Pastor Ash Dotson, Oasis UMC
The author(s) of John’s Gospel records Jesus speaking some pretty strong words against his antagonizers in John’s Gospel. Look to John 54b-55 where Jesus calls out many who claim to follow God, liars. I have to wonder if they actually came out of the frustrations of Jesus or out of the continued frustrations of the author(s) and those who would be reading this text as not much had changed since Jesus was crucified.
Remember this was written almost a century after Jesus’ physical ministry on earth. I can certainly understand either scenario, as I tend to use strong words when someone goes against or speaks against things or people that are dear to me. However, I didn’t know Jesus when he physically walked with us; I only know the author’s perceptions of Jesus. Hopefully, what I am saying will become more clear as you read on.
In this case the folks Jesus is calling liars have claimed to know God, God’s law, God’s intent, God’s feelings, etc. Not only have they claimed to know God, they have used this “‘knowledge”as a means to rule and control those who have come to depend on them as a people of God. Imagine Jesus, who truly does know God, trying to teach these folks who think they’ve already got it down and refuse to listen.
I was reading Richard Rohr’s daily meditation this morning and he mentioned a Meister Eckhart quote: “I pray God to rid me of God.” And Rohr explained that most of us have a difficult time understanding Eckhart because we think dualistically. What Eckhart is saying is that any idea we may have of who or what God is must be wrong as we cannot possibly conceive of God. Any ideas we as humans have about God come out of the ego, and it is only by letting go of those things that we begin to know God.
Having said that, I do think that Jesus came to give us an understanding of God. The things that stand out in the Gospels, the overall themes of the Gospels–Love God with all you’ve got, love each other as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39), love creation (John 1:3, Romans 8:19-22)—these things seem to be the common overall perceptions of all the authors. “Love one another, just as I have loved you, you must love one another!” (John 13:34) It seems to me that the only thing we can know of God is that God is about love and loving one another…any ifs, ands, or buts emanate from us.
I invite you to Oasis UMC to explore the kind of love that God teaches us through Jesus. We meet on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the Laredo Room.