The
'Joke Only' King
Some
years ago there was a fashion for "Joke Only" t-shirts.
You would see someone wearing a t-shirt with the words "I am
Muhammad Ali" or "I am the richest man in the world"
or "I am Miss Universe," only to find, when you get closer,
the words 'joke only' written there in smaller print.
Today
we are celebrating the Feast of Christ the King and if any title deserves
the subscript 'joke only,' this one does. When we think of kings we
think of palaces and power and pomp; we think of might and armies.
But Jesus rejected all that sort of stuff. He was born in a stable
for animals, he spent most of his life in a carpenter's shop; he rejected
the temptations to use power, prestige or possessions to achieve his
mission from the Father; in his preaching he irritated both the civil
and religious leaders of his time so much that they had him crucified
on false charges. King indeed! Although when he rose from the dead
a few days later it was no joke, except that it was a joke on the
power who thought that they had got rid of him!
To
call Christ a King may be a joke from one point of view, but he certainly
was a leader who knew his priorities. His priority was the will of
his Father and he rejected anything that was contrary to it. In matters
of religion, especially in times of tension and confusion, there are
always two dangers to be avoided; atheism and fundamentalism. One
way of dealing with tension is to let go of any idea of God or of
God's importance or place in life. There are many people who are practical
atheists; they may even continue to go to church but God really has
no place in their lives. The other danger is to try to handle our
fear or our sense of being overpowered by reality, by fixing on to
some limited aspect of reality or of religion and to sacralize it
and make it into the whole truth. This could be the Bible or a book,
or a shrine or devotion, or a practice. It is defining God and putting
him into a box or a formula. When we do this we will very soon be
saying "you are holy only if you see things my way and if you
do not you are damned."
Jesus
de-sacralized several formulas, kinds of fundamentalism, that were
prevalent in his time and can still be seen in different shapes and
sizes today within and outside the Catholic Church. The Pharisees
had sacralized Law; they had reduced God to keeping the Law. But Jesus
said that people are not made for the law, rather laws are made to
serve people. The scribes identified God with theology and philosophical
discussions. The Sadducees identified God with money - money for them
was a sign of God's blessing even if it was acquired by shading dealing.
For the high priests God was identified with liturgy and temple service:
for the zealots God was in political liberation. The Essenes sacralized
what we would today call religious life. While all of these are of
great importance in a balanced spirituality, Jesus said "no"
to sacralizing any one of them and making God fit into that box. We
must let God be God.
In
the creation story we are told that our God made only one creature
in his own image - the human person, male and female. In the final
judgment scene we see that we will be judged by how we have reverenced
God in that image. We will not be judged on our novenas or devotions,
but on our love for one another.
When
we use words about God we are boxed in by the inadequacy of the words
and we are always trying to get a hold on God through them. While
this can be a necessary step we are also called to go beyond it -
to let go of all limits and let God be God. In being still and centering
before God without any preconceived ideas or plans or requests, God
will bring us into truth and awareness. If there is anything in our
own lives that is contrary to God's Reign - or anything in the world
around us, anything that is destructive of the people with whom we
relate or can influence, God will make us aware of that reality and
make us face it honestly. God will give us the wisdom and courage
to face reality and to respond to God as Ruler of that reality. And
that challenge is no joke!
Taken
from Sundays
into Silence - A Pathway to Life. Copyright © 1998 by Claretian
Publications
