If you were to be told that conspiracy theories and fake news are something new, they are not. Let me reassure you, fake news and conspiracy theories are nothing new.
How old conspiracy theories and fake news are? I don’t know. Perhaps at the original garden? But for sure, they were all the rage by the time of Jesus!
As St Mark tells us, Herod, who had ordered John’s death. He saw with his own eyes that John was quite dead. Nevertheless, Later Herod came to believe that John had come back to life to haunt him and, perhaps, kick him out of office!
As you know, Herod was already paranoid about the deep state taking away his kingdom. Herod came from a dynasty where his father killed his wife and other relatives, and Herod himself had married Herodias, his half-brother’s wife – being Herodias herself the daughter of another of Herod’s brother.
Herod did not only believe in conspiracy theories, but he acted on them! Hearing about the possibility of the birth of a challenger to his throne, he ordered that all boys under the age of two had to be killed. And now John comes back from the tomb to harass him?
Moreover, the Sadducees, a small but wealthy and highly influential political and social faction had reassured him that there was no resurrection. And yet, is Jesus in fact John resurrected? I wonder if Herod watched the History Channel and programs about ancient aliens visiting the earth too.
As a little aside – and yet fascinating – it is worthy of note that the Pharisees, the ruling orthodox Jewish faction, who were the strictest followers of the Law at the time supported Herod.
And here is the thing – Everybody knew that Herod was morally and politically corrupt and under ordinary circumstances the pharisees would have nothing to do with him. Yet, to remain in power, they supported Herod. Paraphrasing “Red” Sanders, “Power isn’t everything; it’s the only thing”!
Now, getting back to the gospel, the story about the return of Elijah was a kind of good news/bad news affair. As you know, the last official prophet, Malachi, prophesied that before the Messiah would come, Elijah would return.
It was good news because the arrival of the Elijah would bring peace to the world – good news! Elijah would settle ancient disputes about interpretation of the Law – mixed bag. It was good news for those who expected their side to win, and bad news for the others!
And, finally, it was believed that Elijah would ordain rabbis in a kind of “apostolic succession”, for Elijah was the last prophet ordained in succession from Moses. Which for those who were interlopers in the Sanhedrin – and there were many! – Elijah’s arrival was definitely bad news!
Now as you can see, when even Jesus spoke of “wars and rumors of wars”, the temple destroyed again the fake news/conspiracy theory kicked into high gear. John? Elijah? Who was Jesus indeed?
As you may recall, even the authorities questioned Jesus about his true identity and questioned under whose authority was Jesus acting.
Now, fancy theories about Jesus were not of the exclusive domain of the Jewish authorities, Roman authorities, and the royal household. Even good old John when he was alive had his own questions.
Remember when, while being in prison, St Luke (7:22) John sent messengers asking Jesus, “Are you the real deal?”
And, surprisingly, Jesus who could have answer with a simple “I am”, he refused to be pinned down.
Perhaps you may recall Moses being sent to speak to Pharaoh. When Moses was ordered to go to speak up to a king who was not very keen on political dissent, he wanted to know in the name of which god he was going to speak.
And even then, God refused to be pinned down to a theological and social definition. So, God told Moses, “Tell Pharaoh that Yahweh, “I am who I am sends you.”
In the same way, Jesus told to John’s messengers, “Go and tell him the things which you have seen and heard – that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
And as you well know, all the way to our present days, all sort of wild speculations about who Jesus was are still very much in fashion.
So, who was Jesus? Indeed, who is and where is Jesus?
Of course, every now and them, you may meet people who have all sort of theories about who Jesus was. How do we know we are disciples of the real Jesus? And how do we know that Jesus was who he claimed to be, the Son of the Living God?
These may not be questions for you, but I am sure that here and there you’ll find people with such kind of questions. How do you answer their questions – provided they are made in good faith?
For, it must be said, some people who have questions about God and Jesus use their questions to cover up their religious behinds. “If God and if Jesus cannot be known or be defined, I can live and do as I please, and no one here on earth or up in heaven can question my choices.”
One way is to talk about what the Bible says. Which immediately draws one to a quagmire. Who wrote the Bible? Where are the originals?
Another is to talk about the church. Which immediately will draw the discussion away into tales of corruption, false teachers, money, the infallibility of the teachings of “my” church, and so forth.
Finally, and I believe it is what today’s lessons imply.
First, please remember that as the Psalmist says, God speaks to those who are willing to listen to what God has to say (85:8). I’m not sure if God has any time for those who just want an argument or those who would love to tell Jesus how to run the shop.
Second, don’t try to defend God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. They had no problems in leaving questions unanswered. For if the Holy Trinity was not worried about their image, why should you?
And finally, if anyone would like to know more about God, tell them that they should follow the scent of mercy and truth, of justice and peace.
Wherever there is healing of body, mind, soul, and spirit, wherever leaders are caring and trustworthy, where people are drawn to work for the common good, and where hope is restored and nurtured, there God is present.
And finally, where grieving souls find comfort and wherever those who pass away find peace and light eternal, there Jesus is present. No ifs or buts.
For any other stories that you may have heard, are just true lies.
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