollering that if he has to pullover and go back there, they will regret it. Too often, we seem more gifted at modeling the dysfunctions of the families on “The Simpsons” or “Family Guy.”
We refuse to accept that others have the same rights and basic needs as we do. Instead, we relegate them to a lesser standing than ourselves. Logically, if we are human, then they must therefore be subhuman. We do this based on race, nationality, gender, income, educational level, or even simply the part of town they live in. Then we take it a step further and see every opportunity, every step up gained by those “others” as something taken away from us. It does not help that a few individuals are engaged in hoarding all the world’s wealth, leaving the rest of us to squabble over the remains. The artificial shortages created by such behavior help to light the powder keg of conflict on the streets of our cities and towns. Marie Antoinette and her royal spouse began their march to the guillotine with their disdain for the starving poor while the few wealthy nobles had used obscene riches taxed from the people to build Versailles and the?numerous?chateaus of France. In our own time, we hear similar rumblings from the people when the grossly wealthy go for jaunts into space, reveling in their accomplishments while on this planet, people are dying from starvation, thirst, and disease because they have no access to the treasure storehouses of the rich that could easily purchase food, water, and medicines that would ease their suffering. Even though the taxes we pay are a means to fund those services for the poor, the wealthy seek every means to avoid paying those taxes and then plunder the poor even further by raking in federal subsidies approved by a Congress whose elections are bankrolled by those same billionaires. Seeing those services to the poor as a threat to those subsidies, they also do all they can to curtail, or if possible, end those services.
One wonders how society gets to such a state of inequality and division. One cause may be that we no longer see ourselves as a species having an intrinsic value. Humanity has become little more than another consumable resource, like timber or natural gas. A human being only has value based on the ability to produce goods and services. Once that ability slips, so does their value. But the Bible tells a different story. That is why in totalitarian regimes, they suppress it. Contrary to a system that uses up people and tosses them aside when they are no longer productive, the Bible teaches that every human being is of immense value, so great that God was willing to incarnate and die to purchase the life of everyone. It teaches that we are not trash, the crumbs of an alien picnic on our planet that eventually evolved into homosapiens. We are the special creation of God in his image. The rejection of that idea is the basis for defacing that image and its value in each of us.
We quibble over the possibility of Creation, but the Bible states its case plainly in a take-it-or-leave-it manner. It tells us that God’s word has creative and restorative power. In doing so, it is not referring to itself. We often call the Bible the word of God, but we misspeak in doing so. We read in Genesis, chapter one[i] ?that God spoke each day and the various parts of our world came into being, including humanity. It also assures us that the same creative word brought the entire universe into being, for it says, “he made the stars, also” in verse sixteen. When God speaks, things happen. The Ten Commandments, referred to as the ten words of God, have similar creative power. In the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yocha, ties those words to ten words of Creation,[ii] ?pointing out for us a foundational existence of the Decalogue all the way back to Creation.
However, the deeper we go, the profounder it gets. In our study of Hebrews this week we learn from the very first verses of that epistle that Jesus was the creative agent for our world and the universe. Those who believe that Jesus himself was created may miss that point and Hebrews not only identifies Jesus as Creator, but also states that, like Melchizedek (who was likely Jesus), he has no beginning or end.[iii] ?He is eternally co-existent with the Father. As we see from our guiding text for this week’s commentary, Jesus is the Word. That being the case, it is logically impossible for the Bible and Jesus to both be the word of God. Jesus himself said that scripture testifies about him.[iv] ?Therefore, the Bible is not the Word of God, but is the word testifying about the Word, about Jesus. There is little power in the Bible apart from Jesus. It simply becomes a collection of stories and platitudes with little more import than Aesop’s Fables.
Please do not misunderstand me. This is not an argument that supports literalism when it comes to the Bible. Rather, metaphor is even more likely to be present as human efforts over the centuries attempt to relate what is ineffable. Even Christ reduced things to parables as he spoke of profound truths. In our humanity, we can catch glimpses of the character and power of the Word expressed in the incarnation of deity in Jesus Christ. On a simple level we see this even in the most perverse among us, we see in their speech, the power of words to uplift or destroy. That is manifest so widely that few of us have not experienced that power. Just as we abuse Creation, we also abuse one another with little regard that it disrespects the Creator behind it all. It also shows a separation from the Creator’s image when we abandon empathy and compassion in favor of selfishness and greed.
When faced with a need to address poverty and need, more Christians are able to quote Paul’s statement that if a person does not work, they should not eat[v] ?than are able to quote relevant words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount.[vi] ?Sadly, even some clerics, who know it is the rich who pay their salaries, are reluctant to call out the abuse of the poor for fear of alienating those who pay them. Those who do are labeled “socialist” or “communist” and their careers go nowhere for the wealthy parishes do not want to hear sermons that highlight their greed. Nonetheless, those parishioners may consider themselves progressive and liberal because they support eliminating gender-based ordination or have gay or ethnic family members or friends. But the truth is seen in the way they live, wearing the latest fashions, spending hundreds on personal grooming, or often buying new vehicles when the average age of cars on the road is 12 years.[vii] ?They think they are in the Kingdom of God, and they may come very close, like the rich young man, but few cross over into that kingdom for fear that it will cost all they have.[viii] ??The wealthy, who do not want to hear this, make up stories about there being a gate called the Eye of the Needle where camels have to take off their load to get through. There is no such gate, and this myth ignores that it is not riches that keep a person from the Kingdom of God but a love of those riches that prevents their loving use on behalf of their neighbor. Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy that the love of money is the root of many evils.[ix] ?People supplant the love for their neighbor with their love for money.
The basis for the divisiveness that exists among us is our failure to honor the created image of God in each of us and the intrinsic value that asserts. We have replaced our love of God and neighbor with a reverence for power, wealth, and control over the lives of others to our benefit. We have chosen not to rely on God as our Creator and benefactor. Hardening our hearts, we determine to make our way in the world and God help those who stand in our way. May God have mercy on our blindness and heal us as he passes by.[x]
[ii] ?Miller, Moshe,?"The Ten Utterances of Creation"
[vii] ?Ferris, Robert,?"Cars on American Roads Keep Getting Older," ?September 28, 2021
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Scripture marked (NIV) taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION and NIV are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.
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