LOVE AS COMPASSION

Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments.

Matthew 22:37-40 (read 22:34-46) - NIV

It is difficult to speak of love without trivialities. It is one of the most discussed and least experienced subjects. The text highlights love. I approach it with the fear of perpetuating banality. Jesus is talking about the basics, the essentials. It is important to understand the heart and mind of Jesus' message.

Maybe we’re like the little girl, Cynthia, who wrote a letter to God:

Dear God,

I bet it is very hard for You to love all people in the world. Our family has only four people and sometimes I can’t do it.

Cynthia

We cannot speak of love without first defining it. In popular usage, love has connotations of sentimentalism such as: adoration, passion, affection, etc. But love (agape) in the Greek New Testament means "to desire the good of others". That in itself is impersonal, but Jesus carried it further to include the meaning: "to exercise compassion”. The spirituality of Jesus is "com-passion" (to suffer with) or share the pain of others.

Such a love would be holistic, including heart, soul and mind. It would produce an integrated life, recognizing the Divine in all areas of living. The opposite would be schizophrenic love in which we divide our lives into separate compartments such as church, world, spiritual, material, discourse, practice, belief, action, cult, work leisure, etc.

Many people have invented a separate, tyrannical God who issues decrees, gets pissed-off and zaps people when they don’t live up to His expectations. Therefore, a penal solution is necessary where atonement must to be made to compensate for offences. This concept makes Jesus to be only the “sacrificial lamb”, being a go-between in order to satisfy justice. God and humanity remain separated. But with a broader understanding of God as being Love, the compassion of Jesus becomes an example of at-one-ment (oneness or union) among people and with his Daddy God.

In modern terms compassionate love could be defined as the state of “oneness” with all that surrounds us. This oneness would enable us to love not only our neighbor as ourselves but see ourselves as part of all that exists. Compassion implies “feeling along with” and helps us to have a positive and creative relationship with the entire world in which we live. I would extend at-one-ment beyond the Divine and human realms to include all of life.

The theologian and historian *Karen Armstrong writes, "All the religions of the world claim that spirituality has value only when it results in the practice of compassion." But in practice religions generally fail to achieve their ideal. The value of a religion is not in its belief but in the quality of life it produces. Christians attach great importance to doctrine. Protestants and Catholics are separated because they have differences in church doctrine. There are divisions between Protestants because of different interpretations of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees put religious practices above the welfare of human beings. In contrast Jesus said that the legal norms of Moses and the prophets of social justice are founded in love.

Love (compassion) is above any religious doctrine or practice. Laws and rules exist because of the lack of love. With love, there is no need for them. Each person would spontaneously contribute to the collective welfare. The problem is that, once created, laws, rules and doctrines are placed above love. We idolize our systems and harm others in order to preserve them. Instead of compassion we practice correction or punishment. But according to the NT, "The greatest of all is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) This should be our goal.

*The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (I recommend the reading of this book to better understand what is happening on the international scene).

MATTHEW 22:34-46 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:

    “Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

    under your feet.”’

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

OS MAUS E OS BONS

Os empregados saíram pelas ruas
e reuniram todos os que puderam encontrar,
tanto bons como maus.
E o salão de festas ficou cheio de gente.

Mateus 22.10 (leia 22.1-10) – NTLH

Esta parábola faz parte de confronto dos líderes religiosos com Jesus. A sua interpretação precisa levar em conta este contexto. Esta alegoria reflete tensão e conflito entre dois sistemas de valores. O rei priorizou a festa de casamento do seu filho, mas os súditos prediletos colocaram seus negócios particulares no primeiro plano e rejeitaram o convite real. O rei reagiu: acabou com os primeiros convidados e abriu a festa para todos.

Mais uma vez, Jesus criticou o elitismo exclusivista do estabelecimento religioso dominante da sua época. Aprovou a abertura da festa para os excluídos. Por ser uma realidade gritante, este tema foi tratado repetidas vezes nos quatro evangelhos. O Reino de Deus era exatamente o oposto do sistema vigente. Para as vítimas da situação social de desigualdade, Jesus trouxe boas novas (Evangelho) de inclusão.

