Proper 21 (A) + Rebel, rebel + 10.1.17

(from: http://blogdoprvicentedeodato.blogspot.com/
2011/03/jesus-era-um-rebelde.html

Melissa Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Exodus 17:1–7; Ps. 78:1–4, 12–16; Philippians 2:1–13; Matthew 21:23–32)

Some of the immortal words of David Bowie’s song “Rebel, Rebel” go thus:
“They put you down, they say I'm wrong
You tacky thing, you put them on

Rebel Rebel, you've torn your dress
Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess
Rebel Rebel, how could they know?
Hot tramp, I love you so!”[1]

Now, you may ask why I think of rebellion on a day like today, when we read “the song of Christ’s humility,” and are reminded that:

Jesus, “being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death--
even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name....” (Phil 2:8-9a)

Yes, it is true that Jesus humbled himself, but humility and obedience are very interesting, dynamic things in our multi-layered religious tradition, as you might ascertain from today’s scriptures.

First, let’s look at the Israelites in the wilderness, yelling at Moses again because now the food problem is solved, but they have no water. And it’s the desert. But even though that would seem a normal reason to freak out, the scriptures over and over highlight how rebellious the people were. In the recap of this story from the book of Numbers, Moses asks the Israelites, “Listen you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock (20:10b)?” Listen, you rebels. But the truth is that the people here talking to Moses were part of a tradition that valued healthy, sometimes almost contentious discourse with others and with God. You may note that very few people in the Jewish scriptures just blindly obey God, but they often have some kind of dialogue with God. It was natural for the people, finding themselves in a sticky situation, to call out to God and demand help. And yes, to be a bit rebellious. And again, God showed them that God was there, providing for their basic needs even in the most unlikely of situations.

So we come to today’s gospel, which I always see as one of the Holy Scriptures designed to encourage the rebellious ones in our midst. Why do I say that? Ultimately it is about obedience, but notice that Jesus lifts up the son who at first rebelled but went and did his father’s will anyway. We will see later that you might see Jesus’ words in Gethsemane as a very humble rebellion- if this cup can pass, please do it! But if not, thy will be done. And we know that ultimately Jesus was obedient in love. But I like that he questioned God a bit. It allows us space to do that, too.
Jesus also rebels a bit in the first part of this gospel reading from Matthew. The chief priests want to catch him on a tricky question about authority, but he knows that if they truly obey God they will be straight with him. If they are too worried about religious politics, they will get tongue-tied. And that’s what happens. So Jesus doesn’t feel the need to answer to them. He knows where true authority lies.
In much of the American religious tradition, we might be tempted to see the call to Christian faith as the call to absolute, unquestioning obedience to God. And there are times when we are indeed called to this. But there is a strain in our faith and in our country’s religious tradition that says that you must also have your own mind. You must not be swayed by the tyranny of the masses. But you must know your own mind in order to hear what God would have you do.

An interesting example of this in a secular context is to be found in Robert Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters, to which a parishioner referred me. It is a fascinating old science fiction tale about a race of aliens from a moon of Saturn who manage to take over parts of the US and who are little slug-like creatures that attach themselves to humans at their upper back and shoulders so that they can control their brains. At one point, the entire US congress is under scrutiny, being searched to be sure that they are not under alien control. And the president strips to the waist in order to display his back. This follows: “’I did that,’ he said, ‘so that you might see for yourself that your Chief Executive is not a prisoner of the enemy.’”[2] In other words, the President is saying: ” I want you to know I am my own man. You need to know that I do not have any other master.”
To be our own master is not entirely a truth in the Christian tradition, because we truly do have a master, God. Hence all that tricky “Lord” language in our liturgies. But in a sense Jesus does model the rebel way. Jesus is, if nothing else, his own man. We see that evident in his response to the chief priests in today’s reading. We see that he sees obedience not as being about having the knee-jerk obedient response (thanks be to God for those of us who sometimes fail in that regard) but as those who discern and then do what is right, according to our conscience and as God’s guidance leads.

In the aforementioned book, the main character, Sam, has a very conflicted relationship with his boss, “the old man” (as he calls him). He regularly quits or pretends to quit his position as a high ranking US government investigator when he feels called to act out of his conscience. But he always returns to work in the best interest of the American people. In a similar way, blind obedience may not be our call, but God does call us to return to what is best for all as we strive to follow Jesus.

We may not be at the immanent risk of alien creatures attacking our soil and taking over our brains; that remains as far as we can tell the stuff of science fiction. But we are at a decisive point in our country’s history wherein we are called to be our own men and women. We are called to listen to God’s sometimes elusive voice in the midst of the rabble. And we are called to follow, no matter how unpopular the choice may be. For the good of all. And to live as people fully alive as God has called us to be.

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[1] David Bowie, “Rebel, Rebel,” 1974.

[2]https://books.google.com/books?id=b7t0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT123&lpg=PT123&dq=president+in+heinlein%27s+puppet+masters+I+am+my+own+master&source=bl&ots=Mf06jQnk7J&sig=oFVm3eBLjGjCJZtYWhxqZGs3KBo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNi-_z8srWAhVMVWMKHXTpBV0Q6AEITTAM#v=onepage&q=president%20in%20heinlein's%20puppet%20masters%20I%20am%20my%20own%20master&f=false.