Shema ......
Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One.
These opening lines to one of the primary Jewish prayers, became a landmark on my spiritual journey.
I was browsing through the Bible, when my eyes fell on a page; one of the disciples asked Jesus, “What is the most important commandment?”
And Jesus, answered “The Lord, our God, the Lord is One.”
And I thought “Of course, he was Jewish. If I want to understand what Jesus was talking about, I need to learn more about Judaism.”
One of the few things we do know about Jesus is that he was Jewish; though most of Christianity has downplayed or ignored this part of his story. Some conservative denominations have even tried to deny it. But I bet they still use a bit of Hebrew when they worship – Amen and Hallelujah! There are clues throughout the Christian scriptures. He was circumcised; he studied with the rabbis at the Temple. And he observed Passover, breaking the matzoh with his followers around the seder table.
My current favorite, possible clue is a simple sentence stating that Jesus was at the Temple at the time of the dedication. Not a particularly interesting sentence, until I learned that the word “Chanukah” means dedication.
Did Jesus celebrate Chanukah? The answer will likely forever be lost in translation.
After decades of oral story telling, the Gospels were written in Aramaic and Greek; then translated into Latin. Then after centuries of Latin transcription, the Bible was translated into the languages of the people; first in Europe, and then around the world in a process that continues even today.
And of course, however knowledgeable and diligent, each translator's work was colored by his own beliefs and understanding. And the richness of the original metaphors and idioms all but disappeared.
Biblical historians have determined that Jewish rabbis and scribes first compiled the Tanakh or Hebrew Scriptures that we know today, during the Babylonian exile. In Understanding Biblical Israel: A Reexamination of the Origins of Monotheism, a meticulously researched book by Stanley Ned Rosenbaum, the former Dickinson professor, states that at this time in history, separated from the rituals of the Temple, and the land of Israel. the Jews risked losing their culture and identity.
It was this preservation of culture and belief, rather that the factual “date-on-the-calendar” history we value today, that was the goal of the Jewish scribes.
Rosenbaum points out that Jews had previously struggled with monotheism, in a culture in which their neighbors worshiped their powerful-looking idol gods.
So, the Hebrew Scriptures are replete with reminders and warnings that Jews must worship and obey only their one mysterious G-d.
A friend here at UUCV recently told me that she liked the G-d in the New Testament better than the G-d of the Hebrew Scriptures. Indeed, in much the Tanakh, G-d is depicted as angry, doling out punishments and smiting Israel's enemies. Exactly the images of G-d the Jewish people would have needed in exile. They needed a reason why they lost their home and their beloved Temple. The scriptures answer that it's because they forgot the Law and worshiped other gods, so they were being punished. And they needed hope, so G-d is a warrior who will conqueror their enemies and bring them home to Israel again.
And of course, there are reminders of G-d's promise of deliverance and the many blessings bestowed upon his people, especially in the Book of Psalms where we are often encouraged to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
But for all this punishing, smiting and bestowing, the Hebrew G-d does not intermingle with his people as did the gods of other Middle Eastern or the Greek and Roman cultures. The G-d of the Torah generally sends the occasional angel on an earthly errand, and speaks to and through a series of prophets throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus' time was also a difficult period for the children of Israel. Their homeland was once again occupied by a foreign power: the Romans. So it's not surprising that they were hoping for, and even expecting a leader, another hero to lead them to victory once again. So messianic expectations were high; though the predictions were not quite as specific as the New Testament scribes would have us believe.
In Jesus the Jew, another fascinatingly well-researched book by Geza Vermes. the author offers examples and analysis of early and variant versions of the Gospels, and rabbinic writings, especially Inter-Testamental texts, to decipher what the stories, and especially the many titles of Jesus, may have meant to his followers.
The Jews were expecting a messiah: perhaps a king, or a priest, or a prophet. They weren't sure who they were expecting, perhaps a pair of Messiah's, a king and a prophet, or perhaps all three.
But whoever, this Messiah was; he was human. and mortal. And though he might die a courageous, painful death; there were no resurrection or second coming expectations.
Jesus was from Galilee, a remote area considered rather provincial by the Jews of Jerusalem. Galilean Jews were thought to be less observant; and since they spoke Hebrew with a different accent, were also considered unworthy to read the Torah at temple services in Jerusalem.
Galilee was also a center for a form of charismatic Judaism; with many prophets or teachers who roamed around the holy land; healing , teaching preaching; and performing miracles. Jesus was not the only preacher and healer wandering around first century Israel.
