Say
what, now?!
Yes?
Hey! Disciples! the answer is no, no you
do not understand.
Perhaps
you understand the kindom parables. Versed in the words of the prophets, living
in covenant with God, following the Law, you have interpreted – know- what
Jubilee Year, what God’s reign, what shalom, what Messiah, what new creation
is. Yes, you understand through your 1st Century lens, that
judgement is simply the removal of ‘bad fish,’ nothing to do on your part or
within the rest of the Hebrew community. Evil will be plucked out and thrown
away, and you can go on, as is – minus the evil that was around you. Praise the
Lord.
What
you don’t know is what is coming.
After
your YES, Jesus speaks further -
Therefore
every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master
of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.
Say
what, now?!
The
beginning of chapter 13 of Matthew has Jesus telling parables to the crowds.
The disciples ask Jesus why he teaches in this way, trying to understand the
purpose and meaning. The chapter closes with a return to the notion of understanding
using the image of a scribe.
The
Hermineutica commentary interprets the scribes to be those who open up the
treasures of wisdom. Scribes are those of a learned class who study Hebrew scripture
and serve as copyists, editors, teachers, jurists.
Those
who have been trained for the kindom of heaven – meaning Jesus’ disciples,
those who answer ‘yes’ to understanding these things – is the master of a
household who brings out treasure, what is new and what is old; a master who
brings out treasures of wisdom.
Have
you understood all this?
Yes
--- No, no you do not understand.
What
you don’t know is what is coming.
This
wisdom – old and new- is Word; written in the Law, scripted on parchment as
spoken through prophets, scripted in Words spoken over the waters to create;
written on hearts; the Word become flesh. Wisdom to be made known in preaching
Jesus. It is not in the message where
the wisdom is scripted, it is embodied in the recipients. It is not that the
‘bad fish’ get removed – and life goes on – it is Wisdom that catches; fish are
released to proclaim that they have been changed through the experience of
being caught. Some go and some rot. Have you understood all this?
O
disciples, the day is coming when
The
kindom of heaven is like a mustard seed, the kindom of heaven is like yeast,
treasure in a field,, fine pearl, net in the sea… when these will be dimed by
the magnitude of the very kindom Wisdom has tried to describe;
On
that day God will scribe a story so powerful that God’s action is not simply
the removal of evil but rather that the righteous likewise are changed, becoming
a new creation.
God
– through Jesus- the Word- your Teacher, your hoped for Messiah – will be
crucified; not to assuage sin; but to illuminate and inscribe on hearts to what
length God will go to unconditionally love the world. God loved the world so
much that…
God
dared to set God-self aside to suffer and die; to die on a cross.
Say
what, now?!
Yes,
God’s covenant loyalty and relationality -God’s love is that grand.
A
love so grand it changes the scribe – the learned, the jurist, the copyist, the
conveyor of scripture text.
O
disciples, be prepared for that is not the end of Wisdom’s story, the day is
coming when you will proclaim:
Christ
has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Three
days after death Jesus comes again. It is written that the women find the tomb
empty and as they go to tell you this “Suddenly Jesus met them and said,
‘Greetings!’ And they came to Jesus, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
Have
you understood all this?
Yes.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Perhaps
you understand the kindom parables. Versed in the death and resurrection
stories of the Gospels, living in the covenant of baptism, filled with the Holy
Spirit, you interpret - know- what
communion, what church, what commonwealth, what shalom, what heaven, what new
creation is. Yes, you understand through a 21st Century lens that grace
trumps judgement. You have not lived in a world where this full expression of
God has not been present.
And
yet, have you understood all this?
Yes.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
This
wisdom – old and new- is Word; written in the Law, scripted on parchment as
spoken through prophets, scripted in Words spoken over the waters to create;
written in the Gospels; inscribed on hearts; the Word become flesh. Wisdom to be made known
in preaching Jesus. It is not in the message
where the wisdom is scripted, it is embodied in the recipients.
This
grace gets engraved on the tablets of the heart, encoded into our DNA, an
embodied presence of Jesus the Christ.
And
because of this grace -this treasure of wisdom- we can boldly proclaim YES.
Preaching
Jesus we say…
Christ
has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Say
what, now?!
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