Books
Peeking inside the mind of Jesus
JESUS OF
NAZARETH: HOW HE UNDERSTOOD HIS LIFE By Raymund
Schwager Crossroad, 198 pages, $14.95, paperback
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By CLARENCE
THOMSON
Teenagers wear bracelets that ask What would Jesus do?
Jesuit Fr. Raymund Schwager, professor of dogmatics at the University of
Innsbruck in Austria, asks a more nuanced historical question: What did Jesus
think?
While clearly acknowledging that he is writing fiction, Schwager
tries to capture all the inner thoughts of Jesus with a tissue of quotes from
the Hebrew scriptures. Besides displaying considerable erudition, this device
underscores Jesus Jewish roots. He came to fulfill the law because he
believed utterly in its purpose and spirit.
Schwager is aware of the literal meanings of the texts, but he
feels no constraint to follow them. His poetic license serves his purpose well.
In the hands of one unlettered, this would be fundamentalism, but Schwager is
no more arbitrary than Matthews frequent insertion, This was done
to fulfill the scriptures.
For Schwager, the tension of Jesus is how to be a pious Jew while
being true to his own mystical religious experiences. His tension is increased
to the breaking point by self-serving authorities who interpret the Torah in
ways Jesus finds discordant. Jesus, in turn, interprets the scriptures in ways
that are outrageous to the authorities and shocking to the unlettered who had
never heard anyone with his exegetical prowess come to far different
conclusions than their legal professors.
Heres a sample of how Schwager weaves texts to illustrate
the tension between Jesus way and the official way of spiritual exegesis.
Jesus is talking to the disciples at Emmaus after the resurrection, explaining
that God is patient and will not destroy the people even when the Messiah
comes. One of the disciples breaks in: The preachers in the synagogues
always preach that Mercy is with God, but also wrath [Sirach
5:6]. Will not the wrath of God be poured out on all transgressors of
Torah in the days of the Messiah, and his mercy on the holy remnant of
Israel?
Jesus jumps on the word wrath.
Yes, there is wrath. But the Holy One of Israel is God and
not man [Hosea 11:9]. Because he bears with all creation in great patience,
human beings can become possessed by the evil impulse of their hearts and see
everything only from the standpoint of their own suffering. That is why the
world becomes darkened for them, and the sky over their heads becomes brass
[Deuteronomy 28:23]. A veil is laid over the peoples and a covering over the
nations [Isaiah 25:7]. Even for Israel the luminous countenance of the Lord
will disappear, and it can hear his words only as stammering [Isaiah 28:13]. In
their suffering the wicked torture and persecute one another until their
violent deeds fall back on them [Psalms 7:12-15]. Thus, they exist under wrath.
Yet Gods judgment is light for the world [Isaiah 26:9].
This text illustrates both Schwagers tissue technique and a
central point of his theology. One of the important quarrels Jesus had with the
official scriptural teaching concerned sacrifice. The priests and other temple
employees had a vested interest in emphasizing the importance of sacrifice.
Their job security flowed directly out of a theology that emphasized
sacrifice.
But there is an internal tension between Jesus experience of
his Father and the internal logic of sacrifice. Jesus knew himself to be the
beloved Son at his baptism in the Jordan. A sacrificial mentality tends to try
to placate a God whose wrath lurks somewhere around a devout corner. The more
Jesus preached total forgiveness of sins, the less important sacrifice seemed
to be. Sacrifice fits better with a strong merit system than it does
unconditional love. Jesus opinion was that God desired mercy, not
sacrifice.
Schwagers earlier writings dealt with themes developed by
Stanford anthropologist Rene Girard. One central theme is that Jesus understood
himself to be a scapegoat, not a sacrifice. In this understanding Jesus died
because of the sinful violence of the establishment who needed an enemy to
rally the people round. (Remember Grenada? Same old strategy.) Jesus did not
die because the Father needed a sacrifice, perfect or not.
The dramatic substructure of Schwagers narrative rests on
this development of Jesus consciousness. He sees himself as suffering at
the hands of evil people, not a bloodthirsty God.
The shifting of Jesus (and the evangelists)
understanding of the crucifixion is not only historically important. If you
think we have a benign God in our consciousness, I appeal to the ultimate
exegete of a capitalist society: money. If the wind is mild, the sun sweet and
the water refreshing, that is called nature. If the winds howl, the waters
flood and the sun grows dark, that is an act of God, and insurance companies
compensate you. Thats what we think of God.
Schwagers fiction is superb theology and good healthy piety.
Clarence Thomson is former director of Creedence Cassettes and
an internationally recognized authority on the enneagram. E-mail him at
enneageduc@aol.com.
National Catholic Reporter, November 20,
1998
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