Jewish Scholar Alan Segal once said that the New Testament is less about what you believe and more about with whom you share meals. Now that might sound merely clever, but in the lives of Jesus and Paul, it is accurate and worth considering right now.
Tomorrow is election day, and the American public will need to consider Covid 19 as part of the political equation. Sigh.
Just like everything else, once politics (and the media) get involved, power is at stake, and it becomes nearly impossible to maintain nuance or a balanced position on anything. Instead, more mouthy mannequins with memes have much to say - and they will say it!
They have fought for you! They have passed the proper legislation! They have cared for your health and well-being during a pandemic better than those other guys! However, the idea of politics utilizing disease for power is as old as the bible.
Jesus visits the lepers and exorcises "unclean" spirits. Paul claims that Gentiles can eat with Jews — others disagree. The Temple requires this vow or that rite, and what should not touch the table or its cloth or a stranger's garment, much like an ancient CDC.
Today in a world swept by Covid, we have different diseases but the same obsessions. The group in charge insists that the condition offers higher moral insight beyond the natural order—some sick and some not —with the same old politics.
Avoiding contamination becomes a source of self-righteousness. In defining the rules, the pontificators gain the upper hand and even power, which is what Jesus found intolerable. Yet, his gospel turns these notions on their head.
We, by all means, are to respect and care for one another and maintain proper boundaries, like national borders (hmm?). Still, in Christian thought, the idea that the holy act comes from external things like masks or mandates misses the point.
The New Testament revolutionizes this argument by claiming, "What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what violates them." Matt 15:11. Yes, the disease is actual, but what's sacred is not rule adherence.
Jesus confronts the idea that the holier than thou Pharisees or other Priests want to externalize action and control it with power selectively. The steps favor them, and their party, a top-down solution, and the masses need to follow.
He called them white sepulchers (painted gravestones) because they externalize what is holy to whitewash the darker motives of their hearts. The gospel breaks the lines of these group laws of superiority by trusting the strength of individual character, not equally shared.
Paul the Apostle characterizes this need as "weak" for those who can only handle "milk" and not "meat." They require a path managed by overly prescribed laws, like a spouse reviewing her wedding license each morning to know why she's married.
The Apostle exhorts those who can handle meat to be patient and loving with them, but in no uncertain terms lays out the priorities. In the case where one must make a judgment, be considerate of the other:
"Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.... If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you no longer act in love.... For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval." (Romans 14: 13-18)
Jesus and Paul warn us not to place in material terms holy or sacred (sacred meaning set apart)value. In and of itself, no action is righteous unless determined by its purpose. Health is crucial along with best practices, but best practices do not cause redemption.
Instead, Jesus explains that it is "the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, which defiles them. "(Matt 15:18)
Watching those figures who cannot function without a public spotlight is hard enough, but they want us to believe they serve us. It’s Power disguised as a moral cause. I say we take our vaccines and reasonable precautions to protect the weak.
But most helpful: set aside some opaque masks to muzzle these politicians on Election Day!