Peeled Back
Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.” – John 8:13-14 (NRSVUE)
I once worked for a boss who knew herself well enough to know she needed help with her tendency to micromanage. “Your job,” she said, holding up a clenched fist, “is to get me to peel my fingers back from all the things I keep tight in my grip,” because that grasping kept her from considering new possibilities for the program she ran.
In John 8, Jesus spars with the Pharisees at the Temple in Jerusalem. In their repeated encounters with him, they keep a tight grip on whatever will make them right and him wrong. For every statement he makes, they offer a counterargument—some rule or standard that supports their status quo.
They do not want to acknowledge who he is.
The Pharisees had a lot at stake as they grappled with Jesus’ arrival on the scene. To believe who he said he was, they needed to peel their fingers back from being authorities on everything. They needed to bend their minds to recognize that Jesus was God’s Law come to life among them.
My old boss comes to mind whenever I find myself caught up in rigid definitions of responsibility or roles or ideas. What am I trying to avoid or protect with my unbending mental fist?
Prayer
Ah, Holy Jesus, when we hold tight to things that do not serve you, may we peel ourselves back, and let you be you. Amen.
About the AuthorMartha Spong is a UCC pastor, a clergy coach, and editor of The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, from The Pilgrim Press.