by Rev. Deb Beloved Church
When my two boys were little, they often got into disagreements when they played games together. It seemed they had very different understandings of how the rules worked.
One of them always followed the rules, regardless of how they affected his likelihood of winning. The other—well, he would say he followed the rules, too…with the caveat that if the established rules weren’t working in his favor, he would try to change them so that they would!
He wasn’t trying to play without any rules; he was just trying to make rules that would let him win!
It seems to me that that’s not just a strategy of willful children…
I can pretty easily think of examples of adults who seem to function from within that same mindset. “If the current ‘rules of the game’ aren’t going to let me ‘win,’ I’ll just change the rules.” Or perhaps more accurately: I’ll just pretend there are no rules and do whatever the hell I want.
To be fair(?),I can imagine that someone reading the lectionary passage from 2 Corinthians for February 18 (2 Corinthians 1:12-19), might say, “That’s what Paul said Jesus did! Paul said, ‘In [Jesus Christ] it is always yes.’” (2 Corinthians 1:19)
Jesus, can I do this thing that I want? Yes!
Jesus, can I have this thing that I want? Yes!
Cool! Thanks, Jesus!
That person might also, justifiably, say that Jesus changed the rules, even broke the established rules. They might possibly even point to things he did in his moments of teaching and healing where it appeared that he was pretending there weren’t any rules and he was doing whatever the hell he wanted!
Jesus, can I break the rules if necessary—like you did—to do or get this thing that I want? Yes!
Awesome! I love you, Jesus!
“‘In [Jesus Christ] it is always yes.”
In some ways, that person would be right–in Jesus it was, and is, always yes!
The difference, however, can be found in the verse that comes next: “All of God’s promises have their yes in him.” (2 Cor. 1:20)
Through his preaching and teaching and feeding and healing and speaking truth to power, Jesus was, and is, saying, yes! God’s promises are true! Yes! God’s promises are real! Yes! God’s promises are present! Yes. God’s promises can be trusted. In this place and in this moment.
God’s promises–of forgiveness and reconciliation and wholeness and abundance and grace and mercy and truth and belonging and love–found, and find, their YES in Jesus.
The changing of rules wasn’t about making it so that Jesus would win. It was, and is, about the fulfillment of God’s Law, grounded solely and wholly in Divine Love.
The breaking of rules wasn’t about doing whatever the hell Jesus wanted. It was, and is, about doing what was needed to manifest the Reality of God in each moment, in each encounter.
The ceaseless and relentless YES of Jesus wasn’t about Jesus. It was, and is, about God and God’s promises.
As we encounter those who seem to change, break, and ignore whatever rules strike their fancy, in the hopes that they will “win,” may the rules we follow as people of faith—as well as the rules we break—be guided by Jesus and his orientation to following God and fulfilling God’s promises.
“God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is the one who was preached among you by us—through me, Silvanus, and Timothy—he wasn’t yes and no. In him it is always yes. All of God’s promises have their yes in him.” (2 Cor. 1:19-20)
Amen. And Amen.