Do not give to dogs what is holy, or throw your pearls before swine. Matthew 7:6
This saying from Jesus is not what we typically expect from a man defined by compassion and love. Was he having a bad day? Did some telling instance of opposition, intransience, and stupidity on the part of his enemies or the crowds exhaust his patience? Or was he pointing to an indispensable insight that his followers needed to embrace?
According to Mark’s Gospel, the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth as he began his ministry were, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and trust the good news.” (Mark 1:15) The first directive of Jesus to his audience was “repent.” The Hebrew word for repent means simply to turn. One is going in one direction in life and turns to go in another direction. Jesus was talking about a radical change. The Greek word for repent literally means “change of mind”—a transformation of the way one thinks, imagines, dreams, hopes, values, and loves. Such radical change is a most necessary component of the Christian faith although change is perhaps one of the last words one would ever use to describe most churches. Encrusted in useless or outdated tradition and worshipping a God who is forever the same (in their minds), too many churches are the last to jump on the bandwagon of progress, inclusion, and universal compassion.
When someone like Jesus comes and basically says that everything must change in us and in our world, we prefer to close our ears, eyes, minds and hearts.
We humans are resistant to change. Timidity, status quo, conservatism, caution, and perhaps most of all fear keep us mired in the hardening concrete of our false certainty and comfort. And so, when someone like Jesus comes and basically says that everything must change in us and in our world, we prefer to close our ears, eyes, minds and hearts. As Clarence Jordan said, “We’ll worship the hindlegs off of Jesus, but we won’t do a thing he says.” Worship often provides a convenient way out of following the One we call Lord. It’s easier to praise Jesus than to obey him; to quote him than to flesh out his teachings; to ignore his agenda and call to discipleship through a pretense of irrelevant ritual and browbeating over our many sins than to allow him to shape our lives. We have all become very sophisticated in our ways to flee from his demand that we repent/change/transform. We have even convinced ourselves (and others, we hope) that our piety is indicative of authentic faith. But deep down, I think we know better but simply lack the courage to admit our duplicity and return to that first step on our part in becoming a follower of Jesus: true, deep, comprehensive repentance.
With Jesus’ reference to dogs and swine, I think we can assume that he realized there are those who are not ready or perhaps even able to change. He knew it was useless to share his good news with those who were incapable of understanding and embracing his radical alternative. On one occasion he told his disciples that if they encountered opposition and rejection as they went out into the hamlets and villages to spread the gospel, they should simply shake the dust off their sandals and move on to the next village.
Over the past 43 years of teaching and pastoring I have often been frustrated by the unwillingness of church members to appreciate much less appropriate the radical message of Jesus. No matter how many times or how hard I tried, I received the same response from a majority of church members. They always returned to their default faith which assured them of their place in heaven and their sense of belonging before God. They may have nodded in agreement as we talked about loving our enemies, sharing with the poor, defining church by service, sacrifice, and example rather than attendance, building, and growth. But when it came time to determine budgets, elect officers, and offer gifts of time, talent, and resources, most (not all, thank God!) fell back on church as usual, “world without end, Amen!” (I have realized that part of my failure in pastoring was not the fault of any church members. I was at fault in not always or even usually living the Jesus alternative myself. That failure is one of the greatest regrets of my life.)
I have also had a lot of experience dealing with Christian Fundamentalists. For years I tried to argue with them to show them a better way than the restrictive, judgmental, and destructive faith they promoted. Finally, I realized my mistake. I was using reason and logic in my discussions with them. But reason and logic played no part in the development of their faith. Their faith ran on the engine of fear, and fear allows no time, space, or energy for reason and logic. Scientists tell us that when the sympathetic system dominates the body, we experience what is called the “fight, flight, or freeze syndrome.” The blood from our brains literally drains into other parts of our body so we can prepare our bodies to face the menace which is so threatening. We become stupid, irrational, incapable of reason. As the sympathetic system takes control, the parasympathetic system recedes. But it is the parasympathetic system which allows for healing, grounding, tranquility, and reason.
When you are stuck in fear, you are incapable of reason, logic, compassion, love, peace, forgiveness, and joy.
So much of American Christianity is characterized by fear. In spite of all the braggadocious claims to the contrary, most Fundamentalists fear for their salvation. Their God is petty, capricious, judgmental, wrathful, and lacking in joy and love. “Once saved, always saved” is a favorite saying among many conservative Christians. However, I have observed that they may claim to be saved, but they never feel safe. Because you see, they must be sure they are saved. I have heard so many of these unfortunate Christians say something like this: “I thought I was saved, but I wasn’t. But now I know I’m saved.” Such assurance may last but often within time the same people will make the same confession and try again to make sure they are “saved” in spite of Jesus’ teaching that those who try to save themselves will lose themselves. Such fear has provided the salaries of many evangelists as they prey upon the vulnerability of those who have never heard Jesus’ good news. The opposite of love is fear. You cannot love what you fear, and you cannot trust that you are truly loved by someone you fear. John says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Most Fundamentalists have never heard the good news Jesus preached, taught, and incarnated throughout his ministry. They are loved unconditionally by God. Only such knowledge and experience can allow for the change Jesus called for in his followers. When you are stuck in fear, you are incapable of reason, logic, compassion, love, peace, forgiveness, and joy. You have no energy for any of these healing qualities. You are lost in the quagmire you and your surroundings have created. The sad irony is that so many who claim to have been “found” by Jesus are, in fact, “lost” in a perverse “gospel” which allows for no freedom, joy, or authentic love.
So, I no longer try to reason, argue, convince others of the Christian faith unless they are ready and willing to move on. I trust one day they will move on as I trust that in the future I too will move on in my journey of faith. I am painfully aware that I have so much more to learn and experience as I hopefully grow and change from one degree of likeness into another in the image of Jesus. But is there any more we can say about this “dogs and swine” teaching which provides hope for all of those who are so resistant to change? I believe there is more good news for all of us. Part two on this passage will look at that hope.
