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How many of you have seen the movie, "The Passion of the Christ?" This movie sure has elevated a key part of our faith into the secular spotlight. For many people one of the problems is how Jews were portrayed. We see it in the characterization of Caiaphas, the high priest. The movie has us believe he acted out of hatred. But let’s look at a different motive for a moment. Caiaphas and the other priests and Pharisees opposed Jesus because they wanted to protect the people of God. It was their job as the keeper of all things sacred and as the spiritual custodians of temple worship to preserve and protect. The priest in his passion saw Jesus as a temple terrorist who had already created a riot in the Temple precincts, who was on record as being able to bring the temple down to ground zero, and who had broken all manner of temple law. Caiaphas believed that if Jesus attracted a powerful following, the Romans would destroy his temple and his nation. Caiaphas wasn't an idiot. You don't stay in office as the high priest in an occupied territory longer than any other of the 19 high priests in the first century by being stupid. The man was politically-aware, and he understood his role in negotiating and maintaining both political and religious peace while shivering in the shadow of the imperial crown. In today’s gospel story we have Jesus and his disciples entering Jerusalem in a victorious processional parade. But the Pharisees were upset and said to Jesus, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." We don’t know exactly what was behind their question. Maybe it was their religious duty that motivated them. Maybe it was jealousy. After all, Jesus was attracting huge crowds who came to listen to him talk about God. Hey, that was their domain! Who does this guy think he is! Not only was Jesus invading their turf, but he was using God-language they never used! Maybe it was jealousy or envy. There is a difference between jealousy and envy. Envy is a desire for the possessions, status, abilities, or situation of another person. Jealousy is similar but deeper. Jealousy is a fear of being displaced. Envy says, "I wish I could be as good looking, or play basketball, or sing as well as that person." Jealousy says, "I am afraid that you will take my place of power, position, or status." Like all fears, jealous feelings are normal. But when jealous feelings enter the mind of an insecure person, someone who is not too sure of who they are, the result can be uncontrollable jealousy. Uncontrollable jealousy is a clear sign of insecurity, and the cause of an estimated 35% of violent crimes. Are you aware of the envy in your life? Can you recall a time when you felt jealous? How do you handle these feelings? According to an ancient Greek legend, a certain athlete ran well but placed second in a big race. The winner was showered with praise. Why they even erected a statue in his honor. Envy ate away at the man who placed second. He resented the winner and could think of little else. So he decided to destroy the statue of the winner. Night after night he went to the statue under cover of darkness, chiseling away at the base to weaken the foundation. But one night as he chiseled in violent anger, he went too far. The heavy marble statue teetered on its base and crashed down on the disgruntled athlete and killed him. Contrast this story with the one about Sir Walter Scott. For many years Sir Walter Scott was the leading literary figure in the British Empire. No one could write as well as he. Then the works of Lord Byron began to appear, and their greatness was immediately evident. Soon an anonymous critic praised his poems in a London paper. He declared that in the presence of these brilliant works of poetic genius, Scott could no longer be considered the leading poet of England. It was later discovered that the unnamed reviewer had been none other than Sir Walter Scott himself! Doesn’t it seem that the difference here is security? The one who is secure in his or her identity, the one who knows who they are, the one who feels embraced and loved by God…are the ones who will not allow jealousy to destroy them. These are the ones who are deeply joyful when others do better. They are so secure in who they are, that they truly want others to do well. Perhaps Caiaphas and those Pharisees were not very secure in their identities. Who could blame them? It was a troubling and insecure time in their national history. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus paraded into Jerusalem on a donkey, allowed himself to be arrested, submitted to torture and crucifixion, and came back to life so that you and I would be saved from our sins, our insecurities, our jealousy. We no longer have to fear being displaced, because our place in heaven is forever secure! A story is told about two men, both seriously ill, who shared the same room in a hospital. One man was allowed to sit up for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, and his bed was next to the window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. And both of them had to remain quiet and still. The two men used to talk for hours about their wives and children, their homes, their jobs, what they did during the war. And every morning and afternoon when the man in the bed next to the window was propped up for his hour, he would describe what he could see outside. And the other man began to live for these hours. The window apparently overlooked a park with a lake, and there were ducks and swans, children throwing them bread and sailing model boats, young lovers walking hand in hand beneath the trees. And there were flowers, mainly roses, bronze and gold and crimson. In the far corner was a tennis court, and at times the games were really good. The man on his back would listen to all of this, enjoying every minute…how a child nearly fell into the lake, how beautiful the girls were in their summer dresses. And he got so that he could almost see what was happening out there. Then one afternoon the thought struck him, "Why should the man next to the window have all the pleasure of seeing what was happening? Why shouldn’t he get the chance?" He felt ashamed, and tried not to think about it, but the more he tried the worse it became. Then one night the other man suddenly woke up, coughing and choking, the fluid congesting in his lungs, his hands groping for the button that would bring the nurse running. But the man watched without moving. The coughing racked the darkness and then stopped. The sound of breathing stopped. And the other man continued to stare at the ceiling. In the morning the nurses found the man and took his body away, quietly. And as soon as it seemed decent, the man asked if he could be moved to the bed next to the window. And they moved him, made him comfortable, and left him alone to be quiet and still. The minute they left, he struggled to raise himself up on one elbow, painfully, gasping….and looked out the window. The window…faced a blank wall. I wonder what this man felt at that moment when he realized his roommate had been creating the imaginary park scenes for him. What do we feel when we manipulate people to get to the top? Satisfaction or shame? Jealousy is an emotion that will always hurt us. It is a feeling based on fear, not love. The Pharisees were jealous of Jesus. They were afraid of being displaced as the spiritual caretakers of Judaism. You and I live with similar kinds of fears. But when we give our lives to Jesus, when we place our faith in him…we are given the gift of eternal security, of knowing our place in heaven. So we can live out the rest of our days on earth without being afraid of anyone or anything taking our seat at the heavenly communion table. |
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04.04.04 - Jesus Jealousy (Luke 19:28-40)