O Evangelho é perpetuamente válido porque a história se repete com constância. A natureza humana faz com que, em qualquer estrutura social, o jogo de poder predomine e chegam a existirem os privilegiados e os discriminados, os primeiros e os últimos. A grande ironia da história da igreja é que a grande maioria das autoridades eclesiásticas que dizem representar o Jesus humilde e pobre vivem com mordomias muita acima da média! Isto é, desde o luxo do Vaticano até as lideranças protestantes, dos tradicionais aos carismáticos. O cristianismo moderno não possui um líder tipo Mahatma Gandhi. Outro ironia: em tempos modernos, o líder político que mais imitou Jesus era hindu.

Não é de admirar que o estabelecimento religioso é tanto carente do evangelho quanto qualquer entidade secular ou profana. Os “prediletos” do rei continuam tratando dos seus negócios particulares e ignorando o convite para o “casamento do filho”.

Os seguidores de Jesus são perpetuamente condenados a serem desafiados a se identificarem com os excluídos. Os prediletos estão sempre ocupados com seus negócios particulares.

À luz destas colocações, não somos dignos de participarmos do “casamento do filho”. Mas a nossa esperança está exatamente nisto: sermos convidados, mesmo não sendo dignos. Lembrando das palavras de Jesus em outras ocasiões, ainda resta esperança para nós que confessamos o nome de Jesus, sem conseguirmos atingir os ideais propostos. “Felizes os que sabem que são espiritualmente pobres, pois o Reino do Céu é deles” (Mt.5.3). A humildade de admitirmos a nossa carência nos ajudaria a, pelo menos, tentar caminharmos em direção à “festa”. A graça nos ensina que o Reino de Deus é para ambos: os maus e os bons.

MATEUS 22:1-10 – NOVA TRADUҪÃO NA LINGUAGEM DE HOJE 2000 (NTLH)

De novo Jesus usou parábolas para falar ao povo. Ele disse:

— O Reino do Céu é como um rei que preparou uma festa de casamento para seu filho. Depois mandou os empregados chamarem os convidados, mas eles não quiseram vir. Então mandou outros empregados com o seguinte recado: “Digam aos convidados que tudo está preparado para a festa. Já matei os bezerros e os bois gordos, e tudo está pronto. Que venham à festa!”

— Mas os convidados não se importaram com o convite e foram tratar dos seus negócios: um foi para a sua fazenda, e outro, para o seu armazém. Outros agarraram os empregados, bateram neles e os mataram. O rei ficou com tanta raiva, que mandou matar aqueles assassinos e queimar a cidade deles. Depois chamou os seus empregados e disse: “A minha festa de casamento está pronta, mas os convidados não a mereciam. Agora vão pelas ruas e convidem todas as pessoas que vocês encontrarem.”

— Então os empregados saíram pelas ruas e reuniram todos os que puderam encontrar, tanto bons como maus. E o salão de festas ficou cheio de gente.

RAT RACE OR CELEBRATION

So the servants went out into the streets
and gathered all the people they could find,
the bad as well as the good,
and the wedding hall
was filled with guests.

Matthew 22:10 (read 22:1-10) - NIV

This parable is part of a confrontation between religious leaders and Jesus. Its interpretation must take into account this context. This allegory reflects tension and conflict between two value systems. The king invited some selected subjects to his son’s wedding celebration, but the specially invited guests put their private affairs in the foreground and coped out of the invitation. The king responded by bypassing the invited guests and opening the party for everyone.

Jesus was criticizing the exclusive elitism of the ruling religious establishment of his day. He approved the opening of the Kingdom to include the excluded. Because of the stark reality of exclusiveness, this subject was discussed repeatedly in all four of the Gospels. The Kingdom of God was the exact opposite of that system. For the victims of the social situation of inequality Jesus brought the Good News (Gospel) of inclusion.

The Gospel is perpetually valid, because history constantly repeats itself. Human nature dictates that in most social structures power structures prevail and create an exclusive privileged class and an excluded underprivileged one. The great irony of the history of the church is that a vast majority of its ecclesiastical authorities, who claim to represent the poor and humble Jesus, take care of themselves first and have a life style much higher than that of the average follower. We see that from the luxury of the Vatican to Protestant leadership, both traditional and charismatic. Modern Christianity has little, if any, leadership of the style of Mahatma Gandhi. Another irony in modern times is that the political leader who most imitated Jesus was Hindu. Religious leaderships as well as secular and profane are lacking the Gospel standards of being servants rather than masters. They are still taking care of their own particular interests and ignoring the invitation to the "Son’s wedding celebration”.

As followers of Jesus we are challenged to identify with the excluded in our social structures. The power holders are in that position because they have put their own interests above that of the collective good and are very busy continuing to do so.

