i thought hyperbole was an english literary device...
the gospels are fun works of literature. there's lots of fun stuff going on such as healing, rebuking, a few tables turned, and quite a bit of love if i recall correctly. one of the most fun is the direct teachings of Jesus. you know, the kind that says things like to enter the kingdom of God you must sell all of your possesions, and it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. i read that and think "whoa! is that really true? i mean, is that possible? are all rich men not going to be able to enter the kingdom of God? what about rich women?" and then a teacher comes along and answers all of those questions (save maybe the last one) by explaining that Jesus often spoke with hyperboles. for those of you who have forgotten what that was, or maybe slept through that part of english, it is an extreme exaggeration to make a point. of course, after hearing that i let out a sigh of releif. Jesus wasn't being literal. it's okay to be rich and it's really not THAT hard for a rich guy to enter the kingdom. so then i get to apply it to all of those other difficult passages such as hating your mother and brothers and that thing about just breaking the least of the commands will put you last in the kingdom. phew. that stuff was hard to deal with. no one could really do that anyway.
so now i'm relieved. i have it all figured out. i can read the gospels knowing that Jesus doesn't really mean exactly what he says and...oh, what about other things? he doesn't speak everything in hyperbole does he? so how do we know what's what? and why speak literal about some things and exaggerate the others? sadly, the relief has vanished.
i don't really think we know the answer to any of it. because we were not present when the events occured, we really have no way of knowing exactly what was. but i will attempt to offer a "solution", if you will. Jesus makes it very clear that the kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdom the people know in their time. in fact, in contradicts much of what the kingdom they know stands for. it's an "upside down" way of thinking. maybe, just maybe, it is possible that Jesus spoke in hyperbole because it was the closest he could come to putting a kingdom idea in terms we could understand. it might not be so much that he just made extreme exaggerations so you got that he was really seriuos, but that it was the only way to convey such an idea to us. maybe there are no words or explanations that our human mights can grip that would explain it.
you might be saying to yourself, "so what?" or maybe even, "cara's rants on this live journal are truly ridiculous." and to respond to the first, application of this is, i think, the toughest part of it all. if you take the idea of Jesus having to put it in those terms to get it through our thick skulls as a possibility, then you must also consider the fact that Jesus did mean those things. they may not mean exactly what we define them as, but the acts that come from them are the equivalent. hating your brothers and mothers means you want nothing to do with them. we can't imagining hating our family (well, some of us can't) but how else can we grasp the concept that Jesus is above all? that is to say, in comparison to Jesus, we must hate them because he is Lord and Savior and nothing, not even family, comes close to him. so it seems we've come full circle. once again, those sayings are pretty tough. but for me, atleast, i take this to understand that i cannot use the hyperbole concept to negate the significance of the teachings. i must understand that they are indeed serious and indeed very hard teachings. Jesus does mean what he says. and i must accept how different the kingdom is to understand that these concepts might just work within it.
so is it easier now? no. i'd say harder really. but i want to figure out the kingdom. and although i never will be able to do so wholly until i am re-united with the father, i never want to stop trying. i want to know what i can do to further it, and how i need to be living if i truly consider myself part of it.
so now i'm relieved. i have it all figured out. i can read the gospels knowing that Jesus doesn't really mean exactly what he says and...oh, what about other things? he doesn't speak everything in hyperbole does he? so how do we know what's what? and why speak literal about some things and exaggerate the others? sadly, the relief has vanished.
i don't really think we know the answer to any of it. because we were not present when the events occured, we really have no way of knowing exactly what was. but i will attempt to offer a "solution", if you will. Jesus makes it very clear that the kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdom the people know in their time. in fact, in contradicts much of what the kingdom they know stands for. it's an "upside down" way of thinking. maybe, just maybe, it is possible that Jesus spoke in hyperbole because it was the closest he could come to putting a kingdom idea in terms we could understand. it might not be so much that he just made extreme exaggerations so you got that he was really seriuos, but that it was the only way to convey such an idea to us. maybe there are no words or explanations that our human mights can grip that would explain it.
you might be saying to yourself, "so what?" or maybe even, "cara's rants on this live journal are truly ridiculous." and to respond to the first, application of this is, i think, the toughest part of it all. if you take the idea of Jesus having to put it in those terms to get it through our thick skulls as a possibility, then you must also consider the fact that Jesus did mean those things. they may not mean exactly what we define them as, but the acts that come from them are the equivalent. hating your brothers and mothers means you want nothing to do with them. we can't imagining hating our family (well, some of us can't) but how else can we grasp the concept that Jesus is above all? that is to say, in comparison to Jesus, we must hate them because he is Lord and Savior and nothing, not even family, comes close to him. so it seems we've come full circle. once again, those sayings are pretty tough. but for me, atleast, i take this to understand that i cannot use the hyperbole concept to negate the significance of the teachings. i must understand that they are indeed serious and indeed very hard teachings. Jesus does mean what he says. and i must accept how different the kingdom is to understand that these concepts might just work within it.
so is it easier now? no. i'd say harder really. but i want to figure out the kingdom. and although i never will be able to do so wholly until i am re-united with the father, i never want to stop trying. i want to know what i can do to further it, and how i need to be living if i truly consider myself part of it.