the provoking proposal of jesus - part i (jose a. pagola)

8/7/2019 The provoking proposal of Jesus - Part I (Jose A. Pagola)

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THEPROVOKINGPROPOSALOF JESUS

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C ompassionasaprincipleofaction

The research on Jesus reaches a fairly widespread conclusion. Jesus of Nazareth wasa man, perhaps the only o

wholived andcommunicated a sane experience of God, withoutdistortingit withthefears,ambitionand fanta

whichdifferentreligionsordinarilyprojectontothedivinity.

Jesusneverspeaks of Godas indifferentor distant,uninvolvedwiththe life of human beingsor interestedonhis honor, his glory and his rights. At the heart of his experience we do not find the image of a lawgiver God w

wantstogovern theworldthrough laws,whilethreateninghis creatures withterriblepunishmentsorwinning th

overwithwonderfulrewards.NeitherdoesheexperienceGodasarighteousbeingannoyedandangryatthesigh

oursins.

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ForJesus, Godis Compassion, «bowels», or as he would say «rahamim» in thelanguageof his choice. Compassio

the nature of God, his first reaction towards his children, the fundamental source of his action. God feels for

creatures what a mother feels for the child in her womb. God carries us in his «womb». The most beautiful

touchingparablesthat everyleftthelipsof Jesus and whichheundoubtedly most workedon inhis heartwerethhe told to get all to perceive theincredible compassion of God. The most captivating,perhaps, is theparable of

«GoodFather».

Thosewhohearditforthefirsttimewerenodoubtamazed.Itwasnotwhattheywereaccustomedtohearfrom

scribesorthepriestsof thetemple.Is itpossible that God is likethis? Likea father who doesnot keephis inherita

for himself, who is not obsessed by the proper moral behavior of his children, who cuts short the guilty ackno

edgement of theprodigal son to spare him further humiliation, whobreaking the norms for what is just and ri

seeksanhonorableandhappylifeforall?

Could this be the best metaphor for God: a father who moved to the depths of his being welcomes the lost,

seeching those who observehis commandments to welcome them with thesame compassion? Could God be a

ther whowants to direct history towards a final feast where at last life will be celebrated and the liberation achie

of allthatenslaves anddemeansthehuman being?Jesus speaksof a rich banquet,of musicanddancing,of lostp

plewhohaveleft a dishonorablelife,of brothersinvitedtojoin them.Will thisbe theultimatesecretof life?

Jesus also told an amazing and shocking parable about theowner of a vineyard who wanted work and bread for

This man hired differentgroups of workers: thefirstat six in themorning,thenabout nine, later at twelvemid-

atthree intheafternoon and evenat five whentherewasonlyan hourof theworkingdayleft.

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Surprisingly he paid all of them a denarius, which was needed to liveon for a day. This man does not think of

meritsof oneor theother,butwhether allwillhaveenoughfordinner withtheirfamilies.When theworkerswhoca

firstprotest,thisishisreply:«CanInotdowhatIwantwithwhatismine?OrareyoujealousbecauseIamgenerous»?

There had to be general confusion about what Jesus was suggesting.Is it that for God merits don’t count? D

Godnot work with thestandards that work for us? Does not this way of understanding the goodness of God br

down all our religious structures? Is it true that rather than weighing ourmerits he is thinking about how to m

ourneeds?Ifthisistrueitwouldbegreatnews.

There was another disconcerting parable that remainedimprinted in the memory of his disciples about a Phar

and a tax collector. They went up to thetemple to pray. The Pharisee stands up confidently to do so. His conscie

does not accuse him of anything. He fulfills the law faithfully and even goes beyond its demands. He is not a h

ocrite.Hespeaksthetruth.

SohegivesthankstoGod.Ifthismanisnotasaint,whocanbeone?Heiscertainthathecancountwiththebless

of God.The taxcollector on theother hand,retires toa corner and hedoesnot dareeventolift his eyesfromthefl

Heknowshe isa sinner, and heknows too that he cannotchange his life. He cannot giveup his job, nor can he ret

what he has stolen. So he does not promise anything. All that remains for him is to abandon himself to the merc

God.«OhGod,bemercifultomeasinner».Nobodywouldwanttobeinhisplace.Godcannotapprovehisbehavior.Unexpectedly Jesus concludes the parable with this statement: «I tell you that this tax collector went down to

house justified and not that Pharisee». Jesus takes everyone by surprise. Suddenly he opens up to them a new w

whichdemolishesall religiouspatternsof thought.

How can he speak of a God who does not recognize thepious,and,on thecontrary, gives his blessing to the

ner whoabandons himself to his mercy? Isit true that in the end what matters is not thereligious lifeof theone

the unfathomable mercy of God? Is it true that what has the last word is not the Law that judges our lives but

compassionof Godwho hearsourprayer?

This experience of a compassionate God was the point of departure of the revolutionary work of Jesus which

himto introduceintohistorya newprinciple of action:compassion. Thereligiousandsocio-politicalorganiza

of theJewish peopletookoff froma radicaldemand that can bestatedthus: «BeholybecauseI,theLordyourGod

holy». The people had to imitate the Holy God of the Temple who rejects the pagans, sinners and the impure,

blessesthechosenpeople,thejustandthepure.

