How I wish scripture had a sarcasm font.
I'm reading through Mark 4 to internalize the context for this week's scripture reading, when I come to v. 11-12:
"[Jesus] said to [the disciples], “The secret of God’s kingdom has been given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables. This is so that they can look and see but have no insight, and they can hear but not understand. Otherwise, they might turn their lives around and be forgiven."
Sounds pretty Calvinist in the worst sense of the word, no? "Y'all are chosen, so you can understand these parables, but those other heretics don't get to understand because if they did, they might be able to turn their lives around."
But then Jesus immediately says, "Don't you understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?" and goes on to explain it to them.
In other words, "Oh, what's that? YOU don't understand, either? Hmm, interesting. Guess I'll have to explain them to you, my inner circle, who by all accounts should definitely understand without needing help."
In other other words, this is confusing stuff, for experts and amateurs alike. We should all be helping each other understand instead of using it as a litmus text for who's in and who's out. The goal isn't to determine winners and losers; the goal is for EVERYONE to turn to God.
I propose, instead or in addition to "red letter" bibles, we publish editions that include a sarcasm font to show just how sassy and salty Jesus REALLY was.
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