All I could think about were the mixed reviews of the course. Some praised it for being brilliant and inspiring, while others said the philosophy was difficult to grasp and the professor. Well, he was even harder to understand. Suddenly, in strolls a man about 5’ 9”, wearing khaki pants, a shirt made from traditional African cloth, and dawning a big smile. It could only be Professor Nlandu.
If I remember correctly, he is from Nigeria. As he starts to speak, you can hear his thick accent, “Are we here to study African Philosophy or Philosophy of Africa? Is there a difference?” He looks at all of us, and I stare blankly back at him. He continues “Are we getting dis?” My mind screamed “NO! I hadn't even thought of that question". He scanned over the class and began his lecture describing the difference between the philosophies.
Throughout the lecture, he would interrupt himself and ask, "Are we getting dis?" He asked this question so often, it was almost like a tick. But in reality this question actually served two purposes; The first, it provided the opportunity for student’s to ask questions for clarification on a topic. The second, it revealed his compassion for his students. As a professor he wanted us to truly learn and understand the materials he teaching. Because if we didn't, we could fail. And there isn't a teacher out there, who wants their students to fail. He honestly cared for us, and wanted to make sure we were “getting dis”.
That question must be a reflection upon a really good teacher because we hear Jesus utter similar words in the gospel reading. After telling five different parables, Jesus asks the crowd in front of him, “Have you understood all this?” The crowd responds with a resounding, “YES”. But my question for us today is, is that our answer?
"Are we getting dis?"
Each parable is about a seemingly ordinary object. Each so normal that one could ask, “How do these stories possibly reflect the kingdom of God?” Well let’s put these parables into context beginning with the mustard seed. The mustard seed was used as a common comparison in Jewish culture. They frequently saw a that tiny seed grow into a large tree that would encompass an entire garden. So Jesus used the common mustard seed in his parable to convey the truth of the extraordinary growth of the Kingdom of God. It takes merely a mustard seed of faith to start the spread of the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Are we getting dis?"
Now the yeast, it was typical in Jewish culture for women to use yeast everyday to make bread for their households. But surprisingly, yeast actually has a negative, even evil, connotation in Jewish culture. This is why they don't use it during Passover, and eat Matze, a bread made without yeast, instead. In the parable Jesus chose yeast to convey a different, more shocking truth. We may witness evil in the world, and awful things will happen, but the Kingdom of God will still prevail.
"Are we getting dis?"
Following the yeast, we hear about a man finding treasure in a field. A little strange, but in those times in Jewish culture people would bury their money in order to keep it safe rather than in a bank. Jesus reveals that the Kingdom of God may not be so easy to find. When we think we see it on the surface, but aren't finding anything, we will have to dig deeper. Because the Kingdom of God can be uncovered in the most hidden of places.
“Are we getting dis?”
Then we hear about a man selling everything to purchase a pearl. Pearls were not only loved for their monetary value, but also for their rare beauty. So if an individual came across a pearl it was worth selling everything to own it in order to possess it forever. What does Jesus want to convey here? The Kingdom of Heaven is so lovely and fine as pearl that it is worth doing all we can to possess the Kingdom of God here on earth.
“Are we getting dis?”
And finally the fishermen and their nets. Jesus knows there are fishermen among the crowd. So he knows they understand that every time the cast out their net, they want to capture as many fish as possible. In doing this they cannot discriminate about what they are catching because they just want to catch as many fish as possible. So what does mean for us? Jesus calls us to throw out our nets to catch as many people as we can to share with the love of God.
“Are we getting this?”
These are still very ordinary everyday examples. And that’s the point, Jesus, like any loving teacher, uses these examples so we can understand his parables. What we witness within our everyday lives is not actually so ordinary. They are actually extraordinary pieces of the kingdom of God.
It may be as small as mustard seed, and found in very unusual places, or even evil places. And it won’t always be on the surface level, but it is worth investing our entire lives to find it and make it our reality. We are called to be fishers of all people to bring them to this table, and show all people God's love.
“Are we getting dis?”
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
America . . . the land of the RED TAPE!!!
America, the home of the free, the brave, and all the red tape! You know the infamous red tape that restricts us from doing exactly what we want, when we want to. And the worst part about it is, red tape is everywhere. No matter what you want to do, there will be some form of red tape to stop you, but perhaps you think you can maneuver around it, not so fast! As soon as you’ve cut a few pieces, another wall of red tape stands directly behind those.
All this red tape may feel like a new world problem, unfortunately it’s not. And actually compared to the red tape in the past, I feel pretty lucky for the red tape we experience today. During Jesus’ time, the red tape for Jewish individuals was particularly dense.
It is referred to in the Gospel passage when we hear the line, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” These heavy burdens not only refer to problems we deal with in everyday life, but also the Jewish law which was an awful burden of red tape.
While researching, I came across an example of this really dense red tape situation. It talked about a Jewish woman who was widowed and had inherited land, which she decided to use as a farm. She began to plow the land, BOOM the red tape. She had to stop plowing because Jewish law did not permit the use an ox and a donkey together to pull a plow. Alright then she began to seed the land, BOOM more red tape. She wasn't allowed to seed her land with mixed seed. She had enough, so she sold the land. With that money, she purchased some sheep in order to sell their fleece, and their young. When it came time to shear the sheep, more red tape. The first lamb was born, more red tape. The woman decided to give up, and slaughtered the sheep for herself to eat not to sell, and even then more red tape. The Jewish law took everything, so she was left with nothing.
