GOP Gospel: On Defilement II
Mar. 12th, 2021 08:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tealinDay 20 of my Lent project. For background, please read this.
A reading from the Gospel according to the GOP:
*Psalm 119:59-60. Psalm 119 is the longest of the Psalms and is one long rapture on the Law. Reading it in translation is a bit of a slog, but in Hebrew it's structured so that in each seven-line stanza, every line starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the stanzas progress through the entire alphabet. It's one of those instances where, no matter how accurate the translation of the words, the point of the writing is completely lost.
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give alms for those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it."
One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too." And he said, "Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute', so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."
As mentioned previously, Pharisees strove to follow every ordinance in the Bible to the letter. Lawyers have a slightly different sense here than our modern one: they were experts in the Law, but in Biblical law, not civic law, and (to my limited understanding at least) were less like attorneys and more like consultants. The whole of the Eastern Mediterranean was part of the Roman Empire at this point, so it was Roman law over everything; these lawyers were not Roman lawyers but Jewish lawyers, and saw to matters concerning Jewish cultural and religious practices, i.e. the Law of Moses. A possible way to understand it in a modern context is in countries which maintain overall secular jurisdiction in terms of national legal codes, but where Sharia courts have been allowed to handle civil/religious matters, such as divorce, within the Muslim community. We run into this distinction towards the end of Jesus' story, when he is first tried for blasphemy by the religious courts, then handed over to Roman authorities because the Jewish authorities do not have the legal right to execute him.
Jesus' multiple instances of apparently not understanding how the world scientifically works – in this case, germ theory – are really interesting and merit discussion. If he really was God, or even just had unique access to the mind of God, then how could he be so ignorant? Perhaps the most cogent insight into this comes from renowned spiritual thinker Sir Terence Pratchett. He explains (through his Lancre witches) that people won't believe in something so preposterous as tiny invisible beasts in the water which will make them sick, but will happily accept that it's bad luck to site the privvy next to the well, so if you want to get through to them, it's better to tell them the version that fits into their existing model of the world, even if it's not, strictly speaking, true.
So it's worth mentioning here that, although Jesus said 'God made dirt and dirt don't hurt' at the Pharisee's dinner party, washing your hands before eating is definitely good practice, especially in a pandemic. Thing is, we understand why now. Challenging the 'rules for the sake of rules' mindset is still valid, but applying it to this particular rule in the Year of Our Lord 2021 is misguided.
A reading from the Gospel according to the GOP:
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he performed all the ritual acts of ablution without prompting, for the people had given bad reports of him. "Teacher," the Pharisee said to him, "You hold so faithfully to every aspect of the Law, as though it were written on your heart." Jesus answered him, "Truly the path to goodness is in the ordinances of the Lord: 'When I think of your ways, I turn my feet to your decrees; I hurry and do not delay to keep your commandments.'* Blessed are you Pharisees! For in keeping so assiduously to the letter of the law, you are well advanced on the road to perfection, as the outward observance cannot help but purify the inner soul. By living in such righteousness you are a beacon to all."
One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, what about us? For we also live by the law; indeed our lives revolve around it no less, for we both follow it and guide others in the following of it." And Jesus answered them, "Blessed also are you lawyers! For just as the prophets were intermediaries through whom the Word of God came down to the people, so you communicate the word of the prophets from their time to this, and keep the people in the right ways. By your scholarship, you bring understanding to those who lack scholarship, and through your judgments, you compel righteousness even among those who are not inclined to righteousness, and set the people on the path to salvation. Through faithfulness to the Law in small matters, the large matters of justice and peace will follow. Oh that everyone were so assiduous about the Lord's commandments as you lawyers and Pharisees! For then this would be a most righteous nation, and the judgment of the Lord would not fall upon it."
*Psalm 119:59-60. Psalm 119 is the longest of the Psalms and is one long rapture on the Law. Reading it in translation is a bit of a slog, but in Hebrew it's structured so that in each seven-line stanza, every line starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the stanzas progress through the entire alphabet. It's one of those instances where, no matter how accurate the translation of the words, the point of the writing is completely lost.
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give alms for those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it."
One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too." And he said, "Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute', so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."
As mentioned previously, Pharisees strove to follow every ordinance in the Bible to the letter. Lawyers have a slightly different sense here than our modern one: they were experts in the Law, but in Biblical law, not civic law, and (to my limited understanding at least) were less like attorneys and more like consultants. The whole of the Eastern Mediterranean was part of the Roman Empire at this point, so it was Roman law over everything; these lawyers were not Roman lawyers but Jewish lawyers, and saw to matters concerning Jewish cultural and religious practices, i.e. the Law of Moses. A possible way to understand it in a modern context is in countries which maintain overall secular jurisdiction in terms of national legal codes, but where Sharia courts have been allowed to handle civil/religious matters, such as divorce, within the Muslim community. We run into this distinction towards the end of Jesus' story, when he is first tried for blasphemy by the religious courts, then handed over to Roman authorities because the Jewish authorities do not have the legal right to execute him.
Jesus' multiple instances of apparently not understanding how the world scientifically works – in this case, germ theory – are really interesting and merit discussion. If he really was God, or even just had unique access to the mind of God, then how could he be so ignorant? Perhaps the most cogent insight into this comes from renowned spiritual thinker Sir Terence Pratchett. He explains (through his Lancre witches) that people won't believe in something so preposterous as tiny invisible beasts in the water which will make them sick, but will happily accept that it's bad luck to site the privvy next to the well, so if you want to get through to them, it's better to tell them the version that fits into their existing model of the world, even if it's not, strictly speaking, true.
So it's worth mentioning here that, although Jesus said 'God made dirt and dirt don't hurt' at the Pharisee's dinner party, washing your hands before eating is definitely good practice, especially in a pandemic. Thing is, we understand why now. Challenging the 'rules for the sake of rules' mindset is still valid, but applying it to this particular rule in the Year of Our Lord 2021 is misguided.
