Friday of the 30th week in ordinary time

On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.

After hearing so many awful things about “Pharisees” in the gospels some people are surprised that Jesus goes to dine at the home of a leading Pharisee. He would surely lose votes during this electoral season for consorting with the enemy. Fortunately Jesus didn’t have to run for office to be our Savior, nor did he feel constrained by popular opinion. On the one occasion when he took a poll among a handful of his disciples (“Who do people say I am?”) he found the public was clueless and his disciples dumbfounded. But he was neither discouraged nor surprised by their obtuse spirit. They simply don’t understand where he comes from.

Jesus enjoys the freedom of obedience to His Father. He goes where the Spirit impels him, and on this occasion he accepted the invitation of a leading Pharisee. Is that a compromise? Can the Lord of heaven and earth compromise?

In today’s political climate, compromise has become a dirty word. Candidates for office accuse one another of compromising, as if there is something diabolic about that. With their Manichean view of human nature, they think that "agreeing to disagree" is submission to Satan. Only the "Party of God" knows the Truth, and that must be my party. Politicians who change their opinions or even express them differently are accused of waffling and vacillating. Others are vilified for their willingness to negotiate with so-called enemies. These strident candidates promise that when they get into office they will not go along with the community of leaders but will shake them up and set them right. And voters go for it!

The Lord of Heaven and Earth seriously compromised his own dignity, if not his divinity, when he became a human being. This has been, since the day Jesus was born, “an absurdity to Greeks and scandal to Jews.”

Where most people cannot imagine surrendering their security, wealth, opportunities, rights or entitlements Jesus threw it all over. Where many people protect their privacy with high fences, Jesus went to the Pharisee’s home where the people observed him. “He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped.” Like Saint Paul, he considered that which he formerly treasured as so much rubbish. 

The coming of God as a man tells us of God’s willingness to learn, change, and be influenced. What would be the point of God’s becoming human if he didn’t learn something from it? He could have saved us in any number of ways, but he chose to do it by showing us how good it is to be human, political, vulnerable and frail. 

The edge of Frog Pond

The Incarnation of God reminds us of the cost of being human, that we must live with others and come to terms with them. We must hear their complaints, honor their suffering and recognize their dignity – as they must deal with us. We must see their God-like qualities even when we fear their opinions. Like Jesus we must love our enemies and sit down to dine with them.