Logs and swine, snakes and sand. Jesus has got some interesting metaphors going on today. You’ve got a log sticking out of your eye…you’re throwing pearls into the pigsty….you’re handing snakes to small children and you’re watching stick house blow away in the wind on the sand. This is the stuff of comic strips. Literally. Pearls before Swine is on the comic page.
But the best funnies are the ones that help us see ourselves a little clearer….and that’s what Jesus is doing here. Holding up a picture of us peering into someone’s eye to find the speck that is irritating them…while a tree is growing out of our own eyeball….that’s funny. But oh, so true. We love to “help” other people, don’t we? We can so clearly see what’s wrong and how they should change. We are sure we could make a better job of their life. There are so many people who I’m sure would be better off if they just did what I thought they should do…if they just raised their kids like I would, or spent their money like I would, or did their job like I would. I see every speck they should change. And sometimes, this desire to “fix” people…becomes what we think it is to be a person of faith. But that’s not what Jesus is about…he didn’t come to create a community that pointed out what was wrong with others. Jesus came to create a community that gathered to receive God’s forgiveness…a community where we all simply acknowledge our blindness and our deep need for God’s grace. A community of people who know that they are messed up…but who rest deeply in God’s love for us …and for the world. That’s the only way we’re of any use to anyone.
But the reality is….some people won’t “get” it. Some people will take the grace God gives them…and then turn around and hurt others with it. Some people…in the name of God…will claim the holy pearls of God’s forgiveness for themselves…and then viciously attack others. They will be mean. But that’s not the church. That’s not where God’s love flows. Walk away, Jesus says. Walk away from that place…from that church. Don’t lay your one holy precious life down in that place. You were created for love…don’t get sucked into the mud.
And then, trust that God is good. Really good. “Better than you could ever be”-good. We are people with logs in our eyes, that wallow in the mud all too often…and even we wouldn’t hand a rattlesnake to our hungry toddler. Or even our teenager…probably. But here’s the thing. God’s way better than us. Way better than us. We can trust God. When we ask for God to be with us…when we search for signs of God’s presence..when we knock on God’s door…God will be there. God’s got us. God has us, holds us, and won’t let us go. God is GOOD. Even we we are not. God is faithful. Even when we are not. God isn’t far away…waiting for us to bridge the gap…God’s in us, with us, surrounding us. The problem is, we just forget to pay attention. So when we finally do stop our busy “go, go, going” long enough to look…we’ll realize God’s been there all along. God’s love has never stopped.
And then Jesus goes on to remind us what everybody knows….literally, everybody. The golden rule is found in basically every religious tradition. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The funny part about this…is that we all know it…but we still don’t do it. Seriously…it should be a no-brainer. Jesus didn’t even use a metaphor to help us understand…this one is a slow pitch over the plate. But we whiff it again and again. Because of course Jesus didn’t mean drug addicts or illegal immigrants or gang members or prisoners or terrorists…or liberals or conservatives … They are bad, and we would never be like them. They DESERVE to be treated cruelly. And back we trot to lesson one. Log. Speck. We’re stuck in the mud. Handing out snakes.
Yep, the gate is wide…and the road is easy…to destroying ourselves and others. We travel down it so easily. And it‘s paved by facebook and media hacks. It’s so easy to run people down…to make our judgments….to line up people like paper targets and knock them off. But it’s harder to follow Jesus. It is really, really hard to do grace. To see real people. To love the unlovable. That’s a narrow road to find. Shaine Claiborne is an author I deeply appreciate. For a number of years, we gave his book, “The Irresistible Revolution”, to our graduating seniors. And one year, our confimands got to hear him speak in Seattle. Andyway, he shares this story about riding on a plane after Saddam Hussein was captured.
“What do you think of that man?” the old guy asked in a raspy voice
as I settled in next to him on the plane. He pointed to the face of Saddam
Hussein on the front of his newspaper with a headline story of his looming
execution. I gathered myself and prepared for what could turn out to be a
rather chatty plane ride. I replied gently, “I think that man needs some
love.” The boisterous gentleman sat still; it was, perhaps, not exactly the
response he predicted. Then he said pensively, “Hmmmm. I think you’re
right.” In a forlorn tone, he whispered, “And it is hard to communicate
love through a noose.”
The road is easy and the gate is wide that leads to death and destruction. It is easy to think we can root out evil with violence. It is easy to paint things black and white. It is hard to choose to see with God’s eyes….to see all the colors and shades of humanity. To love people that don’t “deserve” it. But that’s how God loves us. It’s not easy… Facebook doesn’t exactly encourage that kind of thing. And neither do our media pundits. But that is Jesus’ way. That is God’s way. The narrow way. The way of grace. And it’s really the only solid ground there is.
Our problem is that we think grace is soft…like sand…too weak to hold up against the brutal and harsh realities of “real life”. We kind of like to think Jesus means all this in a “spiritual sense”…but doesn’t intend for us to implement it in our day to day life. It’s just not practical. We need to be “wise as serpents”, right? We need to play by the world’s rules to get ahead. To survive. To root out “evil”.
Uh…no. That’s just us…trying to ignore him. Jesus is actually saying that grace is the only thing that is rock solid in this world. It is the only thing that will withstand the storms we face. Everything else…is flimsy and foolish.
The rest of it is just us…caught up in the same old cycle of thinking we are so great — thinking we’re building great nations or great political systems or great religious communities…just like we have throughout history…and then finding out they’re just shacks on sandy beaches. They’ll be gone when the next storm comes.
Honestly, as humans, Jesus is pointing out that we really are like a comic strip that goes on and on and on…doing the same stupid things again and again. And thinking…this time…we’re different. This time…we’ve got it right. But as long as we think we can get it right…that we know who’s good and bad…who matters and who doesn’t… As long as we think that we can hurt others and run others down …as long as we ignore God’s presence and God’s goodness in every moment…in every person…in ourselves…there’s nothing but sand underneath us.
The only solid ground …is God’s amazing grace.
The sad part…is that sometimes we have to fall hard…and hit rock bottom to realize it. But when we do…when we do hit rock bottom…do you know what will be there? Jesus. Jesus will be there…with love…with forgiveness….with grace. For every single flawed human being. Every single one. Including you. Jesus is our solid ground.
Jesus isn’t out of touch with reality. He’s the only one who sees reality in this comic strip world. And what is that? That God has you. God holds you. God’s not letting you go. And God is Good. All the time. It says that the crowds were astounded as Jesus taught them these things. Be astounded, my friends. And plant your feet in grace.
Amen.
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