Galilee was also considered a region for radicals, and possible rebels. So it's no wonder a popular Galilean prophet with a bold, new philosophy would make the ruling Romans nervous and suspicious.
In the Inter-Testamental Jewish texts, the messiah is often described as the “son of man” and the “son of G-d” Jesus even applied the first of these terms to himself, Vermes shows that “the son of man” in Aramaic was usually used as an indirect reference to oneself when speaking, kind of like some people today might say “Dan and myself are leading today's service” instead of “Dan and I”, to sound a bit more humble.. Or, one might refer to oneself or the person being spoken to, as “the son of man” when talking about unpleasant circumstances, such a possible illness or death. In messianic predictions, this phrase was also used to describe the messiah, as a human being.
And “son of G-d”, was not a literal divine descendant; this is not a Jewish concept. The G-d of Israel did not intermingle with his people as did the gods of the Hellenistic Gentiles. In Jewish tradition, the phrase “son of G-d” was used to describe a prophet, a holy man, a miracle worker; in some instances such a man might even be anointed or proclaimed as a prophet, and as an adopted son of G-d.
So Jesus humbly referred to himself as the “son of man,” but never as “son of G-d.” Nor did he refer to himself as the Messiah. In fact he almost never mentions the Messiah, and he rebukes his disciples when they suggest that he might be the Messiah.
Vermes' study indicates that much of what the Christian Scriptures tell us about Jesus are the result of mis-translations, and the interpretations of concepts like “son of God” by his Hellenistic Gentile followers, who being unversed in Jewish tradition, adapted these concepts to their own traditions and beliefs. For the most part, the Jesus of the New Testament is what his non-Jewish followers believed him to be.
So what was Jesus talking about? For a less diluted perspective, I read two non-Canon gospels: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and The Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, unfortunately, only survives in a few intriguing fragments, that hint at a very intimate friendship between her and Jesus. It begins with the end of a vision, and continues with Mary explaining to the disciples what Jesus had taught her; much of which is missing. But one phrase caught my eye. Mary tells the disciples “The Son of Man is in you.”
The Gospel of Thomas, which scholars believe may be one of the earliest Gospels, contains many of the phrases and stories we know from the traditional Gospels, as well as a few very cryptic entries; and repeats in various ways, including the epigram in today's Order of Service, that the Kingdom of G-d is here and how. Or as it has also been translated. “The Kingdom of G-d is at hand.”
Jesus preached a radical new version of Judaism. He cautioned against the potential complacency of ritual piety, and ego-satisfying displays of public worship. He told parables about forgiveness and noble deeds. He hung out with the lower classes and outcasts of Jerusalem, and told them that they were the salt of the earth.
And yet the Christian scriptures would have us believe that he taught that his preaching was the only way to get to G-d. This doesn't fit with the rest of Jesus' teaching. After all, he fed the masses with a few loaves and fishes, he didn't only feed the believers.
I recently stumbled upon a theory that the phrase”I am the way; there is no way to the Father except through me,” has perhaps been the most-powerful mis-translation in Scriptures. The theory is that the translation as we know it, is missing one tiny but significant verb; the word “is.”
The correct translation would then be “ I Am is the Way; there is no way to the Father except through I Am.” In other words, G-d is the way.
Perhaps the best clue to what Jesus was preaching about is exemplified by the ministries of his disciples and followers after his death. In Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This Wold for Crucifixion and Empire by Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker, and adapted in the Summer 2008 edition of UU World; the authors describe their discovery that Paradise was the vision of the first millennium Christians – creating a paradise here on earth. “The Son of Man is in you.” “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”
This is the Jesus I have come to know. A teacher and healer who wanted to be emulated not worshiped. The prophet who instructed his followers to go out into the world as he did, preaching and teaching about the love of G-d, and how humankind can do G-d's work here on earth.
The humble Jew at the seder table who taught us that one human being really does have the power to change world.
“The Son of Man is in You”. “The Kingdom of God is at hand”.
Amen and Hallelujah.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Sources:
Understanding Biblical Israel: A Reexamination of the Origins of Monotheism. By Stanley Ned Rosebaum. Mercer University Press. 2002.
Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. By Geza Vermes. Fortress Press. 1981
Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire. By Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker. Beacon Press, 2008. (beacon.org) as Adapted in the Summer 2008 issue of UUA World.
** This article is the text of a sermon I delivered as a Worship Associate at my Unitarian Universalist congregation on 04/05/2009 **
Photo of painting The Circumsion , Spain, circa 1450; now in a church in San Salvador. Image from Oblates of St Joseph website: http://www.osjoseph.org
Posts
