Dialogue
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Daily Reading: John 7:40 – 53
Focus Passage:
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"
"No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards replied.
"You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?"
They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."
Then they all went home. (Jn. 7:45 – 53)
I spent many years engaging in debate about Jesus. It was a fairly satisfying way to think about Jesus and to express what I believed.
Plus, there was a lot of “me” in the debate, a lot of satisfaction that I could best someone else in a mental exercise and could articulate a position better or more persuasively than someone else. Looking back, it was a lot more satisfying to defend my debate skills or to persuade others of my devotion than it was to point persons to Jesus. My manner of speaking on behalf of Jesus often was counter to the very spirit of Jesus.
If you think about it, engaging in dialogue most always keeps us at least one step removed from engagement. As long as we keep issues and convictions at the level of belief and verbal articulation, we don’t have to engage them.
In local congregations, small groups insist on leaders who will facilitate group discussion. Everyone wants to speak, to have a voice, to state their opinion. So in classes and share groups, the bulk of time is spent sharing opinions, making sure that everyone says what they want to say. Good group leaders, then, are those who ask prompting questions and serve as referee when the discussion wanders off track. It is possible, in that setting, for everyone in the group to share an opinion, but walk out of the room unchanged by the dialogue.
The Gospels are not concerned that everyone speak their opinions and take part in dialogue about God. Sharing opinions about God doesn’t open a person more deeply to God.
Discussing theories about holy things doesn’t weave transformation into the fabric of our lives.
Being right about religious theories doesn’t guarantee that God’s Spirit will permeate our lives and change the world.
At the end of today’s passage, John reported that the persons who debated, discussed, and opinionated about Jesus simply “all went home.” Nothing changed. Nothing was different with them. They just went home.
But at least they had an opportunity to speak their mind!
For Reflection:
In the meditation, I depicted some settings centered on dialogue as a distraction from the true work of discipleship. Each of us have been a part of that kind of distraction, I suspect.
Are you prone to discussing Jesus (or issues of theology) without engaging Jesus?
If dialogue isn’t your particular distraction, what is?
Daily Reading: John 7:40 – 53
Focus Passage:
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"
"No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards replied.
"You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?"
They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."
Then they all went home. (Jn. 7:45 – 53)
I spent many years engaging in debate about Jesus. It was a fairly satisfying way to think about Jesus and to express what I believed.
Plus, there was a lot of “me” in the debate, a lot of satisfaction that I could best someone else in a mental exercise and could articulate a position better or more persuasively than someone else. Looking back, it was a lot more satisfying to defend my debate skills or to persuade others of my devotion than it was to point persons to Jesus. My manner of speaking on behalf of Jesus often was counter to the very spirit of Jesus.
If you think about it, engaging in dialogue most always keeps us at least one step removed from engagement. As long as we keep issues and convictions at the level of belief and verbal articulation, we don’t have to engage them.
In local congregations, small groups insist on leaders who will facilitate group discussion. Everyone wants to speak, to have a voice, to state their opinion. So in classes and share groups, the bulk of time is spent sharing opinions, making sure that everyone says what they want to say. Good group leaders, then, are those who ask prompting questions and serve as referee when the discussion wanders off track. It is possible, in that setting, for everyone in the group to share an opinion, but walk out of the room unchanged by the dialogue.
The Gospels are not concerned that everyone speak their opinions and take part in dialogue about God. Sharing opinions about God doesn’t open a person more deeply to God.
Discussing theories about holy things doesn’t weave transformation into the fabric of our lives.
Being right about religious theories doesn’t guarantee that God’s Spirit will permeate our lives and change the world.
At the end of today’s passage, John reported that the persons who debated, discussed, and opinionated about Jesus simply “all went home.” Nothing changed. Nothing was different with them. They just went home.
But at least they had an opportunity to speak their mind!
For Reflection:
In the meditation, I depicted some settings centered on dialogue as a distraction from the true work of discipleship. Each of us have been a part of that kind of distraction, I suspect.
Are you prone to discussing Jesus (or issues of theology) without engaging Jesus?
If dialogue isn’t your particular distraction, what is?
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