Readings
for Proper 5A: Mt. 9:9-13
June 9, 2002
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Albert Einstein once wrote: "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything except our way of thinking. Thus we are drifting toward a catastrophe beyond comparison. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humankind is to survive." Deep within the human consciousness is a way of thinking that divides us, setting us against each other, human against human, human against the rest of God's creatures. This so-called way of "modern thinking" includes dualism, determinism, reductionism, materialism, individualism, anthropocentrism, mechanism, and patriarchalism.* I believe that the current state of our world should compel us to re-examine the ways we are currently thinking. For instance, the crime rate in California has decreased over the last 25 years, yet the rate of incarceration has increased. Why is that? Almost twenty percent of the world’s population live in India and Pakistan, yet some of the leaders in those countries believe that there can be a “limited nuclear war.” What are we to think? How are we to respond? Does our way of thinking bring harmony in relationships or does it alienate us?
In today’s opening collect, we asked God to grant us the inspiration “to think those things that are right and to be guided in doing them.” Thus, I would like to continue my sermon series on ways of thinking that can deprive us of abundant life. In light of today’s gospel according to Matthew, I would like to focus my comments on determinism and dualism and show how these “isms” contradict the principals of grace and mercy that has been shown to us by our Savior.
Let us rehearse dualistic thinking which was covered last week. Dualism means that we look at the world in a twofold fashion: good-bad, right-wrong, pure-impure, on-off, in-out, mind-body, sacred-secular, human-non-human. It is a simplistic way to view the world because it does not take into account ambiguity, change, and complexity. The problem with dualism is, that it allows us to think our way into distinctions, not relationships. Once we have defined someone or something as being on the "other side", it is easy to demonize them as not being "one of us" and thus expendable. (E.g. You are either with us or against us!) Dualistic thinking is prevalent in some theological circles and we are worse off because of it. Sometimes however, especially when it comes to technology, dualistic thinking is necessary. For instance, computer chips are made up of logic gates which are either on or off. There is either positive voltage or no voltage. Binary coding consists of 0’s or 1’s. It is important to know whether the gas to the stove is on or off. Human relationships however, must not be compared to machines and when they are, we tend to act with less compassion toward each other.
Determinism is based on the assumption that all things are determined causally by unchangeable laws and that the parts of anything determine the character of the whole. Determinism assumes that the effect of a particular cause is certain. For instance, a hammer to the thumb always produces pain, not pleasure. In this case, when it comes to predicting mechanical behavior, determinism can be helpful. But when used for human profiling, determinism can be destructive. During the Nazi regime, the science of eugenics became popular. Those who were born or developed certain defects were sterilized in order to purify the race. Many believed that these “imperfections” could be passed down through the genes from one generation to another. What they failed to realize is that many physical defects and mental illnesses are not governed by simple genetic determinism. As a result, thousands of so-called “imperfect” people who did not have a genetic disorder were accidentally sterilized. Our criminal justice system is one based on determinism. Instead of setting up a “penitentiary” system (where criminals are allowed to repent and turn their lives around) we are setting up a prison system based on “three strikes and you are out.” While our society must be protected from non-rehabilitated criminals, we must not lose all hope when it comes to human relationships.
In theology, determinism has existed for centuries. During the Reformation of the 16th century, the concept of pre-destination surfaced. In this arrangement, God determined the destiny of individuals before their birth and so there was nothing an individual could do to change his or her destiny. During the 18th century, Deism became popular. In this arrangement, God was viewed simply as a divine clockmaker who created creation like a clock, set it to ticking according to the predetermined mechanical workings within its structure, and then went on sabbatical. Many of Isaac Newton’s laws were based on this way of thinking but have since been challenged by modern physics (i.e., Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Physics). In more recent times, we have allowed biological science to convince us that the genes we’ve inherited from our parents will determine our future. The desire to clone one’s self is a by-product of this way of thinking. The problem with determinism is, that it denies freedom, grace, ethical responsibility, irregularities, and the possibility of change. If we do not have the ability to alter the course of history or ourselves, then why should we bother to do anything? The best we can do in this arrangement is to wait and have “so-called faith” or immobilize ourselves with drugs or other means of escape in order to blot from the consciousness the inevitable. Many people, who find themselves in the cycle of poverty or the cycle of any difficult situation, often lose hope, and take this way out. It is called cynicism.
In today’s gospel story, the postures of dualism and determinism are challenged. Matthew, a tax collector, is called by Jesus to leave his post and to follow him. In an act of obedience, this despised man responds to Jesus’ invitation, leaves what he is doing, and has dinner with Jesus and his disciples. The religious leaders are appalled at Jesus’ lack of judgment. They have already determined that Matthew is a despicable character and as such should be permanently cut off from the community. In his case, repentance would be impossible because he could never make restitution to all those whom he robbed as a tax collector.
1st century Palestine was under Roman occupation. Roman officials had direct responsibility for the collection of taxes. However, this task was often farmed out to private contractors who would pay a stipulated sum in advance for the right to collect the taxes. They would then try to make a profit through intimidation and cheating. Tax officers are never popular, even in unoccupied countries. But in Israel, Jews who sold their services to be used against their own people were particularly despised. They were accused of being unfaithful, consorting with Gentiles, impure for not maintaining the purity codes, rejecting the covenant, and thus an outcast. Purity codes separated the good guys from the bad guys. You either followed the law or you were deemed a sinner. Purity codes were set up to separate the faithful from the unfaithful, the Jews from the Gentiles, women from men, animal from human, clean from unclean, sick from healthy. For many, there was a certain comfort in knowing where one stood and being able to discriminate between the insiders and outsiders.
It is into this context that Jesus thinks differently in order to heal relationships. He ignores the conventional boundaries and distinctions. By inviting a tax collector to dinner, he blurs the lines of distinction, and uncovers a grace that is so amazing that the religious leaders are left unsettled. Instead of thinking in terms of dualism and determinism, Jesus thinks in terms of mercy and grace. Mercy comes from the word to have compassion. Mercy means extending one’s self in helping others even when they don’t deserve it. Mercy engenders outreach, healing, and forgiveness and it provides an opportunity to begin anew. Grace is a free gift from God for accomplishing things which we cannot achieve for ourselves. It gives us hope for a future in spite of the present. Grace can also be the generous outpouring of love that conscious individuals make for the relief of less fortunate people.
Grace and mercy are the opposite of karma (which is a way of thinking where the future is determined). Grace and mercy can change the course of history. Grace and mercy can transform the human heart and thus transform communities and nations. While we can predict certain human behavior, we can not determine it. At the core of the Christian faith, is the belief that repentance (or turning around one’s life) is always possible. Jesus’ intention was that “we become as open to God and as God filled as he was; as full of eternal life as he was; as potent in the transformation of human life as he was; and above all, to think and love as he thought and loved.”
“O God, from whom all good proceeds: grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
* Material gleaned from Beyond the Modern Mind, by Douglas Bowman, Pilgrim Press, 1990.
| Updated 6/11/02 |
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