Be Compassionate as God is Compassionate

"Be Compassionate"

Opening Prayer: Oh God, I ask you now to lure us into a greater understanding of who you are, who Jesus was and is, and what that means for us today. Amen.

Those who grew up in a Southern Baptist Church or similar tradition like I did, likely remember sermons being 35-45 minutes long. Thankfully, Father Joe and Father Collin keep their sermons a bit shorter. Growing up, we had a pastor named Russell who would wisely tell his main point at the start of his sermons. He did this because several members of the congregation would routinely sleep through the sermon. Pastor Russell would ensure he gets his main point across before the snores set in.
Well, I don't intend to speak for more than 12 minutes (or so). Still, taking Russell's approach, if you only hear one thing from me this evening, this Monday of Holy Week, I want it to be this: be compassionate as God is compassionate.

Why do I use that phrase for today's events? It is not in the daily readings or today's Gospel reading; it is from Luke chapter 6. It, however, has everything to do with the subversive event that occurs in the temple on Monday of Holy Week: the story of Jesus clearing the temple.

Many of us have heard this story or a version of the story: Jesus comes to the temple in the morning and stages this protest, flips the money changers' tables, and overturns the seats of those selling doves. He references the prophets of old, Jeremiah and Isaiah, saying “the temple is a house of prayer for all people. Yet, you turn it into a den of robbers” (which, to clarify, the temple had become a safe haven for robbers, not necessarily where the robberies were taking place). A den of robbers isn’t where the robbing happens after all.

We usually think this event is an outlier with the character of Jesus—a sassy Jesus, as Fr. Joe calls it. But I think this is more in line with Jesus' character than not.

In fact, this is not the first subversive act by Jesus this week. Yesterday, Palm Sunday, was his first subversive act of Holy Week. Riding into the city on a donkey seems innocent enough. Growing up, the flannel board in Sunday School showed everyone in the city cheering and Jesus with a big smile. No, this act was not so innocent. This staged event of riding on a donkey directly challenged the Romans, who were at the same time entering the city on the opposite end. They did this yearly to quell the zealots wanting to start another violent revolution against Rome. The Roman Governor Pilot would have entered on a war horse surrounded by Roman soldiers. A show of force, ready for battle. Peace through conquering is the way of empire. Jesus riding in on the opposite of this on a donkey, with women and children on the flank, would have been exceptionally provocative. Jesus was mocking, essentially saying, "You come in violence, I come in peace." Jesus comes offering his alternative to the way things were with his upside-down Kingdom of God, an alternative to empire, instead built on true peace, acceptance, compassion, and for those who lived in the margins.

Returning to the story for today, it is essential to know the background as we desire to know Jesus better and, during this Holy Week, to reflect on why Jesus was killed. Just saying, "Well, it was divinely ordained that he should be killed for the sins of the world," is missing the point. If that was the only thing important, why do the gospel writers include everything else during this week? No, I think we should look at this act of flipping tables and Jesus referencing the ancient prophets as something Jesus planned, with all his previous confrontations with the religious elite coming to a head here in the temple with this protest. This subversive act protested the temple's purity culture and the temple's collusion with the Empire (which is a whole other sermon for another time.) It is Jesus's subversive acts that land him in hot water.

The temple was the center of Jewish society, and there was nothing wrong with that; the temple's purpose was to be the center of Jewish life. It was perfectly fine to sell animals in the temple courtyard for sacrifice. That was practical as people making a pilgrimage to the temple didn't have to travel with their animals. The animals they purchased in the temple courtyard were guaranteed pure - or acceptable for sacrifice. These things were not what Jesus was protesting.

Jesus protested the central idea of what the temple had become, a domineering system that excluded others, with "Be holy as God is Holy" at the system's core. Before anyone gets any wrong ideas, the pursuit of holiness is not a bad thing. It is the pursuit of holiness to the extent that you exclude, marginalize, and fail to act compassionately for fear of not being "holy.”

Contrary to the Temple system of holiness, Jesus stressed compassion. Throughout his ministry, he taught compassion often in direct contrast to the idea of holiness in front of the religious elite, those who ruled the temple. In the story of the good Samaritan, the priest and Levite passed by the half-dead man in an effort to remain pure and holy. If the man were dead, touching a corpse was an unclean act. The hero of the story is a person who displays compassion. Jesus' healings are another example; he often touched those with diseases, he touched bleeding women, a dead child, and he ate with those considered socially and spiritually "unclean," which would have rendered Jesus unclean and unholy. Jesus, though, in all these actions, emphasized compassion over holiness

As the Historical Jesus theologian and Episcopalian Marcus Borg puts it, "It is striking that 'Be compassionate as God is compassionate' so closely echoes 'Be holy and God is holy,' even as it makes a radical substitution. The close parallel suggests that Jesus replaced the core value of purity with compassion. Compassion, not holiness, is the dominant quality of God, and is therefore to be the ethos of the community that mirrors God.

