When is it OK to break the rules?
I am thankful that I was raised in a house where I was
taught manners and respect for other people. I was taught, in keeping with the
teaching of Jesus to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This
kind of mutual respect and honor is in part what keeps any human group or human
society from turning into chaos. Today, in the United States, in the broader
sense of our popular culture and our national debates, good manners seem be the
exception rather than the rule.
But at what point does a person’s or societies’ view of
“good manners” or “appropriate behavior” become manipulative, unduly
restrictive, and/or downright abusive? Every human family or group, no matter
how large or how small, has unwritten expectations and “acceptable manners”.
This does not mean that their definitions are healthy or to be adopted.
When Jesus came to live among us, he walked into both civil
and religious structures with many assumed and expected manners and rules.
Those under the power of these leaders knew the consequences of thinking
outside of their holy and elevated rules and used their so-called prestige and
knowledge for their own selfish desires. This not only bothered Jesus, but it
also often infuriated him to the point of rebuke and at times even name-calling
for specific theological application.
Jesus knew the importance of the Law of God in the Old
Testament, and he knew the authority and power of the truths of the Old
Testament Scripture in general. However, he also knew, that human rules,
established to give limits and boundaries to facilitate structure and order,
were to be contextually applied based on the core, Godly characteristics of
righteousness/justice, mercy, and shalom as God had revealed it to his people.
However, those who love POWER over their love for God, revel
in rigidity and simplicity – laying aside a patient, gracious, and thoughtful
discerning of truth and error or right and wrong. Jesus never pursued the
leadership of Israel to change them. They pursued him as a threat. When Jesus
pushed back at their duplicity and parasitic behaviors, the Jewish leaders saw
Jesus as a disrespectful, rebellious, and dangerous prophet. Of course, any
prophet in the Old or New Testaments that pushed against corruption, injustice,
or the disobedience to God’s Word also faced these same responses.
Our text for Sunday comes from the Gospel of Luke chapter
13 (see the link below). Jesus again, chooses mercy over the strict interpretation of current
man-made applications regarding the sabbath. The RIGHT group, the POWERFUL
group was non-too-pleased. But the powerless, marginalized, and ill woman who
was healed were ecstatic and gave praise to God!
How might we be a people who give this “gospel” news and
love to others who know only the marginalization and power structures so valued
by the world? How can we avoid this kind of off-putting, Holy Spirit dousing,
and selfish approach to leadership at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church? To the Church of Christ?
"Controlling the Rules" - Luke 13:10-17