In light of these considerations we are servants of the Kingdom (wedding celebration) and are to include both the bad and the good in the celebration. We have trouble with the inclusion of the “bad”, but in the text the bad are put before the good. The bad are as needy as the good and the invitation to the wedding celebration of the parable is open to all.

The evil of those who ignored the first invitation was selfish busyness. Life is to be a celebration, not a rat race. Both the bad and the good people who left the rat race and went to the celebration were better off than all those good folk who had something “better” to do. The good news of the Kingdom is that we, both bad and good, are invited to celebrate what life has provided.

MATTHEW 22:1-10 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

DOUTRINA E PRÁTICA

E Jesus terminou:
Eu afirmo a vocês que o Reino de Deus
será tirado de vocês
e será dado para as pessoas
que produzem os frutos do Reino.

Mateus 21.43 (leia 21.33-46) – NTLH

Jesus contou a parábola dos lavradores que queriam se apossar, pela força, da videira onde trabalhavam. O dono havia confiado o sítio aos seus cuidados, mas eles apelavam à violência, matando os outros empregados e o próprio filho dele. Sua ação era autodestrutiva.

Os lavradores da história representavam os chefes dos sacerdotes e os fariseus. Julgavam serem donos da verdade e destruíam aqueles que não se submetiam ao seu sistema. Tentavam tomar o Reino pela força.

A igreja faz uma interpretação religiosa à parábola. O filho assassinado é Jesus crucificado que se tornou cabeça da Igreja. Ao rejeitar Jesus, as autoridades estavam desprezando Deus, a fonte da salvação.

As interpretações religiosas têm seu valor, mas se limitam a uma só área da vida. A rejeição de Jesus pelos fariseus era mais do que uma questão religiosa! Representava uma postura diante da verdade. Jesus representava a verdade. A religião pode resistir a verdade maior em troca de uma “verdade” menor. Cada igreja tem seu corpo de doutrinas e o considera verdadeiro, absoluto e completo. “Ficar fora do sistema é perdição”. Um dos piores pecados é ser herege. Heresia não tem perdão. A salvação é reservada para aqueles que têm a crença certa e a prática correta.

Aos olhos das autoridades religiosas, Jesus era o “grande herege”. Não coube dentro do seu sistema. Tinha que ser eliminado. - Nada mudou… A igreja, também, montou um sistema doutrinário e incorporou Jesus com valores religiosos. Ai do pastor ou professor da escola dominical que vai além dos limites doutrinários da sua igreja! É afastado para não “contaminar” o rebanho. A finalidade da religião é conter seus adeptos dentro dos limites estabelecidos. A finalidade da escola dominical é aprofundar o aluno na doutrina e prática da igreja. O currículo é repetitivo e o adepto é mantido dentro da escola a vida toda. Nunca se forma e nunca sai do ciclo de estudos aprovados.

Doutrinar é afrontar! O doutrinador se coloca na posição de ter conhecimento superior para instruir o ignorante. Na realidade, somos todos ignorantes. Qualquer senso de superioridade é ilusão. O verdadeiro sábio reconhece que pouco sabe. O tolo se julga possuidor da verdade e quer passar a sua ignorância para os outros com o rótulo de “sabedoria”.

Há uma grande diferença entre aprofundar na doutrina e buscar a verdade. Aprofundamento fecha e restringe. Coloca limitações e é voltado para dentro. Levanta barreiras. A busca da verdade abre e liberta. Revela novos horizontes e é expansivo. Derruba barreiras. Jesus representava a verdade e o crescimento além das normas estabelecidas do seu dia; os fariseus, as limitações de um sistema fechado. Jesus simbolizava a verdade e a vida, os chefes religiosos, a doutrina e a morte.

Jesus continua ser maior do que sistemas teológicos e doutrinários. Não podemos nos apropriar de Jesus. Não podemos tomá-lo pela força e nos julgar como donos da verdade. Deus continua ser o “Senhor da videira”. Nossa tarefa é apenas produzirmos frutos de amor.

