March 17, 2013
John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5"Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
Sermon
I am a Bible Scholar.
When Moses received the Ten Commandments. there was thunder and lightning, the sound of a trumpet filled the air, and smoke came from the mountain.
The people were afraid and trembled and kept at a distance.
They said to Moses: "You speak to us, not God."
And when Jesus walked down the mountain, where he had just delivered the Sermon on the Mount his audience was astonished.
They talked to each other and said: "This is a wonderful teacher."
And another one replied: "He speaks with authority".
And yet a third person added: "Yes not like those Bible Scholars."
I am a Bible Scholar.
What do you do, when you find out that you are the "bad guy" in the Bible?
Believe me, when I finish a class there is no trumpet sounding, no thunder and lightning and no mountain is smoking.
You know why? Because I do not teach with authority but just like one of those Bible scholars.
Today's lectionary reading is from John 12.
Judas presents a perfectly reasonable argument. Why not sell the perfume and give the money to the poor? It makes sense to me. Does it make sense to you?
Careful! Judas is "the one who was about to betray" Jesus, and Judas "said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it."
Why do Bible scholars have a bad rap with many Christians?
Take a look at the Bibles that are in your pews. The translation we are using is done by scholars. The title is The "New Revised Standard Version".
You have four disclaimers right there:
· New. Does that mean that there already was an old Revised Standard Version? - Yes.
· Revised. So: the Bible of our fathers and mothers had mistakes? - Sure.
· Standard. Does that mean that there are other translations around as well? You can only set a "standard" if there is some variety. - That's exactly what it means.
· Version. So this text is just a version? Not the original? - You got it.
Or do you want to know what I think about the story in John 12 that is part of the lectionary reading for this Sunday? Do you really want to know?
At the end of the gospel, in chapter 21, the editors tell us:
· That they had a manuscript written by the Beloved Disciple
· That they believe that it is trustworthy "We believe that the witness is true"
· That they put the book together after the Beloved Disciple had died
It is rather obvious to the reader of this Gospel that the manuscript that was supposed to have been written by the Beloved Disciple contains long passages where the author simply channeled what God was telling him (or her). Very much like some Old Testament prophets, or the Book of Revelation, or the Book of Mormon.
And why would the editors do this?
Because they are correcting the Gospel of Luke.
In Luke the woman comes early in the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. She is portrayed as a prostitute. In John she is Mary, a good girl, the sister of Lazarus.
· Cleansing of the temple happens during the last week of Jesus' life in Luke, but it is one of the first things Jesus does in John.
· Date of Jesus' death in Luke is the day after the Passover meal is eaten, in John Jesus dies they day of Passover.
From what I can tell, the Gospel of John looks very much like other gospels of the second century: it makes up stories about Jesus - like the gospel of James, older brother of Jesus. It lets Jesus talk in revelations, channeling what the author hears from God. Very much like the Gospel of Mary Magdalene or Judas. Or the Gospel of Truth that we studied two weeks ago here on Sunday morning..
Do I think the author of John has any reliable historical information about Jesus? No. I don't think so.
Can I be sure? - No, I cannot be sure. I am not talking with authority, just like "one of those Bible scholars".
As a scholar you are trained to formulate your ideas in a way that it makes sense to others. Scholarship is about communicating. It is not enough that it makes sense to you. It has to make sense to others.
The methods we use to achieve this goal were developed by secular sciences. And our audience is not limited to the Christian community alone. We submit our ideas in a form which meets secular standards of scholarship.
Scholarship is not about telling everyone what is right and what is wrong.
Scholarship is about encouraging each other not to act on whatever is said to you with authority but to be critical to go back to the sources to check them and to make up your own mind.
Scholarship is not about repeating what others have said before us, scholarship is about finding your own voice.
I think I made my point.
But don't feel sorry for me. The Bible is full of bad guys, and chances are that you too are one of them:
Are you a
· A tax collector
· A lawyer and do not want to part from your money
· A woman with long hair who makes a lot of money and shows acts of random kindness
· Someone who thinks that slavery is not such a good institution
· Someone who thinks that democracy is better than a kingdom
· Or are you clergy? Something like a Pharisee or a Sadducee or a Levite
· Or are you a donor, but you ask for a receipt each time you give, so you can deduct your donations from your taxes?
· Or are you lesbian, gay or transgendered?
Don't feel sorry for me. I was born a hetero sexual, white, Protestant male .When I took my first breath 54 years ago I had everything going for me. I cannot imagine what it means to be black, a woman, Catholic, or to be a Christian who is gay.
The reading from John got one thing right. Just having long hair does not make a woman a prostitute.
Being a Bible scholar does not mean that you cannot be a devout Christian.
The apostle Paul felt called by God to serve the Gentiles. Gentiles is a ten dollar word for "the others".
Where to or three are gathered I will be among them. Be one of those two or three. Don't be quiet about what is important. You and I, we too are the church. And we shall transform it.
So what do you do when you find out that you are the bad guy in the Bible?
Be yourself. Be who you are. Please, don't shut up!
