John 7:1-13
“The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil” (John 7:7)
Every time I hear language like “Christian nation” and even “God bless America,” I’m reminded of these words from our Lord: “The world… hates me.” It is unclear to me why that would still not apply as much today as when Jesus first uttered this sad confession.
I’m also reminded of the classic scene from Fyodor Dosteovsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov called “The Grand Inquisitor.” The Wikipedia explanation of this scene is fair and concise:
The tale is told by Ivan with brief interruptive questions by Alyosha. In the tale, Christ comes back to Earth in Seville at the time of the Inquisition. He performs a number of miracles (echoing miracles from the Gospels). The people recognize him and adore him at the Seville Cathedral, but he is arrested by Inquisition leaders and sentenced to be burnt to death the next day. The Grand Inquisitor visits him in his cell to tell him that the Church no longer needs him. The main portion of the text is devoted to the Inquisitor explaining to Jesus why his return would interfere with the mission of the Church.
If Jesus is, as the Grand Inquisitor claims, no longer relevant to the mission of the Church, then we must ask “what is relevant?” The answer seems to be the power and prestige that the Church now holds in and over the culture in which it is situated. Jesus, of course, calls the meek blessed, which will forever be hot coals heaped on the heads of the power (for, truly, how can one be powerful and meek? We should not accept that meekness is some sort of internal disposition that can overcome external displays of power for that claim is too easy to be made falsely).
And so, the Church is left – you and me are left – with the question as to how to live in a world that we know hates our Lord? The only real option is witness and conversion. That is to say, the Church exists as a witness to how to love the Lord and that if this witness is trusted by others, they will – themselves – be converted. And consider just how different this approach is to that of the Spanish Inquisition (that is, the context for “The Grand Inquisitor” story in The Brothers Karamazov). The Spanish Inquisition was all about unearthing and destroying heretics in the Catholic Church – even if by means of violence and destruction. It was only possible because the political authorities (that is, what Jesus calls “the world” who hates Him) granted and encouraged this exercise. And so, once again, we find that Jesus is hated by the world, even when that “world” exists in the Church.
All told, these are cautionary words. It is meant to caution the Church against selling out to political or worldly mechanisms of power. It is meant to inspire and encourage trust in the method of living (read: “The Way”) Jesus gives His followers. It is meant to build distrust in our own power and authority because through it, history has taught us, we are much more like to harm our neighbor (not love them) and profane our God (not glorify Him).
So, rejoice, where you are meek and without power. Trust that this is where God has placed you – and for good reason. Amen.
