RELIGION / GOD

Define your terms? The images came up in a search for "religion" on Pixabay. I think most people would associate these pictures with the observed phenomenon of religion. (Not planning to put up "definitions".)
Jesus lived in a community which observed or professed a religion. The religion, or actually its representatives or officials, had Jesus put to death, after rejecting him. What was Jesus' own relation to the religion of his day and culture? How did he see religion in its relation, if any, to God? (That Jesus prayed to God and encouraged prayer to God is evident.)

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.[e] (Matthew 15:21-28, ESV) An incident which confronts our expectation of “all welcome”. Only Matthew gives us Jesus’ words to his disciples. Those disciples were of the house of Israel, even though the needy mother was not. She did not prqctice their religion! However, I can not absolutely assert we have a parallel today. For sure there is a great need of conversion amongst those who bear the labels, as well as others. Note the mother’s direct trust in him personally that Jesus answered. Was this conversion?

Jesus made reference to the religious practices of the day, including taking offerings to the Temple. The priorities he laid down were no doubt a challenge. So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God (Matthew 5:23-24, CEV). He indicated that God had a higher requirement than even the observance of Temple sacrifices prescribed in the Law of God.

Jesus accepted the religion of his culture and was aware of the external, but also, alarmingly, of the internal application! “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” (Luke 11:42-44, NIV)  They were harsh words to the most prominent exponents and practitioners of the religion of the Jews. The outward is easy but easily misleads and hides. What goes on in the "heart" matters most.

There was a notable day when Jesus was in Samaria (the nearest territory to Jerusalem). The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and after Jesus' disciples had gone into town to buy some food, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.
Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”
“You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won’t have anything to do with each other?”[a] The conversation continued and eventually: The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. My ancestors worshiped on this mountain,[b] but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship.”
Jesus said to her: Believe me, the time is coming when you won’t worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:6-9,19-23, NIV). The incident reveals some of the community rivalry over the Temple, with competing sites for God’s sanctuary. (There is a genuine worship of God but it is not a matter of place.) Surely this speaks to our own day. Still it is possible to erroneously think of a location as being more "holy". God seeks worshippers worshipping in spirit (or, the Spirit) and truth. That is internal to the worshipper.

The Temple loomed large in the religious life of the Jews, even for those who did not reside in the territory of old Israel. So, at the end, a (deliberately) garbled accusation on this sensitive matter was brought against Jesus: Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’” But even then they didn’t get their stories straight! (Mark 14:57-59, NLT) Who is this who will disrespect THE edifice for worship of God? Was he just at heart a Samaritan!

One somewhat puzzling pericope marks the practical priority Jesus put on the places the Jews assembled. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said” (John 18:19-21, NRSV). "Always"? How does this reconcile with Jesus in a boat or on a hillside or in parable or within a small group? Perhaps we should sympathetically recognise emphasis here, against any modern demand for total literal accuracy. There was no political secret.

We read very blunt words of warning and even condemnation: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished” (Luke 20:46-47, NLT). Then, as now, public performance and even private performance may obscure the truth - sadly, to the individual doing the performing. (Today some people try to correct Jesus and erase any idea of punishment. It is true that forgiveness from God is always available.)

Jesus had some blunt words for the religious people who “counted” then; the ones who in many cases found fault with his way. You are good at rejecting God’s commands so that you can follow your own teachings! Didn’t Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God.[a] You won’t let those people help their parents. And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things that are just as bad (Mark 7:9-13, CEV). The Law’s provisions are a challenge to our priorities. The area is a sensitive one in our own times. It is also clear that religion could be, and is, used as a cloak to cover personal advantage. That is the point I think.

Other parts of the Bible echo Jesus and bring a similar caution to us: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people (2 Timothy 3:1-5, NIV). Another angle is contained in words from James: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world (James 1:27, NRSV). That is a different kind of performance and can not be about "skin deep" activity.

The day-to-day marker of the religion of the Jews, both in Palestine and more widely, was the synagogue. The central concept of the synagogue was gathering together to hear God’s Word. Jesus was often in the local synagogue. On at least one occasion (the last there?) it did not end well: He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage (Luke 4:15-28, NRSV). Why so angry? There they were, in their "church service", doing their religious thing - and being furious at Jesus! He questioned their imagined exclusive hold on God! How dare he!

Hearing God’s Word can rouse strong feelings, even today. So also ideas about breaches of sanctity and “proper” conduct or questioning of privileged position. Do you see that in Jesus? Did he endorse the religious prejudices of his time? How can it be said he endorses those of today?

If the central idea of religion is worship of God, then consider again what Jesus said - to the outsider woman in Samaria (see above).

The “upright” pillars of proper religion had many measures of their correctness. So one occasion of an invitation to a shared meal turned out to be not as expected: His host was amazed to see that Jesus sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things (Luke 11:38-42, NLT). Jesus continually presented the more important things, as does the rest of the Bible and especially the New Testament, read with willingness to accept and apply to life by the power of God.  You are invited!

As to other culture in the day, there is a relevant pericope in the Book of Acts. Messenger of Jesus, Paul, came to Athens, famous centre of philosophy, and took up discussion linked to “religion”. 
While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. He went to the Jewish meeting place to speak to the Jews and to anyone who worshiped with them. Day after day he also spoke to everyone he met in the market. Some of them were Epicureans[a] and some were Stoics,[b] and they started arguing with him.
People were asking, “What is this know-it-all trying to say?”
Some even said, “Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That’s what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death.”[c]
They brought Paul before a council called the Areopagus, and said, “Tell us what your new teaching is all about. We have heard you say some strange things, and we want to know what you mean.”
More than anything else the people of Athens and the foreigners living there loved to hear and to talk about anything new. So Paul stood up in front of the council and said:
People of Athens, I see that you are very religious (Acts 17:16-22, CEV). The rest of the chapter is instructive. Paul was seen as a "babbler" without a cogent philosophy. Sufficient to say here that “religion” had done nothing for this community, where even reason actually did not reign. Cultured and educated they were, and awash with religion, but in the dark as far as God was concerned. They may perhaps have had knowledge of the Jewish system - the Old Testament was extant in Greek (the Septuagint, or LXX). Certainly there were searchers after truth, as the chapter indicates.  We today have vast resources at our beck and call. The Bible is readily accessible. A searcher is promised a finding. God welcomes askers.

Religion in society? Palestine in the era of Jesus had religious tolerance or even “freedom of religion”. The Roman overlords required order.  They were able to accept the peculiarities of a people who would riot over seeing military standards, and such like, in the Temple precincts or even the city. The Governor had no interest in questions about the Law. Stability and predictability mattered. Why should the authorities grant any benefits to a "religion", other than the religion of the state?

In our day and nation "religion" has gained a variable status, dependent on demographic, political, geographical and historical context. For some, there remains the "state religion" concept, however vague, diluted and unsupported it may be, since the day the British arrived with their Chaplain, who was commissioned by the King of England. (The Chaplain's remit covered everyone; he was an agent of the state.) His successors, in various hues, may unconsciously, or consciously, think to occupy a similar role, although the basis became obsolete even  before British rule ended. As the images above suggest, to be advocating today for "religion" involves supporting (logically) a wide range of expressions, including those mutually exclusive. 

 

Jesus, as reported by Matthew and Luke: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:9-10, CSB). Truly genuine offer and invitation, though it carries lots of implications...

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