Tuesday, 31 March The Messiah Claims His Kingdom on Earth. Matt. 23:1–39
This is a difficult passage in which to find gentle comfort or encouragement. It is a long, severe denunciation of the religious leaders of the day. But it is in scripture, and we must deal with it. Let us do so as gently – but as truthfully – as we can.
Such an excoriating list of Woe to you… curses seems quite out of place in the New Testament. This language belongs clearly to the prophetic stream of the Old Testament. It is an established form in the prophetic writings and in other places.
Let’s reflect on this for a moment. Jesus has been behaving as the coming King, in the last few chapters. It is impossible to ignore this developing narrative. There are two ways that we can read this outburst from Jesus. I think both are reasonable and relevant.
First, a King, when he comes into his reign, will set about righting injustices. He will set things to rights all over his kingdom. Jesus is establishing his role as the True King establishing Justice in the land as he castigates these failed religious leaders.
After the destruction of the Ring has been concluded in The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf explains to Barliman Butterbur the implications of a good King having been installed in Gondor (I'm indebted to my email-friend Louis Markos in his On the Shoulders of Hobbits, p96, for this insight):
There is a king again, Barliman. He will soon be turning his mind this way. Then the Greenway will be opened again, … and the evil things will be driven out of the waste-lands. Indeed the waste, in time, will be waste no longer, and there will be people and fields where once was wilderness.
Second, Jesus is described as Prophet, Priest and King. We’ve seen his Kingship clearly being expressed. In a little while as he approaches the cross, he will be revealed as Priest. In this chapter and the next two chapters, we see him clearly acting as Prophet. Just as the Old Testament prophets acted as the mouthpiece of God to call those in authority to account, Jesus, as the Word of God now does precisely the same, with the Pharisees.
To make this long passage more accessible, I suggest that the errors fall into 5 main types. These are all well-supported in academic literature on organisational theory and human management systems, not just churches. I’ve summarised them below, without specific reference to particular verses.
1. The tendency of organised religion (or any human organisation, really) to create two classes – (i) the inner ring of leaders and hangers-on with special privileges, roles and titles; and (ii) the ordinary people who are expected to follow and obey without question.
2. The tendency of those holding religious/organisational power to corrupt the very heart of the message they are supposed to promote, or the core purpose of the organisation.
3. The distortion of what is true and good, in favour of legalism or conformity to an organisational ideal (‘we must find people who share our ideological DNA’), while core values are downgraded, sidelined, or ignored.
4. A focus on elaborate ritual, or particular styles of clothing, or lordly titles, or celebrity status, creating unbridgeable distance between the elite leaders and the ordinary followers.
5. An elevation of those in the inner ring to be given the right to determine what is truth, while making it impossible for anyone in an outer circle to penetrate falsehood or failure with corrective action or words. Critics face ridicule and exclusion. Members of the inner ring who deserve censure are not properly dealt with for fear of damaging the distinctive elitism of the ‘brand’.
Some people reading this reflection will recognise some of these characteristics from their association with churches – both traditional churches with powerful hierarchies and contemporary, non-traditional churches with powerful leaders.
So how do we find some personal reflective value in this grim chapter?
I suggest there are two things we can carry away from this.
First, if we are a member of an inner ring in our church, either by virtue of our employment position in a church, or for any other reason such as committee membership, long family tradition in the church and so on, we can determine to do whatever we can to break that ring open. We can determine to reduce any sense of elitism, and to encourage transparency, hospitable welcome, and openness within our church community.
Second, we can take the lesson outside of our faith communities into our private lives. Perhaps at work, or within a family structure, or in a social club, we can become aware of a level of privilege that we hold.
We can reflect, on the basis of Jesus’ words, whether we, perhaps unintentionally, have been party to placing an unfair burden on others in the organisation; whether we have supported any unfair treatment of different members; whether we are supporting the ongoing life of an inner ring or clique, whether we have enshrined in the structures of the organisation differential treatment of people perhaps on the basis of how much money they have donated, their role or their political connections.
I donated some money to a Christian organisation once, and some time later received a polite little letter telling me that I had been placed on a ‘level’ of donor – you know the kind of thing: platinum for big donors, down through gold, silver and bronze or some similar thing. It was the last time I donated to that organisation. Such methods are commonplace in fund-raising, but I find them completely opposite to how I understand that a Christian organisation would treat its partners. I’ve had a lot to do with fund-raising during my professional life, but I always refused to allow my organisation to use that method.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I really don’t want to find myself on the end of one of your Woe to you… critiques. I would much rather be in the Well done, good and faithful servant conversation. Please help me to examine my connections in my church, and in my private and working life. Help me to be brutally honest with myself, trying to reduce any sense of privilege or belonging to some equivalent of a ‘boys’ club’ or ‘invited members only’ club. Help me, in all my life’s activities to be always seeking the good, indeed the betterment, of those among whom I live and for whom I work. Amen.
