Appropriation

Matthew 7:6,12-14

The old man and his dog walked for an hour each day, but when that
became too far for the dog, his human friend was very afraid, almost
too afraid to go to the vet, especially as that walk took longer than
the hour. He was desperately afraid that the Vet would say it was time
for the dog to go. When the RSPCA took them both to the clinic, the
news was - sort of - good. But the dog's leg was swollen, walking was
painful. ''He must lose weight'', said the vet. ''What does he eat
now?'' ''Well'', said the old man, ''Six or seven pieces of toast,
Rice, Indian style, fancy sausage.... "

Too often we humans look at Matthew 7:6 as if it is saying that in
some way we're better than everyone else. Dogs and pigs are, even
today in the middle East are considered to be scavengers, and in some
ways, unclean. We use this notion as if it were the rule of thumb for
our behaviour. That somehow there are people not worthy to hear our
truths, and people who are not worthy of beautiful things. Alongside
that idea is the notion that we are doing people a favour when we
share God thoughts with them, and that if they object, or see things
differently, that they must be rejecting God. Sometimes I think we tend
to think we're doing God a favour when we begin to follow Him
consciously, looking for 'a work to do', knowing that God has a plan
for us. In verses 7-11 Jesus goes on to speak about our own search for
Spirit and Truth, and about how God gives each of us good things, even
better than those we ask for. We find sometimes that that plan is
simply that God wants to give himself to us, and the work for Him and
for His kingdom is quite simply the work of doing well where we are,
in life as in family, on the path already under our feet. Those good
things are better than we would be able to give our own children,
exactly framed to us and our lives. So I find myself wondering about
the narrowness of this gate that leads to life. Is it truly that some
people are not good enough to be more than scavengers of the spirit?

I don't think so. Not when this same Jesus speaks of humility,
meekness and a hunger for righteousness. In verse 12 He says "So
always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the
meaning of the Law and the Prophets." Jesus does not seem to think
that the poor, the sick, the unclean, the immoral, the rich, or the
acquisitive are unworthy of what is holy, or beautiful, or kind. We
like to think that someone will care for us when we are old,
incontinent, talking rubbish, or throwing up into a bucket, just the
way they care for us when we are in funds, full of joy, witty,
talented and healthy. Don't we? Just as we are, without one plea.
Whether we're right or wrong, loving or hurting - We, that is. Us. Not
just you and I. Them and theirs too. Les autres.

There is the clue. Every creature is a unique creation. What use has
a pig for a pearl? In terms of use, the oyster has a use for the
pearl, to save it from pain. For us, it is a beautiful bauble, often
too valuable to wear, for the oyster it is health, and when it is
taken, it is life. Is a pig to wear a pearl and say 'What a fine piggy
am I?' One might ask what is the use of the Diamond to the human
beings who are enslaved and tortured in order to retrieve it for
others who will keep it in a locked metal drawer and pay insurance for
it.. Both the pig and the dog are intelligent beings, both of them
trainable, both of them capable of deep relationships with humans.
Both of them capable of being dangerous in the wrong context.
Scavengers in the middle east, unclean, yes. But in the West both of
them capable of being reduced to commodities. If it comes down to it,
even human children are commodities. Bought for and sold to. Lest we
drift off into a criticism of 'the world', I'll use an example from the
Church - in this country we are supposed to talk of 'ministry units'.
And indeed, to think in terms of 'units' instead of people. Another,
far smaller example may point this idea into our daily lives. The
story goes that when my mother was pregnant, she desired pineapple, a
fruit which was a rarity in this country, what with the war and all.
My father found pineapple for her. Fresh and tinned and candied.
Wrapped and unwrapped. To the end of her life, Mother was convinced
that pineapple was the most wonderful food anyone could want. She
produced it at every turn, on every occasion, funerals and weddings
and everything in between. Trouble is, that she had the idea that if
you said 'No thank you', you were being polite. She would even spoon
it into your closed mouth convinced that it was what you 'really'
wanted. She could not conceive of anyone not liking the food. It was
so good she just had to share it! Just as endearing was the story
told by missionary friends of mine who walked out of China with their
small daughter, ahead of the Japanese invasion. They were found and
cared for by some wonderful Americans who tried desperately to feed
them, unaware that they had been so hungry for so long that their
bodies were unable to tolerate the rich and wonderful variety of food
the Americans took for granted.

What then, are we to _do_ in response to this Gospel?

Quite simply we are to respond to each person we meet as much as we
can, understanding their point of view. If we can hear what this
person is asking, and see what this person is needing, we can begin to
respond to them. Not to cheapen one's own spiritual life and values by
applying them to other people. But to begin to offer them some real
love that will meet them in their real life. The foot of the cross is
the agony and need that real people crumple under, the real sin and
indifference that real people hide from themselves. So the Old man we
started with had to learn that loving as he was, he was killing his
old friend with kindness. One piece of toast is to the dog, the
equivalent of a hamburger to a human. Indian takeaways and expensive
German sausage is a great treat for a human, but not daily nutrition
for the dog.

In the same way, we are to apply the principles of the spirit, rather
than the law. There is no nutrition for the pig in the pearl, or for
the hungry person in the discussion of theology, nor for the
frightened person in a bunch of quotes about Armageddon. "There are
people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except
in the form of bread." said Mahatma Gandhi. Our God certainly agreed
with him.

You know that quote? "For He speaks with authority, and not as the
scribes". I'm beginning to suspect that that authority came from Jesus
because He was speaking _with_ people, and not 'at' an audience. You
know how we talk about 'target audience'. Maybe it is time we began to
target the spirit of the people with whom we are speaking. That is,
after all, the only way to be able the reach in to communion with
others. But it is a hard, narrow gate, one presupposes loving
attention - to others! Only a few find it. Not many can speak to us
and in us with God's own voice, and the One who did it was God's own
Word, by whom He created life. The dog in his loyalty and the pig in
his search for the hidden treasures of the woods, the truffle and the
acorn are expressions of that word, as are we.

It is not that one is more noble, or more holy than the others. It is
not that one is beneath the notice of the other. Rather it is that
each unique creation is a facet of the marvellous variety of all that
Godde made. Who knows what a dog or a pig would call holy, but He who
rejoiced to make such beings, as He made us to be stewards and
servants, of each other, and of the creation which speaks of its
maker. We need to learn to listen, to cherish, to be meek before each
other before we can begin to treat them as we would want ourselves to
experience.

Perhaps we need to be silent to hear the still small voice. To become
aware of the mystery of God's loving attention to us in the inner room
of our secret selves is to become aware of the shrine that is in the
Other, the narrow gate that leads to Life, inside, where few can find
it, and even fewer share it.