Maybe it’s *not* complicated
A few verses before today’s passage begins, John the Baptist asks whether Jesus is the promised one. He’s in prison, and relays the question through his disciples. This is the same John who heard a voice from the heavens proclaim that Jesus was God’s son, with whom God was well pleased. So if you’re wondering why John is asking such a question after Jesus has begun his ministry, you’re justified in that.
Some say the entire gospel of Matthew is devoted to answering John’s question: Who is Jesus? And for those of us who follow him, what is his message? Two thousand years after his life, we’re still sorting out those questions.
Maybe John was asking because he wasn’t entirely sure. Perhaps Jesus defied his expectations, and I suspect any doubts he might have had were magnified due to his imprisonment. Jesus certainly adopted a very different lifestyle from John’s, and Jesus alludes to that when he speaks of his audience’s generation: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” Biblical scholar M. Eugene Boring suggests that the people did not recognize John or Jesus. He writes that “in Matthew’s . . . structure, the latter option [you did not mourn] corresponds to the gaunt and ascetic figure of John, whose message of coming judgment was too threatening, and whose life-style too unworldly for the sophisticates of ‘this generation.’ But when Jesus came in meekness, announcing the peaceable kingdom of unconditional love and forgiveness and celebrating the goodness of life with all, he was rejected as not ‘spiritual’ enough.” (Boring, 186)
Not only did the people not recognize Jesus as the Son of God and John as his messenger, they also failed to connect Jesus to their scripture’s writings regarding wisdom. The NRSV translation of verse 19 is “wisdom is vindicated by her deeds,” and the Revised English Bible translation is “God’s wisdom is proved right by its results.” John and Jesus had different approaches, but the result of John’s ministry was a pathway for the Messiah, and the deeds of Jesus were a manifestation of the law and the prophets.
My family recently enjoyed an opportunity to travel to Europe, and while we were in Brussels, I stopped outside an old Catholic chapel to read some of its history. I was sad to learn that at one point, the chapel had been burned down by Calvinists, some of my spiritual ancestors. Those are deeds I’d rather not claim, but it’s probably a mistake to assume that the church of our time will be viewed as flawless by future generations. Indeed, in the 20th Century many Christian churches found themselves falling short when it came to supporting causes like equal rights for women and people of color. And even as we still struggle with those issues, we often fail as allies to the LGBTQ community, and aren’t sufficiently involved in the pursuit of ecological justice. Some segments of the Body of Christ are even still entrenched on the wrong side of history when it comes to those issues.
Are these issues complicated? I can understand why you might say they are. There’s a history to each of them, and interpretations of scripture that can support both sides of a given disagreement. I wouldn’t say that the issues are complicated, though; rather, I’d assert that scripture is complicated. Our holy book is comprised of multiple writings by many different authors and editors from different contexts and across centuries; those writings have themselves come from different copies and been translated from their original languages. So when someone cites a single verse followed by a statement like “God said it, I believe it, that settles it,” I counter that scripture is meant to start conversations, not end them.
What is less complicated than interpreting scripture — though often challenging — is following the example of Jesus. What if those Belgian Calvinists had considered the deeds of Jesus before setting fire to that chapel? I would assert that they had to overcomplicate the issue in order to justify destruction of a house of God. Would Jesus have done such a thing?
Likewise, for people from current generations, there’s no credible way to twist the example of Jesus to support the marginalization of women, people of color, or those in the LGBTQ community. Women played an active role in his ministry, and Jesus was known for being inclusive beyond what was socially acceptable. Jesus doesn’t want people to be excluded from his body because of how they were made, which is a reflection of the joy God takes in the diversity of Creation.
Certainly the selflessness of Jesus should inspire efforts to mitigate the effects of the climate catastrophe, which is already causing widespread suffering, and will increasingly affect future generations. Some attempt to overcomplicate the issue by sowing fear about jobs and money and inconvenience, but the bottom line is that the future of humanity and many other species is at stake, and we need to take bold action to decrease the harm we’ve caused and the harm that is coming. The results of our deeds will bring vindication only if we follow the example of Christ.
