There were no lions, tigers and bears

A friend of mine sent me a transcript of a sermon yesterday by a Jesuit priest named Bert Thelen, that incidentally talked about the lions and tigers and bears from Oz. How appropriate, I thought, given that the book club I am in is reading "Wicked," by Gregory Maguire.

This sermon looks at the fear that religious and political leaders instill in order to win people over to their side. The context is that Jesus (this is a Christian sermon) has been in conflict with the religious leaders of his time, who are fiercly opposed to his message and teachings, which challenege the fear and power they exert over others. Here's an excerpt from the sermon:

For some strange reason, as I reflected on this ongoing conflict, what has been going on in my head is the chant in the Wizard of Oz(by Dorothy, the scarecrow, the cowardly lion and the tin man) as they headed into the forest:

"Lions and Tigers and Bears, O My!
Lions and Tigers and Bears, O My!"

For Jesus, it was, "Lawyers and Pharisees and Scribes, O My! Lawyers and Pharisees and Scribes, O My!"

There is a big difference, of course. In Oz there actually were no lions and tigers and bears, but only the fear of them. But, for Jesus, the Lawyers and Pharisees and Scribes were not only very real, but very, very dangerous - deadly, in fact...

Why this fierce hostility, this extreme hatred, this mortal fear, this murderous rage against Jesus on the part of the religious leaders? I think we know. Because Jesus dismantled the framework that supported their religious status. He not only cleansed the Temple of money-changers; much worse, he knocked down the pedestals of clerical, priestly privilege, putting them out of business, as it were. How? Jesus challenged and overturned the holiness code they had formulated and were in charge of. The system of goodness, of holiness, had come to be defined as us and them, the
clean vs. the unclean, the pure vs. the impure. The priests were the only ones allowed into the holy of holies (the sanctuary), for instance, and so everyone else was left outside.

By his preaching and healing, by the company he kept...Jesus destroyed the hypocritical ystem and division on which it was based: the pure and the impure, the
Pharisees and the Publicans, the priests and levites and the cursed mob. Jesus, you will recall, sought out and hung around with the impure, the outcasts, the sinners - sick people, lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc. -- all thus barred from the temple. In fact, he took their place and made himself the most impure of all - a convicted felon - in order to put an end to this religious "apartheid" and violence once and for all. ("Cursed is he who hangs on a tree.") In doing this, he destroyed the temple and opened up salvation for all.

Now, here's my concern, and I pose it as a question for us all. Have we not, in the very structure of our church, restored that very holiness code Jesus died to repeal? Think about it. Are there not, in our church, some people privileged and powerful who have control over others? Do we not exclude from the sanctuary at least 50% of our members? Are there still not some who are refused Holy Communion not just once, but for long periods of their lives, even though we have for a long time recognized that refusal as sinful, or at least contrary to the Gospel? We sing out the glorious inclusivity of Jesus: "All are welcome, all are welcome, all our welcome in this place" But is it really true? Did we not recently hear of Bishops who wanted to deny Holy Communion to some Catholics because of the way they voted their consciences? And what about being at the mercy of priests whose main focus in homilies is sex, sometimes because they are fixated on a human reality they themselves have never personally come to terms with?

Immediately I'm reminded of President Bush: "You're either with us or against us."

Or Pat Robertson (on the recent election in Dover, PA that ousted several school board members that wanted intelligent design taught in schools): "I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city."

Or Rick Santorum: "I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts."

Or Phyllis Schafly: "How can we protect homeland security unless the government stops the invasion of illegal aliens?"

I could go on and on. We have all these people trumpeting fear, scaring voters, or excluding others, yet they are all trying to save the world for Christ. To liberate Iraq because it's God's will. To teach intelligent design in classrooms because it's God's will. To say that the murder of Matthew Shephard was God's will.

No wonder so many of my friends and colleagues throw up when they hear the word 'faith' or 'religion.' How strange that thousands of years later, we're still in the place that Fr. Thelen described: "The system of goodness, of holiness, had come to be defined as us and them, the clean vs. the unclean, the pure vs. the impure. The priests were the only ones allowed into the holy of holies (the sanctuary), for instance, and so everyone else was left outside."

Maybe that's one of life's lessons (so says my brain on this balmy Saturday morning)...that we spend so much time trying to get on the inside, when really, we're called to stand on the outside. After all, look at the company we keep whenever we're on the 'inside.'

Or maybe I just need a coffee and muffin. Hope you all have a great weekend. Sorry I didn't post yesterday, thus breaking my promised streak. I got caught up in writing a grant at work that took all my energy and focus. But, now if anyone wants to give us $500,000, I can tell you how we'd spend it!