MATEUS 21.33-46 – NOVA TRADUҪÃO NA LINGUAGEM DE HOJE 2000 (NTLH)

Jesus disse:

— Escutem outra parábola: certo agricultor fez uma plantação de uvas e pôs uma cerca em volta dela. Construiu um tanque para pisar as uvas e fazer vinho e construiu uma torre para o vigia. Em seguida, arrendou a plantação para alguns lavradores e foi viajar. Quando chegou o tempo da colheita, o dono mandou alguns empregados a fim de receber a parte dele. Mas os lavradores agarraram os empregados, bateram num, assassinaram outro e mataram ainda outro a pedradas. Aí o dono mandou mais empregados do que da primeira vez. E os lavradores fizeram a mesma coisa. Depois de tudo isso, ele mandou o seu próprio filho, pensando: “O meu filho eles vão respeitar.” Mas, quando os lavradores viram o filho, disseram uns aos outros: “Este é o filho do dono; ele vai herdar a plantação. Vamos matá-lo, e a plantação será nossa.”

— Então agarraram o filho, e o jogaram para fora da plantação, e o mataram.

Aí Jesus perguntou:

— E agora, quando o dono da plantação voltar, o que é que ele vai fazer com aqueles lavradores?

Eles responderam:

— Com certeza ele vai matar aqueles lavradores maus e vai arrendar a plantação a outros. E estes lhe darão a parte da colheita no tempo certo.

Jesus então perguntou:

— Vocês não leram o que as Escrituras Sagradas dizem?

“A pedra que os construtores rejeitaram

veio a ser a mais importante de todas.

Isso foi feito pelo Senhor

e é uma coisa maravilhosa!”

E Jesus terminou:

— Eu afirmo a vocês que o Reino de Deus será tirado de vocês e será dado para as pessoas que produzem os frutos do Reino. Quem cair em cima dessa pedra ficará em pedaços. E, se a pedra cair sobre alguém, essa pessoa vai virar pó.

Os chefes dos sacerdotes e os fariseus ouviram as parábolas que Jesus contou e sabiam que ele estava falando a respeito deles. Por isso queriam prendê-lo, mas tinham medo da multidão porque o povo achava que Jesus era profeta.

POWER AND FRUIT

Therefore I tell you
that the kingdom of God
will be taken away from you
and given to a people
who will produce its fruit.

Matthew 21:43 (read 21:33-46) - NIV

Jesus told the parable of the tenants of a vineyard who wanted to seize by force the property where they worked. The owner had entrusted it to their care, but they opted to take it for themselves by killing the owner’s envoys and his son. Their action was self-destructive.

The tenants of the story represented the chief priests and the Pharisees. They judged themselves to be the guardians of truth and sought to destroy those who did not submit to their system. They tried to take the Kingdom by force.

The church gives a religious interpretation to the parable. The crucified Jesus is the murdered Son who became Head of the Church. By rejecting Jesus the authorities were acting against their source of salvation.

Religious interpretations are valuable but limited to one area of life. The rejection of Jesus by the Pharisees was more than a religious issue! It represented an attitude toward truth. Jesus represented truth. Religion can resist higher truth in exchange for a lower one. Each church has its body of doctrines and considers them to be true, absolute and complete. To be out of the system is to be lost. One of the worst sins is to be a heretic or a non-believer. They have no forgiveness. Salvation is reserved for those who have the right belief and right practice. In the eyes of the religious authorities, Jesus was the "great heretic". He did not fit within their system and had to be eliminated.

Not much has changed. The church also set up a system of doctrine and incorporated Jesus with religious values. Woe be to the pastor or Sunday school teacher who goes beyond the limits of the doctrinal church! He or she is pushed away so as to not "contaminate" the flock. The purpose of religion is to restrain its members within the established limits. The purpose of Sunday School is to deepen the students in the doctrine and practice of the church. The curriculum is repetitive and the follower is kept inside the school all his or her life. Sunday Schools are the only schools that never graduate their students.

Indoctrination is an affront to human dignity. The indoctrinator places himself or herself as superior to the students who are considered to be ignorant and in need of being instructed. In reality, we are all ignorant. Any sense of superiority is an illusion. The truly wise recognize that they know little. Fools think that they have superior knowledge and want to spread their ignorance to others under the label of "wisdom".

There is a big difference between going deeper into doctrine and seeking truth. Deepening narrows our search and restricts our vision by concentrating on just one area. We learn more and more about less and less. We paint ourselves into a corner. By contrast, search for truth opens and releases. It reveals new horizons, is expansive and breaks down barriers. Jesus represented the truth and growth beyond the standards that existed in his day. The Pharisees represented the limitations of a closed system. Jesus symbolized truth and life while the religious leaders promoted doctrine and death.

