The more I live, the more I long for the ordinary life. Everything seems so specialized-I don't like that. Maybe it's my age. I'm going through what my psychologist friend calls a "Life Passage"- Whatever.
But that's not what's bugging me. What really rubs me the wrong way are people who believe they have certain "specialness" that make them superior to me. You know how you can tell if they're special? Just ask them.
I don't know, maybe I'm growing weary of all the hand wringing and posturing going on among the "special" people out there. Like the Gnostics of old, these precious folks believe they have the hidden secrets on truth.
On TV I hear the special men and women wax eloquently on how pure they are. They pontificate how their political or "culturally-hyphenated" group is untainted by corruption like those other rascally groups are. Either you're a victim or an oppressor. It's all smoke. Their "specialness" is an illusion-an escape from the ordinary.
A friend told me of a cocky, braggadocios Mixed Martial Arts fighter he knew. One night this guy was "trash talking" and got into a heated altercation that ended up in the parking lot-the smug fighter pulled a punch and the other guy pulled a gun and shot the MMA warrior dead. His "specialness" couldn't save him.
The story is a reminder that there are certain things in this life that are bigger than us mere mortals-like death. Death is a great equalizer. Whether you're a (D) or an (R) or a "This-American" or a "That-American"-we all face death the same way.
Authenticity is another equalizer that chips away at our sense of "specialness" and forces us to face the stark realization that we are "ordinary." Just once it would be refreshing for someone to say "I'm just an ordinary guy, don't look to me for your needs."
There's freedom in the "ordinary." But many people do not want this freedom-so they hide behind their "specialness" and continue to be burdened down by the weight of the illusion of "specialness."
Hey I'm just an ordinary guy and I like it that way. And by the way, ordinary people do special things every once in a while.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Throwing Rocks
A group of men dragged a woman to the front of temple steps, to where Jesus was speaking. They proudly proclaimed her guilt: "this woman was caught in the act of adultery and the law say's to stone her, what do you say, Rabbi?"
The accusers were lawyers just itching to catch Jesus in a legal trap. Their question smacked of self righteousness dripping with an insincere moral superiority. Would Jesus support the law or would he dismiss it and be regarded as a zealot? This was the biblical version of the political "gotcha" question.
The litigants picked up rocks to execute the sinner and showcase their "righteousness." But Jesus remained silent-he knew their intent. "How do you rule, teacher?" they demanded. Jesus knelt down beside the women and scribbled something in the dirt. "What will it be?" they pushed for His verdict.
Then Jesus stood up, faced the men and said "All right, stone her, but let those who have never sinned throw the first stone." Jesus words hung in the air for what seemed like eternity. And for a moment He rendered the "rock throwers" impotent. He flipped it on them. He ruled on the accused-then went inward to the heart of the accusers.
The rock throwers judgment was made in bad faith-an insincere, self righteous condemnation. They appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner-a position only reserved for the one true Judge-God-who is the "maker of heaven and earth who will one day judge the living and the dead."
Jesus knelt back down and finished writing in the dirt and one by one, beginning with the oldest; they dropped their rocks and walked away. Only Jesus and the woman were alone. He looked in her eyes and said "where are your accusers-did even one of them condemn you?"
"No" she said quietly.
Jesus replied "Then neither do I, go and sin no more."
Jesus made two judgments-one for the woman and the other for the "rock throwers." His judgment of the woman was animated by the law of love. This is operational law for those who live in the kingdom of God-followers of Christ.
Love governs my every action. Love first-then proceed with correcting, discerning and making a judgment-the New Testament word for making this "judging" is "krinos."
Jesus' condemnation of the rock throwers was not in the outward act of making a judgment, but the inward condition of the heart in which the judgment is made.
As the rock throwers lifted themselves up on the "bema" seat reserved only for the one true judge-God, they picked up their rocks. And in doing so they walked right into their own condemnation.
The accusers were lawyers just itching to catch Jesus in a legal trap. Their question smacked of self righteousness dripping with an insincere moral superiority. Would Jesus support the law or would he dismiss it and be regarded as a zealot? This was the biblical version of the political "gotcha" question.
The litigants picked up rocks to execute the sinner and showcase their "righteousness." But Jesus remained silent-he knew their intent. "How do you rule, teacher?" they demanded. Jesus knelt down beside the women and scribbled something in the dirt. "What will it be?" they pushed for His verdict.
Then Jesus stood up, faced the men and said "All right, stone her, but let those who have never sinned throw the first stone." Jesus words hung in the air for what seemed like eternity. And for a moment He rendered the "rock throwers" impotent. He flipped it on them. He ruled on the accused-then went inward to the heart of the accusers.
The rock throwers judgment was made in bad faith-an insincere, self righteous condemnation. They appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner-a position only reserved for the one true Judge-God-who is the "maker of heaven and earth who will one day judge the living and the dead."
Jesus knelt back down and finished writing in the dirt and one by one, beginning with the oldest; they dropped their rocks and walked away. Only Jesus and the woman were alone. He looked in her eyes and said "where are your accusers-did even one of them condemn you?"
"No" she said quietly.
Jesus replied "Then neither do I, go and sin no more."
Jesus made two judgments-one for the woman and the other for the "rock throwers." His judgment of the woman was animated by the law of love. This is operational law for those who live in the kingdom of God-followers of Christ.
Love governs my every action. Love first-then proceed with correcting, discerning and making a judgment-the New Testament word for making this "judging" is "krinos."
Jesus' condemnation of the rock throwers was not in the outward act of making a judgment, but the inward condition of the heart in which the judgment is made.
As the rock throwers lifted themselves up on the "bema" seat reserved only for the one true judge-God, they picked up their rocks. And in doing so they walked right into their own condemnation.
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