Stroop Sermon for Morning Prayer, Year 2, Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Morning Prayer St. Paul’s Memorial Chapel
St. Paul’s College, Lawrenceville, VA
Wednesday, Wednesday, February 11, 2004
(Revised 12 February 2004)

In the Episcopal Church, we use two different schedules to read from the Bible. These are called “lectionaries.” One is used during the week, and the other is for use on Sunday. They are different from one another, and between the two of them, we read the majority of the Bible during any three year period. But, the eighth chapter of John is not heard in any church on any Sunday. Perhaps we don’t hear from this part of John’s Gospel because it puts religious leaders in a bad light. After all, there are the Pharisees and Jesus hurling insults at each other, “proving that holy men can insult each other as brilliantly as anyone.” [1] Perhaps we don’t hear from it because it is a long section of unclear text that reads like a course in metaphysics; there is no plot, no healing, no walking on water. [2]

Episcopalians are often accused of not knowing the Bible very well, and even though we won’t often admit it, we are a little envious of members of other denominations who can quote chapter and verse with great ease. People who can do that often quote scripture to make a point about something; it’s called “proof texting.” Episcopalians just don’t proof text very well. And Episcopalians like members of other denominations sometimes get angry when they hear proof texts used to denigrate others or to claim that God’s grace is limited to one group or another. Our gospel text today gives us the opportunity to eavesdrop on a conversation of proof texters.

The Pharisees are the bad guys, just doing their job. They are the religious authorities of the day, defending the faith as they inherited it. They are in charge of keeping the status quo, and they do not like Jesus at all. In John’s gospel, Jesus says, “I” a lot – “I am the bread of life” (6:35), “I am from above” (8:23), “I am the gate” (10:9), “I am the good shepherd” (10:11), “I am the true vine” (15:1). “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me” (14:6). The phrase “I am” is used more in John than in any other book of the Bible. [3]

These are outrageous claims. Imagine how you would react if you were walking in downtown Lawrenceville, and a man standing on a street corner yelled to passersby that he was “the way, the truth, and the life!” I think we would all look at our shoes and scurry by, pretending that the nut wasn’t there at all. But the Pharisees are the religious police. They cannot let this go. They must inquire. After all, Jesus has made claims that are unthinkable for a Jew. Just who does Jesus think he is? [4] Barbara Brown Taylor wrote about this passage that Jesus “passes himself off as a believer in God, but he doesn’t sound like one. He sounds like a rival, one of those dangerously attractive preachers who gets carried away by his own charisma and gets the message all confused with the messenger.” [5]

When Jesus said “I am the light of the world” the Pharisees went ballistic. We hear those words with the benefit of 2000 years of Christian history and tradition. We hear the symbolism telling us that Jesus is the revelation of God in the world. The “light” is the “word” and the word is the light made flesh in Jesus. Without thinking about it, that is how we hear and immediately interpret “I am the light of the world.”

But, let’s try to imagine how the Pharisees might have heard that when Jesus said it to them that day in the Temple. In the seventh chapter of John just before today’s reading, Jesus and his disciples had entered Jerusalem for the festival of booths or tabernacles. It was during the middle of the festival that Jesus went to the Temple to teach. In the Jewish liturgical year the Festival of Tabernacles rivaled, and perhaps even surpassed, Passover in popularity. [6] Tabernacles was a fall festival, and it was a big celebration. People journeyed to Jerusalem from all over the Jewish world. The festival celebrated the joy of the harvest, the freedom they enjoyed in the wilderness when the people lived in booths or tents, and a time when when God’s sacred scrolls were carried in a mobile tabernacle. The symbols of light and water were important. Four large lamp stands were lit in the Temple Court of the Women, at the close of the first festival day. The lamp stands produced so much light, that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that did not reflect their light. [7] Celebrants at Tabernacles danced before those lamp stands with burning torches adding even more light to the celebration. In this way, the people symbolized the meaning of the festival: That Israel was to become a light of the nations of the world

The liturgy of Tabernacles was based on the messianic readings from Zechariah, chapters 9-14. In that text, God speaks to the Israelites and says, “I will strengthen the house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph” (Zech 10:6). The promise to Israel is a divine warrior who will appear over the people (Zech 9:14), and save them, “for they are the flock of his people” (Zech 9:16). Jerusalem would be God’s dwelling place, and out of Jerusalem would flow fountains of living water, which was a symbol for the Spirit that was to rule the world when God’s kingdom came (Zech 14:8-13).

When the Pharisees heard Jesus say “I AM the light of the world,” he was in the middle of the Temple surrounded by the symbolic light reflected in the Book of Zechariah. He stood in the middle of the Court of the Women, the most populated area of the Temple, near the treasury, and the hall where the Sanhedrin met. [8] He was likely surrounded by many people, including the Temple authorities, and had deliberately equated himself with God’s promise. Worse, Jesus used the words “I AM.” This was deliberate. Jesus wanted everyone present to hear in his voice the voice of God almighty who spoke to Jesus just as God addressed Moses from the burning bush: “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you.” And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus later told them, “You are from below; I AM from above” (Jn 8:23). “You will die in your sins unless you believe that I AM” (Jn 8:24).