The central conflict in Jesus' ministry is the conflict between these two qualities of God that are to be embodied in the community: holiness and compassion. Two different social visions. The dominant vision of the Temple is centered on holiness; Jesus' vision is centered on compassion.

For Jesus, compassion is the core characteristic of God and is to be the core value of life in community; it was also very political. He directly and repeatedly challenged the social-political norm of his social world, advocating for a politics of compassion. As the religious elite (the authorities who ruled in the temple) excluded and marginalized many in society, Jesus routinely pushed against this domineering system.

The mantra of the Temple authorities, "Be holy as God is holy," had a lot of implications, especially for those already living in the margins. "Be holy as God is Holy" excluded those who were unclean. Excluded the poor who could not pay for the sacrifices, and it excluded the sick and diseased who were not permitted in the temple because of their ailments. Be Holy as God is Holy excluded women for many reasons, even for reasons that are natural, like menstruation and childbirth. Be holy as God is Holy excluded those socially unacceptable, like tax collectors and eunuchs. Be holy as God is holy as a prerequisite to come to God, excludes.

Jesus’ social vision: "Be compassionate as God is compassionate," is radically inclusive; it is anti-empire, anti-collusion, and anti-exclusion. It is a very subversive theology for Jesus to have and to act on. It is after this outburst - or, more accurately, this demonstration by Jesus in the temple that the temple authorities begin to plot how they are going to kill Jesus. He has crossed the line; enough is enough.

He blatantly subverted peace through violence, the way of empire, yesterday as he mocked Rome by entering on a donkey; today, he subverts the religious elite who cling to power and gatekeep those allowed to come to God. He subverts the class system, declaring that God is more interested in acts of compassion and acceptance than holiness that excludes. Jesus' way of stirring the crowd threatens those in power, so it is decided that Jesus must be dealt with.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrated the core of who God is and what God desires: love and compassion. Jesus's ministry taught that compassion, inclusivity of the marginalized, being loving and just are more significant than the demand for "holiness."

Where did Jesus get this idea of compassion being greater than holiness? Jesus was a good Jew; he knew the prophets' words and his people's history. He knew in Isaiah, it is said,

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?

says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls

or of lambs or of goats.

When you come to appear before me,

Bringing offerings is futile;

incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation—

I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.

Your new moons and your appointed festivals

my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me;

I am weary of bearing them.

When you stretch out your hands,

I will hide my eyes from you;

even though you make many prayers,

I will not listen;

your hands are full of blood.

Instead:

learn to do good;

seek justice;

rescue the oppressed;

defend the orphan;

plead for the widow.

Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, and Ezekiel are just a few prophets with passages like the one from Isaiah. Jesus knew them; he knew compassion over ritual pursuits of holiness was central to their ideas. Be compassionate as God is compassionate.

What does all this mean for us today? One quick personal story, and I will wrap this up.

Not long ago, my wife and I attended an event hosted by several of our favorite theologians and theology podcasters. I know we're nerds. People from across the political and social spectrum participated in this event. All were welcome. It was a place where anyone seeking to know Jesus better was welcome, regardless of their politics, gender identity, or even whether they called themselves Christians. But all were there because they sought to know Jesus better.

This was a three-day event, so on the opening night, some family members met us at the church where the event took place. They were going to watch our little girls for the weekend. To avoid confusion, none of my family here tonight were involved in this story. They are back there looking nervous, no worries.

A few weeks after this event, these family members from the story met us at our home. They expressed their disappointment that we would attend an event like that in a church. They were concerned explicitly that there were individuals who appeared to be men dressed in dresses and feminine clothes. What's more, they said if Jesus were here seeing these people in a church, he would have gone in, flipped the tables, and driven them out, referring to our story today on Holy Monday.

Although they didn't use these words, they were more concerned about the holiness of the church and Brianna and me being around people that society often classifies as unclean. They dehumanized specific individuals, reduced them, and equated them with something you have disgust for. They also completely misunderstood what Jesus' actions in the temple were all about. Thinking his actions were about maintaining a certain level of holiness.

On this Holy Monday, as we prepare to come to Christ’s table, let us reflect on Jesus' actions in the temple and throughout his ministry that led to his temple protest. Let us recognize compassion as God's central attribute, as Jesus did. Let us recognize when, in the pursuit of holiness, others are excluded from participating in community life. Let us realize that and instead choose to be compassionate, as God is compassionate.
Amen.