So what was the point of all those Jewish rules and regulations? Like our red tape today, it was to ensure that people didn't stray too far from righteous the path. And in Jewish culture, these laws were intended to make all individuals stay devoted to God. It was believed if they were following all the right rules, all the time, they couldn’t make God angry. Essentially the thought was if we don’t make God angry, then we will stay in good favor with God, and we will live a good and prosperous life.
But the red tape that was supposed to keep Jewish individuals devoted to God, began to become the focus of their lives rather than God.
Ultimately, I can relate to this red tape situation, not only running into it all the time, but having my focus become the red tape. I think we have all been in a place where we try following all the right rules, we expect good results, and yet still not succeeding. Which eventually leads us to just having to shut down. Especially if we try to go about this world on our own. No wonder the woman just gave up. She must have felt overwhelmed trying to handle all the red tape by herself.
But what other choice did she have, I mean she was only a widow. What was she supposed to do against all the red tape of the law? Perhaps, just take a pair of scissors, and cut through it all. Okay she can’t just use any pair of scissors, she needed to use a pair of Jesus scissors. But where to find them?
Well let's look at that line of scripture again, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, I will give you rest.” The line “I will give you rest.” This is where I interpret essentially Jesus taking a pair of scissors and cut through all that red tape. Basically stating to the Jewish individuals, by starting to follow Christ, you can stop focusing on all the rules, and begin to focus on God.
Jesus was saying because we have a gracious God, and we don't have to worry about getting all the rules right because if we did, our focus would no longer be on God. And when we begin to focus our lives around what God is calling us to do, our burdens begin to lighten. When he says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me . . . for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He is referring to when two oxen are yoked, or tied together in order to pull a cart. It is easier for two rather than one. They don’t only become lighter because Jesus cut away the red tape rules, but because Christ shares in our burdens.
When we act tied to Christ's teachings, our focus is not on following all the rules, but simply to follow Christ's teachings to direct us down the right path. I must admit though, there are a few pieces of red tape Jesus did not cut. But unlike the red tape that we deal with on a regular basis, this red tape really focuses our attention on where and who we should be serving.
One piece is to love God and the second piece is to love our neighbors as ourselves, and unlike the other red tape, these pieces should never be cut.
All this red tape may feel like a new world problem, unfortunately it’s not. And actually compared to the red tape in the past, I feel pretty lucky for the red tape we experience today. During Jesus’ time, the red tape for Jewish individuals was particularly dense.
It is referred to in the Gospel passage when we hear the line, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” These heavy burdens not only refer to problems we deal with in everyday life, but also the Jewish law which was an awful burden of red tape.
While researching, I came across an example of this really dense red tape situation. It talked about a Jewish woman who was widowed and had inherited land, which she decided to use as a farm. She began to plow the land, BOOM the red tape. She had to stop plowing because Jewish law did not permit the use an ox and a donkey together to pull a plow. Alright then she began to seed the land, BOOM more red tape. She wasn't allowed to seed her land with mixed seed. She had enough, so she sold the land. With that money, she purchased some sheep in order to sell their fleece, and their young. When it came time to shear the sheep, more red tape. The first lamb was born, more red tape. The woman decided to give up, and slaughtered the sheep for herself to eat not to sell, and even then more red tape. The Jewish law took everything, so she was left with nothing.
So what was the point of all those Jewish rules and regulations? Like our red tape today, it was to ensure that people didn't stray too far from righteous the path. And in Jewish culture, these laws were intended to make all individuals stay devoted to God. It was believed if they were following all the right rules, all the time, they couldn’t make God angry. Essentially the thought was if we don’t make God angry, then we will stay in good favor with God, and we will live a good and prosperous life.
But the red tape that was supposed to keep Jewish individuals devoted to God, began to become the focus of their lives rather than God.
Ultimately, I can relate to this red tape situation, not only running into it all the time, but having my focus become the red tape. I think we have all been in a place where we try following all the right rules, we expect good results, and yet still not succeeding. Which eventually leads us to just having to shut down. Especially if we try to go about this world on our own. No wonder the woman just gave up. She must have felt overwhelmed trying to handle all the red tape by herself.
But what other choice did she have, I mean she was only a widow. What was she supposed to do against all the red tape of the law? Perhaps, just take a pair of scissors, and cut through it all. Okay she can’t just use any pair of scissors, she needed to use a pair of Jesus scissors. But where to find them?
Well let's look at that line of scripture again, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, I will give you rest.” The line “I will give you rest.” This is where I interpret essentially Jesus taking a pair of scissors and cut through all that red tape. Basically stating to the Jewish individuals, by starting to follow Christ, you can stop focusing on all the rules, and begin to focus on God.
Jesus was saying because we have a gracious God, and we don't have to worry about getting all the rules right because if we did, our focus would no longer be on God. And when we begin to focus our lives around what God is calling us to do, our burdens begin to lighten. When he says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me . . . for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He is referring to when two oxen are yoked, or tied together in order to pull a cart. It is easier for two rather than one. They don’t only become lighter because Jesus cut away the red tape rules, but because Christ shares in our burdens.
When we act tied to Christ's teachings, our focus is not on following all the rules, but simply to follow Christ's teachings to direct us down the right path. I must admit though, there are a few pieces of red tape Jesus did not cut. But unlike the red tape that we deal with on a regular basis, this red tape really focuses our attention on where and who we should be serving.
One piece is to love God and the second piece is to love our neighbors as ourselves, and unlike the other red tape, these pieces should never be cut.
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