15th Week OT (S)
When confronted by the Pharisees, Jesus runs away. Instead of standing his ground, digging in, and fighting back against the malicious attacks of his enemies, he retreats. He's the Son of God. The Messiah. He heals, prophesies, resurrects the dead, and speaks with authority. Why is he running away? He could blast these guys with a Word of Truth and leave them quaking in their sandals! And let's be honest here, if we had been there, we'd probably beg him to do exactly that. Who doesn't love a good beat down, especially when the ones getting the beat down are so deserving? So, why does he run? We could say he's showing us how to love our enemies and show them mercy. Or we could say he's making a tactical withdrawal so he can fight another day. Or maybe he's protecting his followers from the wrath of the Pharisees. All plausible. Here's another one: rather than put on a spectacular display of divine power by turning the Pharisees into toads, he withdraws in preparation for surrendering the field to his Church. Think about it: Jesus performs some newsworthy miracle to silence his enemies. That becomes the story. Not just the story but The Story. He's a wonder-working prophet and his works will be remembered for the ages. Over the centuries, his followers point back again and again to these wonders as the foundation of their faith. That can be a powerful foundation. But it's not the foundation Jesus wants to build. He repeatedly tells those whom he heals not to tell others they've been healed. Keep this just btw us, OK? (Of course, they never do!). The foundation he wants to build lies in the hearts and minds of his followers. Each one of us is a stone in that foundation. Each one of us together builds the rock. And through Peter and his confession of faith in the Christ AND our constant and consistent faith, the faith is handed on place to place, year to year. By withdrawing, Jesus actually avoids creating fantastical myths about his magical powers. He avoids writing stories of showy deeds that make him out to be just another local magician. His retreat is a not a surrender to the Pharisees but a surrender to God and God's providence in establishing the Church in His time. What this means for us can be said in a word: patience. I heard groaning! I know, we don't like patience these days. We want action. We want movement and resolution. We want victory. Well, victory we have. And this is why we can afford to be patient. We've already won. All we have left to do is live out our victory til Christ comes again. Live in faith. Share that faith. Fight when we can't do otherwise. And never assume that those who call themselves our enemies are actually our enemies. They've been deceived, and surely we ourselves know what it is to be conned by the true Enemy. Now we know what it is to be the victims of mercy. Set free and loosed to be agents of divine love in an easily duped world. That we have been freed is not a badge of honor. It's a gift. It's a gift we ourselves are charged with passing on.
