Casting Out the Caster-Outers

This Holy Week we recall how Jesus threw people out of the temple. Specifically the moneychangers and those who set up tables

Mark’s telling of this story goes like this:

Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, ‘Is it not written,
“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”?
But you have made it a den of robbers.’
And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

It is said that the chief priests and scribes were upset about this action, so much so they wanted to kill Jesus. They are so offended that Jesus would do such an action and they want to get to the bottom of this. So just a few verses later, they go to Jesus and ask him by what authority does he act?

These folks are not a fan of being thrown out of the temple and called thieves or bandits. They do not like the idea that Jesus was suggesting that these leaders did not care about the people; Jesus suggesting they were taking advantage of the poor. They did not like being tossed out of the center of their religious home.

Among the many genius things of Jesus, one of the most brilliant things of Jesus is his ability to use the very mechanism of the systems against itself. Jesus only does what the leadership of the temple had been doing - casting people out.

For instance, there were ten people with leprosy (Luke 17:11-19). If you had leprosy, you were cast out of the temple for being a sinner and unclean. There was a man born blind and when he disagreed with the leadership, he was cast out (John 9). There was a woman at a well who had been cast out of the community for having several husbands (John 4). There were children who wanted to see Jesus and the disciples tried to cast them out (Mark 10:13-16).

The temple and the leadership of the day was excellent at casting people out.

The leadership found it acceptable and perhaps even honorable when others were cast out. But when the leadership is cast out, when they get a taste of their own medicine, when they see in the mirror all that they had been doing to others - it was only then that the leadership wanted to kill Jesus.

It is brilliant that Jesus was able to use the very same system of “casting out” to expose and destroy the very system of casting out. It is not surprising that we do not like to be the ones doing the casting, but we surely are deeply offended when we are the ones cast out.

Privilege Says...

I want to introduce you (in case you do not already know of her work) to Dr. Christena Cleveland. Her website introduces her as:

”a social psychologist, public theologian, author, and activist. She is the founder and director of the recently-launched Center for Justice + Renewal, a non-profit dedicated to helping justice advocates sharpen their understanding of the social realities that maintain injustice while also stimulating the soul’s enormous capacity to resist and transform those realities. Committed to leading both in scholarly settings and in the public square, Christena writes regularly, speaks widely, and consults with organizations.”

Image by David Rochas - used with permission from Dr. Cleveland’s office

You might be interested in exploring her Learning Community where you can get a sense of her current and how to support her future work.

Dr. Cleveland wrote the following poem. From what I understand the insights she elevates are not “new” to those who study and speak about privilege. The poem’s power resides in her ability to list several examples of what privilege looks like. As a person who as more privilege than most people in the world, I am humbled by Dr. Cleveland’s work and give thanks for the ways she is gracefully teaching me. I know that I have so much learning, no, so much unlearning to do. I pray that others in my position will join in the efforts to repent of our blindness and admit that we might very well be doing more harm than we would like to admit. And may our repentance lead not forgiveness and change of how we use our privilege.

I share the following poem with permission from Dr. Cleveland’s office:

Privilege Says...

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they offer practical solutions to the problems that they describe.

Privilege says learn my language, my customs, and my particularities -- so we can all enjoy unity.

Privilege says the world's problems would be solved if everybody were just like me.

Privilege says I can dress unbecomingly but still be perceived as edgy, unique or not materialistic, rather than homeless.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they communicate in a way that's easy for me to understand.

Privilege says I have no cultural identity.

Privilege says diverse people should come to my spiritual community, on my turf, in my comfort zone.

Privilege says I've earned everything I've got.

Privilege says the characteristics of the divine that are most evident in my culture are the most important ones.

Privilege says why are people who experience oppression always talking about oppression? Why can't we all just get along?

Privilege says your perspective is tainted by your culture. I speak pure truth.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they describe their negative experiences in a super hopeful way and I leave feeling super hopeful.

Privilege says that reverse discrimination is real.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they come to my institution/conference/social space. I don't see that in doing so, they risk being further marginalized by me.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they possess the kind of credentials that I value.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they listen to me.

Privilege says people who disagree with me are angry.

Privilege says I choose a spiritual community based on what is comfortable for me and my family.

Privilege says I would listen to people who experience oppression but they see everything from their unique cultural viewpoint. I, on the other hand, can see the big picture.

Privilege says I'll be friends with people who experience oppression, as long as they never call me an oppressor.

Privilege says your perspective is important, just not as important as mine.

Privilege says my culture naturally embodies more of the characteristics of Jesus.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they remain calm (in the way that calm means to me).