Jesus continues to be greater than doctrines and theological systems. We cannot force Jesus into a mold. We cannot take him by force and transform him into our image. We cannot judge ourselves to be the guardians of truth on Earth. God continues to be the "Lord of the vineyard." Our task is only to labor to produce fruits of love. What we live is more important than what we believe. We will be judged by what we live, not what doctrines we hold. “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16) is a radical statement.

MATTHEW 21:33-45 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.

NATAL E O JOGO DE PODER

...alguns homens que estudavam as estrelas
vieram do Oriente e chegaram a Jerusalém.
Eles perguntaram:
-Onde está o menino que nasceu
para ser o rei dos judeus?...
Nós vimos a estrela dele no Oriente
e viemos adorá-lo.
Quando o rei Herodes soube disso,
ficou muito preocupado…
Depois os mandou a Belém com a seguinte ordem
-Vão e procurem informações bem certas
sobre o menino.
E, quando o encontrarem, me avisem,
para eu também ir adorá-lo...
E num sonho Deus os avisou que
não voltassem para falar com Herodes.

Mateus 2.1-3a, 8-9, 12 9 (leia 2.1-12) NTLH

Jogo de poder não é novidade. Mateus retrata o Rei Herodes como um tirano faminto de poder. De repente aparece em Jerusalém a ameaça de um rival. Um grupo de magos astrólogos aparece em Jerusalém. Indagam a respeito do nascimento de um novo rei de Israel. Herodes se assusta, mas mantém a calma. Discretamente descobre o possível local do nascimento “do tal perigo” ao seu trono. Fingindo ter a mesma fé e devoção dos magos, mandou-os confirmar o ocorrido trazendo de volta o relatório!

O enganador acabou enganado. Os magos voltaram às suas terras por outro caminho e Herodes ficou esperando em vão. Era tarde demais quando descobriu que fora logrado. “A presa” já havia escapado.

A narração do natalício de Jesus pelo evangelista Mateus relata o contraste entre dois tipos de poder existentes no mundo até hoje: o poder que se auto promove o e poder que busca a verdade.

Herodes representa o poder auto promocional, o poder que quer se manter. Foi capaz de fingir devoção e manipular outros para alcançar seus objetivos. Este tipo de poder é encontrado em qualquer tipo de instituição, seja ela política, econômica ou religiosa. No primeiro evangelho, Herodes mata muitas crianças inocentes na tentativa de atingir e destruir o menino Jesus. Quantas pessoas inocentes sofrem e morrem hoje, vítimas de pessoas exercendo seu poder político, econômico e religioso? É só ligar o televisor e aparecem cenas de violência, guerra, fome e outros sofrimentos.

Os magos astrólogos representam o poder que busca e respeita a verdade. Este poder se abre diante da verdade e doa seus melhores tesouros. Eles buscavam a verdade nas estrelas e estas os levaram à verdade: uma criança insignificante diante dos poderosos da época. Enxergavam o que foi oculto aos demais. A ambição cega e destrói, mas a humildade abre os olhos e amplia a visão. Como resultado, os magos foram guiados para seguir outro caminho.

O menino Jesus representa a verdade; temida por uns, adorada por outros. A verdade de Jesus não deve ser confundida com os dogmas da igreja e de outros grupos religiosos. As instituições usam Jesus para promover seu jogo de poder. A verdade de Jesus é nada mais do que “amor” em ação. Este amor transcende qualquer instituição.

A busca da verdade não é privilégio de uns poucos escolhidos. Provavelmente os magos eram “pagãos”, mas buscavam a verdade mais do que os próprios “eleitos” de Abraão. As manifestações de amor se encontram em muitas culturas. Onde há amor, Deus está. Deus é Amor: Deus/Amor/Jesus/Verdade são vivências inseparáveis!...

A história natalícia revela onde Deus está em todo este jogo de poder.

MATEUS 2.1-12 – NOVA TRADUҪÃO NA LINGUAGEM DE HOJE 2000 (NTLH)

Jesus nasceu na cidade de Belém, na região da Judeia, quando Herodes era rei da terra de Israel. Nesse tempo alguns homens que estudavam as estrelas vieram do Oriente e chegaram a Jerusalém. Eles perguntaram:

— Onde está o menino que nasceu para ser o rei dos judeus? Nós vimos a estrela dele no Oriente e viemos adorá-lo.