The Pharisees were sure they had Jesus trapped. Moving quietly like an inexperienced attorney approaching a witness, they missed the main point and went for a technicality. They claimed that his “witness” is “not valid.” Jewish law held that a man’s testimony on his own behalf was not legally admissible evidence; he must have the witness of two other men. [9] The Pharisees did not say that his testimony was not valid, just that had no legal worth. [10]

In the recent movie Joshua, based on the novel by the same name by Fr. Joseph Girzone, a tall man named Joshua with a serene presence arrives in Auburn, a quaint midwestern town and rents a barn to set up shop as a woodcarver. Joshua is low-key, unpretentious and dedicated to random acts of kindness – an important thing to remember this week which is National Random Acts of Kindness Week. He quickly goes about rebuilding the Baptist church that had been badly damaged by a tornado. It's not long before the entire town has pitched in to help. The townspeople begin realizing that they are experiencing a sense of community as never before. Father Tardone, the monsignor of the local Roman Catholic Church becomes suspicious of Joshua’s intentions.

Tardone is the Pharisee in the movie, and he is very worried that Joshua is some kind of charlatan whose intention is to sway the townspeople. He is sure that Joshua is up to something, but he just doesn’t know what. The Pharisees’ reaction to Jesus’ claim to be the light is the same as Fr. Tardone’s reaction to Joshua. They react like we might when we do not wish to be convinced of something: “‘I don’t see it that way; or, ‘Your evidence is not sufficient to establish the claim’.” But light doesn’t have to establish a claim by argument. Light establishes its claim simply by shining. “Light is to be accepted for itself, notwithstanding the objections of the blind.” [11] Not feeling the same sense of community and love that the townspeople felt, Fr. Tardone asked Joshua, “Who are you?” Not seeing or hearing truth in Jesus’ words, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Who are you?” (Jn 8:25).

Isn’t that still the question for us today? Many of us feel uncomfortable talking about the person of Jesus. Maybe that’s because we haven’t experienced Jesus in any way we can tell. Maybe it’s because we don’t think we have the “right” language to talk about those theological things. Maybe it’s because we don’t think we are good enough proof texters.

The Pharisees could not see the face of God in Jesus, and they did not want to, either. No matter how they looked at Jesus, and no matter how many times Jesus appeared before them, they were blind to the light. “Whether Jesus was speaking for God or instead of God, he was way out of line, claiming equality with a God who had no equals.” [12]

But there is another possibility. Jesus’ relationship with God was the ultimate in intimacy. He was so full of God’s goodness, and so much a part of the Being of God that when he said “I AM” there was no difference between the two. To two people in love, this should be obvious. When two people fall in love, their individual personalities begin to give way to the third personality that they create together, that persona called the “We.” The “we” and the individual “I’s” in a loving relationship blend together. So in Jesus, the people saw God. When they heard Jesus, they heard God. Jesus hadn’t taken God’s place, but because he was of the same substance as God, Jesus became the porthole through which the people could glimpse God.

But, God is not a simple “thing” that is easily defined, just as Jesus was unable to define himself simply. He gave several answers as to who he was: “the bread;” “the vine;” “the good shepherd;” “the light;” the way, the truth, and the life.” As Barbara Brown Taylor put it, “which is it? All of the above? Or none of the Above? God, or Son of God? My personal savior, or the cosmic Christ? We cannot nail him down. We tried that once, but he got loose, and ever since then he has been the walking, talking presence of God in our midst.” [13] Jesus is indefinable, ineffable, mysterious. He is the unfathomable “I AM,” and we cannot sum him up any more than we can sum up God.

The Pharisees asked the right question. Fr. Tardone asked the right question. “Who are you?” And the answer to that question is what we seek. We are a seeking people. And that is why we are a joyous people. There is joy in the seeking, because even though we may not ever be able to define the “I AM” we know already that the “I AM” knows and loves us as we continue to seek the face and voice of Jesus. No matter who we are in this holy place, we come together as living members of that great body of Christ. We celebrate the differences between us for we know that it is through our differences that we make the Body strong and capable. We know that we are part of the great wholeness of God, the “I AM.” Let us celebrate our differences as we come together to seek God’s love in each other.

98 Your commandment has made me wiser than my enemies, *
and it is always with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, *
for your decrees are my study.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste! *
they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

104 Through your commandments I gain understanding; *
therefore I hate every lying way.

108 Accept, O LORD, the willing tribute of my lips, *
and teach me your judgments.

110 The wicked have set a trap for me, *
but I have not strayed from your commandments.

111 Your decrees are my inheritance for ever; *
truly, they are the joy of my heart.

116 Sustain me according to your promise, that I may live, *
and let me not be disappointed in my hope.

117 Hold me up, and I shall be safe, *
and my delight shall be ever in your statutes.

118 You spurn all who stray from your statutes; *
their deceitfulness is in vain.

119 In your sight all the wicked of the earth are but dross; *
therefore I love your decrees.

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the LORD before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes; and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.” So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.

So he went in to his father, and said, “My father”; and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

[3] Edward W. Goodrick, John R. Kohlenberger III, John A. Swanson. Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 547. Seven of the “I AM” sayings are without predicative nominatives (simply “I AM”), and 12 of these have predicate nominatives (referents such as “ the bread of life”or “the true vine”. See Gail R. O’Day. “The Gospel of John.” IN The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol IX. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), 602.

[6] John Shelby Spong. Resurrection, Myth or Reality? A Bishop’s Search for the Origins of Christianity. (New York, NY: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994), 252.

[8] Leon Morris. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of John, Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 394.

[13] Taylor. The Preaching Life, 106.

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