There is a story of a little boy that comes home from school troubled by the day’s lessons. After dinner he goes up to his father and explains that the teacher was trying to explain the difference between theory and reality, and he didn’t get it. “Hmmmm”, his father says, “that’s a tough one. The best way for me to explain is with an example. I want you to go up to your middle sister and ask her if she would kiss any boy in her middle school class for a million dollars.” So, off he goes. He asks his sister, and she thinks about it for a few minutes and says, “for a million dollars? I guess for a million dollars I would kiss almost anyone. My answer is “yes” for that amount of money I would kiss any boy in my middle school class.” The boy goes off and reports back to his father who says, “interesting. Now, go ask the same question of your older sister. Would she kiss any boy in her high school class for a million dollars”? And off he goes. His older sister was a little more discriminating but, in the end, decides, “there is so much wrong in the world today, a million dollars could really begin to make a difference. Yes, for a million dollars I would kiss any boy in my high school class”. Back he came to his father, and he reported his findings. “Interesting indeed”, his father says. “Now, for the final test. Go find your mother and ask her the same question. Would she kiss any of the dads in the PTA for a million dollars”. And off he goes. His mother started with, “now where did you ever get an idea like that. It is absurd.” But after some though she said, “there are some many things that we have to do. The roof needs fixing and all of you kids need new shoes. After all it is only a kiss, there is no harm in that. Yes, for a million dollars I would do it.” He reported back and his father he said. “Now there you have it. This is the perfect example of the difference between theory and reality. In theory we are sitting on three million dollars. But in reality, we are just living with a bunch of floozies!”
Today’s readings paint an interesting contrast between theory and reality. By this I mean there is a distinct contrast of what we think God is like and what God is like. In the book of Exodos, we hear of an angry God that has to be dissuaded from vengeful acts by Moses. “But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, “Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand?”
That makes sense if our God was like us. If I rescued you from slavery, brought you safely through a parted sea, destroyed the might of the Pharaoh’s army so that you would be safe and the first chance you get you are off building some golden statue to some fake image that doesn’t even exist. I am going to be pretty angry. As a matter of fact, I’m probably going to say some unkind things and cancel your Netflix subscription. And that would be the reality of the situation. No theory about it, I’m upset, and you are going to know about it. But that is where the theory comes in. We are not like God. We may use our feelings and reactions to theorize how God will acts but we will be wrong.
In the gospel reading Jesus spends a lot of time trying to explain that, “But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.”
How do we begin to understand something that we do not understand? We say that we love one another, we say that we love like he does but we do not love like that. We do not really understand how to love like the cross.
The dichotomy in today’s readings is that we hear the old testament’s vengeful God. And we hear the new testament’s pleading savior and right in the middle we hear the truth. Right in the middle between the two we heard the gospel acclimation. Right between these two contrasting theories of how God loves is the reality of how God loves us.
Right in the middle we heard John 3:16. The reality of Gods love come in a verse that is 23 words long and says it all. He is not angry with us, that is just a human theory. The reality is that, “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”
And that is the difference between theory and reality.
JN 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
March 28, 2022
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