This imitation of theholiness of Godunderstood as theseparation of the«not-holy, the“impure”»,gavebirt

a discriminatoryandexclusive society. TheJewishpeople sought their identity by excluding the pagan and imp

nations.The priests of theTemple enjoyed a level of purity superior to that of therestof thepeople. Those who

serve the Law enjoy the blessing of God while sinners are the object of his anger. Men belong to a superior leve

sanctity to that of women who are always tainted with suspicion of impurity because of menstruation and ch

birth.ThosewhoarehealthyareclosertoGodthanlepers,theblindorthecrippledwhoareexcludedfromaccess

the Temple.

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Jesus introduces into this society an alternative which changes everything: «Be compassionate as your Fath

compassionate». Thecompassionof Godand notholinessis theprinciple or«ethos» whichhastoinspire human

tion.Jesusdoes notdeny theholinessof God,butwhat qualifiesthatholinessis notthe separationof theimpure

rejectionof whatis notholy.Godis holy andgreatnot because heexcludesthe pagans,sinners,or theimpure but

cause he loves without excluding anyone from his compassion. For this reason compassion is not one more vi

for Jesus but the only way to belike God,theonly way tosee the world,to feel for people, and toreact tohuman

ingsthewayGodwould.

Thiscompassionis nota mere feelingbut a principle of action which defiesconventionalpatternsof behavior.Itc

sists in internalizing and making our own the suffering of the other in order to respond and do for him all we

Jesus suggested this as a challenge in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus speaks of a man assaulted and ab

doned by the roadside on a lonely road. Fortunately two travelers pass by the same way : a priest and a Levite. T

come from theTempleafter performingtheir ritualduties.Thewounded mansees them arrivefull of hope:they

from his own town ; they represent the God of the Temple; no doubt they will have pity. It is not so. The two w

aroundhimandpassedhimby.

Athirdtravelercomesalong.HeisneitherapriestnoraLevite.Hedoesnotevenbelongtothechosenpeople.H

is a hated Samaritan, a member of an enemy people. The wounded man watches him approach scared. He canpecttheworst.However,theSamaritanhadcompassiononhim;hecametohimanddidforhimallhecouldtosa

him. Thelistenerscouldn’t have been more surprised.The parablebroke all the patterns of behavior andclassifi

tion of people into friends and enemies,into chosen people and foreigners and impure people. Is it true that co

passion canflownotfromtheTemple,norfrom official religiouschannels,butfroma proverbialenemy?

Jesus looked at life from the roadside, through the eyes of victims who most needed help. There is no do

aboutit.ForJesusthebestmetaphorforGodiscompassionforthewounded.AndtheonlywaytobelikeGodand

behaveinahumanwaywastobehaveasthatSamaritandi d.

Theparableof Jesusintroduced a completechange. Therepresentatives of theTemple pass thewounded by

hated enemy is thesavior. Barriers fallwiththe appearance of compassion.Even a traditional enemy,detestedby

canbe a channel of thecompassionof God.Will wenot have toforgetprejudices,hatredsand sectarianisms?Wil

nothavetorearrangeeverythingfromacompassionateperspective?

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A final parable inwhich it isnot easy toreconstruct theoriginalnarrativeof Jesus,allowsustounderstand there

lution he introduced in history. The parable is really a grandiose description of thejudgment of allthenations

havethere the peoples of allraces and nations, of allcultures and religions, and generations of alltheages. The fi

verdictwillbeheardwhichwillmakeeverythingclear.


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Two groups keep emerging from that multitude. Some are called to receive the blessing of God to inherit

kingdom;othersareaskedtogoaway.Eachgroupgoestotheplacetheythemselveshavechosen.Somehavereac

withcompassionfortheneedy;theotherswereindifferenttotheirsuffering.Whatdecidestheirfateisnottheirr

gion northeir piety. Theyhave notacted outof religiousmotives. Quite simplysome have been movedbycomp

sionothersnot.

Theparable speaksof sixbasicsituations.They arenot unrealistic cases,but situations thatare known toallp

ples of all times. Everywhere there are people who are hungry and thirsty; immigrants and the naked; sick an

prison. There is no mention of bigwordslike «justice» or «solidarity»,but of food,clothing,of something to drof a roof for shelter. There is no mention of «love» either, but of such concrete things as «give» «welcome», «vi

«go».Whatmattersisnottheorybutcompassionwhichleadsonetohelptheotherwhenitisneeded.

Trueprogress,the redemption of humanity, lies in caringforthe unfortunate of theworld. Itsdamnation,on

other hand,lies in indifference to suffering.The message proclaimed andputinto practice by Jesusto theendo

lifewasthis:«Becompassionate as your heavenly Fatheris compassionate».Thisishislegacy.

JA P

Readmorein: Jesus.AnHistoricalApproximationandFollowingintheFootstepsofJesus byJoséAntonioPagola.

Publishedby ConviviumPress.


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the provoking proposal of jesus - part i (jose a. pagola)

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