Quando o rei Herodes soube disso, ficou muito preocupado, e todo o povo de Jerusalém também ficou. Então Herodes reuniu os chefes dos sacerdotes e os mestres da Lei e perguntou onde devia nascer o Messias. Eles responderam:

— Na cidade de Belém, na região da Judeia, pois o profeta escreveu o seguinte:

“Você, Belém, da terra de Judá,

de modo nenhum é a menor

    entre as principais cidades de Judá,

pois de você sairá o líder

que guiará o meu povo de Israel.”

Então Herodes chamou os visitantes do Oriente para uma reunião secreta e perguntou qual o tempo exato em que a estrela havia aparecido; e eles disseram. Depois os mandou a Belém com a seguinte ordem:

— Vão e procurem informações bem certas sobre o menino. E, quando o encontrarem, me avisem, para eu também ir adorá-lo.

Depois de receberem a ordem do rei, os visitantes foram embora. No caminho viram a estrela, a mesma que tinham visto no Oriente. Ela foi adiante deles e parou acima do lugar onde o menino estava. Quando viram a estrela, eles ficaram muito alegres e felizes. Entraram na casa e encontraram o menino com Maria, a sua mãe. Então se ajoelharam diante dele e o adoraram. Depois abriram os seus cofres e lhe ofereceram presentes: ouro, incenso e mirra.

E num sonho Deus os avisou que não voltassem para falar com Herodes. Por isso voltaram para a sua terra por outro caminho.

CHRISTMAS AND POWER PLAYS

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,
“Where is the one who has been born
king of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose
and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed,
and all Jerusalem with him.
…Herod called the Magi secretly
and found out from them the exact
time the star had appeared.
…He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him,
report to me,
so that I too may go and worship him.”
…They went on their way.
…They bowed down and worshiped him.
And having been warned in a dream
not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:1-3a, 8-9, 12 9 (Read 2:1-12) NIV

Dirty power play is nothing new. Matthew portrays King Herod as a power tyrant. Suddenly the threat of a rival appears in Jerusalem. A group of astrologers appears in Jerusalem and inquire about the birth of the new king of Israel. Herod is frightened but keeps his cool. He discreetly discovers the possible birthplace of the great danger to his throne. Pretending to have the same faith and devotion as the Magi, he sent them to confirm the incident and bring back a report.

The deceiver was deceived. The Magi returned to their homes by another route, and Herod waited in vain. It was too late when he found out that the supposed "Prey" had escaped from his grasp.

The narration of the birth of Jesus by the evangelist Matthew tells of the contrast between two types of power that exist in world - the power of self-promotion and the power of truth seeking.

Herod represents self-promotional power, the power that wants to keep what it has and gain even more. Herod was able to pretend devotion and to manipulate others in order to achieve his goals. This kind of power is found in all institutions, be they political, economic or religious. In the first Gospel, Herod kills many innocent children in an attempt to reach and destroy the baby Jesus. How many children, mothers, elderly and other innocent people suffer and die today as victims of people exercising their political, economic and religious power? Just turn on the TV and you will see scenes of violence, war, famine and other kinds of suffering. We have become so calloused that we feel no compassion for those millions of victims globally unless a few of them happen to be close to us. We get so upset by some domestic terrorist action but ignore the terrorism that we daily commit around the world.

The Magi astrologers represent the power that seeks Truth and is willing to give of itself for the benefit of others. This power is open to Truth and gives the best of its treasures. The Magi sought Truth in the stars which led them to a greater Truth on Earth. That Truth was a humble child facing the tyranny of its time. They saw what was hidden to others. Ambition blinds and destroys, but humility opens the eyes to a wider vision and builds new realities. As a result, the wise men were guided to follow another path back home.

The baby Jesus represents Truth, feared by some but adored by others. The Truth of Jesus should not be confused with the dogmas of the church and other religious groups. Institutions often use Jesus to promote their own power plays. The Truth of Jesus is nothing more or less than “Love in action”. Love transcends all institutions and all systems of belief.

The search for Truth is not the privilege of the “chosen few”. Probably the magi were "pagans" by our religious standards, but were seekers of Truth. Their search for Truth was much deeper than that of most of the so called "elect of Abraham” of that age. Expressions of love are in many cultures and religions. Where there is love, God is present, for God is Love. God/Love/Jesus/Truth are inseparable experiences!

The Christmas story reveals where God is in relation to all power plays.

MATTHEW 2:1-12 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.