To Make One Proselyte
"Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, you make him two-fold more a son of hell than yourselves."- Matthew 23:15
These words of Jesus are among his most severe toward the Jewish religious leaders. They describe zealous but distorted effort to share the knowledge of the true God. The end result was even greater corruption for those proselytized. What twisted teaching of the God of Abraham would produce such horror?
The scribes and Pharisees were deceitful, proud, calculating, and manipulative.
"You are of your father the devil...except you turn and become as little children... you search the scriptures...but you will not come to me...but now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth... but now you say, we see: your sin remains."
The scribes and Pharisees taught only rules because they did not know the Lord, and so lacked his love to embrace others. Jesus came to give up himself, and calls us to open ourselves in sharing him with others. But we fail. I fail. We fail to open ourselves to others, that they may see Jesus in us - mixed with our remaining self-centeredness.
We cannot share Jesus if we haven't received him. Many remain alone, in predictable but lifeless meetings, where "don't ask, don't tell" conceals both guilt and wounds. Jesus died and rose to impart the joy of his life covering us and changing us. "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abides by itself alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit." - John 12:24
12/31/06