Doing so is easier when you recognize who Jesus is. Returning to today’s passage, those with strict expectations did not recognize Jesus. The people of the cities where Jesus performed his miracles did not recognize Jesus. The scholars and the wise did not recognize Jesus. According to Eugene Boring, “those who did . . . were the ‘babies,’ the unpretentious ‘little ones’ who made no claims but could be given the gift of revelation, which comes from God alone.” (Boring, 191)
Jesus thanks the “Lord of heaven and earth” that this most precious wisdom is “hidden . . . from the wise and the intelligent and revealed to infants.” It does not belong to those who overcomplicate matters, because recognizing what love looks like is not complicated. The message of Jesus is so appealing to so many because he put the needs of others ahead of his own. You don’t need to be a scholar or even an adult to understand that.
As we read the gospel we see that those who recognize Jesus as the Messiah are not those one might have expected. Some of his followers were educated, but many were not. Some were religious leaders, but many were not. Some were accomplished, but many were not. Many, in fact, were the marginalized, those who did not hold standing in society due to their gender or the circumstances of their birth. But equipped with the message of Jesus — a message that calls those who are weary and carrying heavy burdens — they built a movement that continues to this day.
Our gentle and humble savior offers us the opportunity to learn about a countercultural way of living that carries with it a burden, but a burden that is light. It offers rest for our souls rather than the torment that comes from overcomplicating issues. It is a burden that is light because it is shared with Jesus, and with others who follow him.
Years ago, when I was working as a school psychologist, I attempted to grow some facial hair. After I’d been at it for a week or so, I was standing in a hallway at the elementary school when a class of fourth graders came by. They paused, and one little boy looked up at me and asked, “Are you trying to grow a mustache?” I replied that I was, and he said, without a hint of malice, “You shouldn’t.”
Although his comment stung, it was a gift. Fourth graders possess an earnestness that you’ll find in few other populations. They have a lot of learning under their belts, but the social politics that make middle school miserable for so many haven’t usually kicked in yet. I knew that I was getting an honest verdict from this young person, and it has informed my shaving strategy ever since.
Some people talk about lowering the voting age to 16; I think nine would be even better, because otherwise we’re missing out on the wisdom that fourth graders possess. Imagine if there were a caucus of fourth graders for presidential primaries; rather than complicating matters, they would heed red flags. For instance, candidates who bragged about grabbing people would be rejected early in the process.
Fourth graders also ask great questions.
Why are there hungry people in our country even though we throw away so much food?
Why are there unhoused people in our country when some people have multiple houses?
Why are some people able to go to the doctor when they are sick, but others are not?
Why do we burn fossil fuels when we know that leads to illness, suffering, and death?
These are straightforward questions that too often are met with complicated answers. If we’re being honest, though, the response should be that we haven’t taken seriously our call to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. We’ve rejected the easy yoke of Jesus in favor of a narrative that suggests some problems are too complex to overcome.
Yet when terrorists killed 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001, our nation set out on a path that has since consumed the lives and health of American soldiers, the lives of foreign soldiers and civilians, over a trillion dollars, and much of our privacy. To this day we’re still dealing with the inconvenience of removing our shoes in the airport security line, even though that process has not identified a single terrorist. What those efforts have accomplished is debatable, but it speaks to what we can do when we make something a priority.
When the Axis powers swept across Europe and eventually reached Pearl Harbor, our nation responded by volunteering to fight, changing what we built, and doing without extra. The Greatest Generation sacrificed as was necessary to make life better for future generations.
What would it look like to earnestly tackle poverty, hunger, and homelessness? To make health care available to anyone who needed it? To change our policies and practices in ways that ensure a safer climate for future generations?
Following Jesus is not complicated. It just needs to be a priority. His path offers us the opportunity to learn from our gentle and humble friend. His path offers rest for our souls. And thankfully, when we pursue his path together, we’ll find the burden is lighter than expected.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Work Referenced
Boring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
