Meditation for October 11, 2006

From Peter Munson

Luke 7:18-35

 

Faithful and Unfaithful Skepticism

 

Jesus said, "To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?  They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

    'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

    we wailed, and you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children." (Luke 7:31-35)

 

I'm thinking we ought to be able to relate to these words of Jesus, because many times... this is us!  We are very quick to make judgments about people - "snap judgments", as they are called.  Sometimes those judgments come out of our skepticism.  A guy that looks like that is calling me to repentance?  A single person from Nazareth who has a background as a carpenter is suddenly walking around trying to teach me about God?  Who does John think he is?  Who does Jesus think he is?

 

There is a place for skepticism in our life of faith.  When we listen to someone else talk about God - no matter who it is - we are not supposed to swallow everything they say - hook, line, and sinker.  We have to ask ourselves things like: 

    How does what I am hearing match up with Jesus' teachings, and the other main teachings of the Bible?

    Does what this person say connect with my experience of God?

    What are the fruits of this person's life?

    If the person is talking about a possible new development in Christianity, is it possible that the Holy Spirit could indeed be up to something new?

 

To ask these kinds of questions is is to have what might be a called a faithful skepticism.  I'm also thinking of that classic response of the father with the sick child, "Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

 

On the other hand, sometimes our skepticism knows no limits.  We write off someone right away when there is something about them we don't like, or we have an initial reaction that is not favorable - and maybe it is just because they are different from us.  Sometimes it is our own stuff that is getting in the way.  Perhaps we are just a negative person, or we have signficant issues related to trust, and no one can pass the artificial tests that we set up as "the standard".

 

Jesus is basically saying this:  "John was sent by God and he had a certain austere, weird-dressing, strange-diet kind of style.  Many of you thought he was too stiff and needed to loosen up a little, and because of that, you ignored the very important things he had to say.  You even called him crazy!  In the meantime, you missed a wonderful opportunity to draw closer to God.  Then I came along.  I am clearly different from John.  I was sent by God, too, but I am much more fun to have at weddings, because when the wine runs out, I know how to solve that problem.  I love to eat and I care about people, so much so that I will sit down and eat with anyone.  You'd think that those of you who complained about John's austere life would embrace me, but no!  You call me a glutton and a drunkard, and "unclean" because I hang out with the wrong people.  And you are really missing the boat by not spending more time checking me out.  In both cases, you are ignoring not only our words but our deeds - you are missing out on what all this could mean for your life... you are missing out on God in your midst, because of your skepticism, and your negative, judgmental spirit."

 

We do this, too.  We size people up and write them off before we ever get to know them, and the real crime is that these people who we turn our backs on may be the very ones whom God has sent to us, to bring us closer to Him.  But we miss the opportunity, because of our snap judgments.  "You're not interesting enough.  You're too wild.  You are into things that I am not into.  You say "Lord" or "Jesus" or "Hallelujah" too much!"

 

To act in this way is what we might call unfaithful skepticism.

 

Jesus concluded, "Wisdom is vindicated by all her children." (verse 35)  Eugene H. Peterson, in The Message, puts it this way:  "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."  The people who hung around John and Jesus for a while discovered that they weren't frauds.  They found out that they truly had something to offer - new life with God.

 

May we use our skepticism in a faithful way.  May God spare us from rushing to judge the person who looks or acts or sounds a little different, and in the process, we miss learning the lesson that God most wants us to learn, the lesson that - if we learned it - would bring us one step closer to the throne of God.