Coracle Trust E-Reflections

Lent: Jesus hid himself

Sunday 3 April 2011

The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind Emily Dickinson

Read John 8: 57-59 and return "You are not yet fifty years old," they said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" "Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Dazzling the world

If Jesus had working in advertising, he'd have been a failure. It's not that his brand was weak; he just didn't ever sell himself properly. He came to proclaim 'the good news of the kingdom', the cosmic revelation of the Word made flesh now dwelling among us. But when it came to making this message known, so often he simply blurted it and ran. This pattern is repeated so often in the gospels that theologians have given it a name: the 'Messianic Secret.' So what are we to make of it? Why does Jesus take upon himself the divine name ("I am"), inviting the crowd to stone him for blasphemy? And then, instead of explaining himself, why does he slip away and hide? It's as if he wants to dazzle the world with good news, but only use a candle. He seems bent on proclaiming his message; but only in parables, only in coded theology, only among friends. So why?

Out of the corner of the eye

Perhaps part of the answer lies in the advice of poet Emily Dickinson: "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant." There is something about glimpsing the truth from the corner of our eye that allows it to ring true, and to steal past our defences. Truth, like a lover's kiss, nuzzles us obliquely. If our instinct is to mistrust a theology that is too 'in your-face', we may have good reason. For, as Dickinson wrote: "The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind" Duncan MacLaren (Trustee)