Reaching for Stones

Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am." So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.   John 8:58-59

It's easy for us to miss the huge offense Jesus offers to his opponents.  You can't see it in English, though sometimes translations try to indicate it with "before Abraham was, I AM."  John's gospel regularly has Jesus employ an unusual grammatical way of saying "I am."  It recalls God's words to Moses at the burning bush and, as such, functions as a kind of divine name in John.  You can't see this in English, but you can see it in the reaction of people picking up stones at Jesus' blasphemy.

Today's gospel got me wondering about the things that we get riled up about, that cause us to swell with righteous indignation and grab for a stone, if only a metaphorical one.  No doubt there are occasions that warrant righteous indignation.  But much more frequently, such anger reveals our own idols.  Idols, by the way, need not seem religious.  Anything that has a sufficient amount of my devotion and passion can become an idol, an object of devotion that rightfully belongs only to God.  Nation, family, wealth, or political systems and ideas come to mind.

Of course religious things make for wonderful idols.  Churches, pastors, worship styles, a theology or ideology, even the Bible itself can be and have been idolized.  And such idols are perhaps more problematic for church folks like myself and those I serve as a pastor.  All these religious idols have the advantage of being part of our religious practices.  They are not bad things per se, but rather lesser goods mistaken for the ultimate good.

It is not so unusual for pastors to encounter people in congregations who reach for metaphorical stones over the seemingly insignificant. These can be as varied as moving a sanctuary decoration, tinkering with the order of worship, suggesting a different Bible translation, or suggesting changing the color of carpet in the sanctuary.  There's no knowing exactly what motivates such over-reactions, but surely some of them are about mistaking things associated with God for God.  Sometimes we decide that God is bound up in the things we use in our practice of the faith.  But if today's story in John is any guide, at such moments we may well miss God in our midst.

Jesus' opponents were very religious and very devout.  They were the sort of people every pastor wishes she had in greater numbers at her church.  Yet somehow they could not see God's presence in their very midst.  Indeed they grabbed for stones to hurl at that presence. 

I'm an idea guy, so I suspect the idols that have me reaching for stones are deeply held understandings and ways of thinking about God.  I'm not likely to get upset with you over carpet colors, but trample on my deeply held truths and I may struggle to keep my hands in my pockets.

What can prompt you to reach for stones?  Any chance it's an idol that keeps you from encountering the living God?

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