Privilege says let's plan a conference/roundtable/anthology and then after the fact invite diverse people to "add flavor."

Privilege says this cross-cultural encounter is uncomfortable. I'm leaving

Privilege says this person who experiences oppression’s story is such a downer.  Why can't they be more hopeful and grateful?

Privilege says I'd definitely follow a poor/trans/person of color leader.  I just never have.

Privilege says I should get brownie points for being friends with people who experience oppression.

Privilege says I don’t see color.

Privilege says I'll only listen to people who experience oppression if they repeatedly affirm that I'm a good person and not like other privileged folks

Privilege says this is the land of equal opportunity.

Privilege says I don't have a cultural identity, but people who are different than me do.

Privilege says I'm not privileged.

How Can We Fulfill a Law We Break?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says,

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Then, if you know the rest of the story, Jesus goes on to break all sorts of laws (healing on the Sabbath, claiming to be divine, turning tables over in the Temple, ignoring his mother’s requests, etc.). How can someone say they came to fulfill the law while simultaneously break it?

To obey the law means actions are directed by an outside or external things that forces compliance. For instance, if I do not pay my taxes the government will fine me. There is force that is outside or external to me that I am really responding to. If the external force was not present, then there is a likelihood that I would not obey the law. This is also why I all slow down when I drive by a police officer, but will speed up once I feel I am “at a safe distance.”

Fulfilling the law is different. Fulfilling the law comes by indirectly obeying the law.

Take the above examples, if I were to pay my taxes out of my internal delight, I am not paying them out of fear that I will be punished by some outside force. Rather, when I pay my taxes out of a personal choice, I am fulfilling the law, but not considering (thinking about the consequences) the law. If I were a person who loves to go the speed limit because I think don’t want to rush or if I think that driving slower is just more pleasurable, then I will not go over the speed limit. I am indirectly following the law.

Sometimes what looks like obeying the law, is really fulfillment of the law. And sometimes what looks like breaking the law is also fulfilling the law.

Jesus fulfilled the law, even as he breaks them.

For instance, not working on the Sabbath was a law. There was punishment if you did not obey the law. But this law was put into place in order to keep people from being abused and overworked. It was a law meant to protect people from being treated as objects. So when Jesus healed on the sabbath, yes he broke the law but in doing so the law was fulfilled. The law was intended to humanize people but was used to objectify people. As Jesus humanizes those he healed on the Sabbath, he broke the popular interpretation of the law, but fulfilled the law in full.

As you can see, It is much easier to obey than it is to fulfill the law. Because sometimes obeying the law means breaking it, and breaking the law often comes with consequences. The question Jesus poses to us is do we desire to fulfill the law or only obey it?

We All Have Bought A $120,000 Banana

If art is anything, it is provocative. For anyone who has ever looked at a bit of art and thought, “My kindergartner can paint that! Why don’t you give her $120,000 for her play-doe sculpture?” you are not alone.

Recently humanity lost our collective mind over a banana duct taped to a wall that sold for $120,000. There are many memes to thought pieces on this bit of art. Some believe it to be brilliant. Some find it crazy, others find it immoral and still others wonder what sort of world do we have when people cannot pay for their medical bills while others buy a $120,000 banana.

It is an easy target to throw stones at. It sounds insane that anyone would buy this much less anyone else call it art. We wonder what rich person could possibly have such a cold hart to waste money in this way. We wonder why the wealthy are putting more money to art than towards social services, charity or the common good. We see this bit of art as a proxy for all that is wrong with the millionaires and billionaires of the world. Then, when we hear the buyer of this banana ate the banana we just melt into madness!

Beyond how you feel about this specific banana and duct tape, the purchase, or the people involved I want to remind us that we all have bought a $120,000 banana.

We all have spent money on fleeting things (fast fashion?). We all have justified our expenses on things over using our money for the common good (don’t we all need three winter coats?). We all have bought into consumerism and purchased things just because everyone is a twitter about them (fidget spinners anyone?) We all have bought things that others disprove of (you have seen the National Inquire, right?). We all feel justified in our decisions and condemn others’ (I am improving the value of my home with these updates, you are wasting your money on buying a boat.).

We may not have signed a check for the same dollar amount, but we all have bought our version of the $120,000 banana.

No matter how we feel about this banana it reveals to us that we are no better or worse than the one “wasting their money” on a banana. We all feel justified with our own actions. We all feel like others are the problem.

I am thankful that we know the name of the couple who bought the banana. At least they are not hiding behind anonymity and are willing to publicly face the very questions we all should be asking ourselves every day.