Jesonian … November 25th, 2017

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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Aggressive apathy.

Seems like a contradiction–maybe even what they refer to as an oxymoron. How can apathy be aggressive, when by definition it avoids commitment, conflict or even connection?

But when apathy becomes the path to avoid deeper commitment, it will need to be defended whenever circumstances warrant greater involvement.

Jesus fell victim to aggressive apathy on two nasty occasions–when people chose to disregard and disavow the power of his calling.

Please keep in mind that miracles were a part of Jesus’ ministry. It wasn’t all Biblical text and parables. Yet even though there were certainly signs and wonders that followed him, apathy was still in the works.

The first instance was in Nazareth, when he had the audacity to announce the extent of his calling, the purpose of his message and the power of what was about to ensue to his hometown folks.

What did aggressive apathy do? Personal attacks.

• “Who does he think he is?”
• “He’s just the Carpenter’s son.”
• “He doesn’t even have education.
• “Why should we listen to him?”

When apathy becomes a communal mindset, it will feel the need to defend itself–sometimes violently. For if you remember the rest of the story, they push Jesus to the edge of a cliff, ready to throw him off and kill him–simply because he suggested that present circumstances were going to be changed.

In a second incident at the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus asked a crippled man if he wanted to be healed. The fellow launched into a litany of excuses and complaints about why it was just not plausible. Jesus heals him anyway–and the man ends up turning on Jesus, and rats him out to the Pharisees, who were angry about a healing on the Sabbath.

In both cases, Jesus found himself in danger.

Once apathy has become the charter of a community or a segment of people, they will aggressively use whatever is necessary to maintain their autonomy of blandness.

Jesus said we should learn from his life–and that also includes his mistakes.

As Christians, believers and even artists, we need to understand that once we offer our gifts and our message, if they are met with lukewarm response, to further labor in the malaise of nothingness is to risk triggering aggressive apathy, leaving us ridiculed, if not wounded.

Later on in Jesus’ ministry, he learns from these mistakes.

When the Samaritan village doesn’t want to let him in to minister, he just goes to another town. And when the five thousand depart because he offered a perspective they found distasteful, he doesn’t do anything to chase them down.

Apathy by its nature is not violent. But it is alive–and any living thing will fight back if you try to kill it.

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Dear Man/Dear Woman: A Noteworthy Conversation … April 2nd, 2016

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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Dear Woman: Why aren’t you dressed?

Dear Man: I am dressed.

Dear Woman: I mean dressed for church.

Dear Man: Because I’m not going.

Dear Woman: Why?

Dear Man: Because I don’t want to.

Dear Woman: I wish you had told me. I could be snoozin’.

Dear Man: You should go.

Dear Woman: Why should I go?

Dear Man: Because it’s your place.

Dear Woman: I don’t even know what that means.

Dear Man: It means I think that church is for men and against women. Sometimes I just get tired of it.

Dear Woman: I don’t think that. I believe God loves all of us.

Dear Man: God’s not the problem. And Jesus is a great salesman for the cause. It’s the book that bothers me.

Dear Woman: The Bible?

Dear Man: Exactly. The book is not kind to women. It’s filled with innuendo, it’s often condescending and it promotes…well, it promotes what I call “the nasty nonsense.”

Dear Woman: You really must tell me what that means.

Dear Man: Okay. Here it is. God creates man so man serves God. God creates woman to be ruled over by man. Woman, a secondary creation, has the responsibility to tend to the kids. And the kids…well, they’re supposed to remain quiet.

Dear Woman: I don’t believe that.

Dear Man: I don’t believe it, either. But the book is used by people who are stuck in an ancient time zone, promoting the inferiority of women and the predominance of men.

Dear Woman: Not the whole Bible.

Dear Man: I get that. But saying that the Bible does not place woman in a subjected position is similar to insisting that “Gone With the Wind” is not about slavery because Scarlett O’Hara dresses nicely.

Dear Woman: So you throw the whole thing out because of “the nasty nonsense?”

Dear Man: No, but I just get tired of it. Even at our church–we have a female pastor. But the other ministers in town don’t respect her. There are men in the congregation who don’t consider her to be the shepherd of the flock. It’s because they have these verses in the Bible that make them feel superior to a woman who actually has much more understanding than they do.

Dear Woman: So how does it help for you to stay away from church?

Dear Man: I just get tired of pretending. I get tired of being hypocritical. They read verses I don’t believe in and don’t agree with. And I’m supposed to “amen” and keep quiet because women “are to be silent in the church.”

Dear Woman: Our church doesn’t believe that.

Dear Man: But our church doesn’t fight that, deny that and stand against it.

Dear Woman: So let me play devil’s advocate. What do you think those verses mean, that talk about a woman’s position in relation to a man?

Dear Man: I think they were written by inspired men who had not yet freed themselves of all their lack of inspiration.

Dear Woman: So they just threw it in?

Dear Man: Yeah, basically.

Dear Woman: So let’s make a deal. Since you know I don’t feel that way, why don’t we go to church together and be the contradiction?

Dear Man: Okay. If you’ll let me take you out to brunch afterwards.

 

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