Quiddity
Matthew 23: 1-12
Quiddity
This morning I want to teach you a word. If you know its meaning already…kudo’s to you. The word is “quiddity”. It means the essence, the inherent nature of something. A living being’s beauty is in its quiddity, its unique and wonderful essence. It takes a lot of wisdom and it takes putting your own self centredness aside to spot the quiddity of another human being. When God looks at us, He sees our quiddity and He delights in it. Where people see and appreciate each other’s quiddity there is peace and harmony.
One of the reasons there is such a lack of peace and harmony in our world currently is partly because we don’t see the quiddity of other beings. We are too wrapped up in our own stories. We are too focused on people’s opinions and affiliation, what they own and what the owe to spot and appreciate their quiddity.
Jesus had an amazing ability to see the quiddity of people and things. He drew it out. He showed it to others. Like no one else He can help us to restore our vision when it comes to quiddity in others. Let us see how Jesus looked at emulate him.
Seeing what is good in your enemies (and what is bad in your friends)
Jesus had enemies. The ones most opposed to him, who confronted him the most and even set traps for him was the Pharisees. It’s not that they just didn’t like Jesus. They actively tried to kill him. Most of us have had people not liking us all too much but imagine how you would feel about somebody you know is plotting to kill you. That is what one could call a hard-core enemy.
In Chapter 23 of Matthew we find some of the harshest words Jesus uttered against people and they are all directed at the Pharisees. But what one can easily miss is that Jesus starts off by legitimizing them and saying something good and remarkable about them. Considering that He is speaking about people that wanted to kill Him, that is truly remarkable. Jesus say that the “Sit on the seat of Moses”. With this Jesus is saying that they belong to a long tradition of people that studied and interpreted God’s law going all the way back to Moses, who got it directly from God.
There are two very important things we should take from these words of Jesus. The first is to see good even in our enemies. We tend to divide people in our minds as either good or bad. In fact all people are both. If you tend to see some people as only good, you will easily idolize those people and they will rule you in some way. If you see other people as only bad, you will be entrapped by hate and feelings of superiority that can also harm and limit you. Try to notice the flaws in people you look up to. Take note, don’t fixate on it. Try and notice the good in people you dislike, even when you dislike them for very legitimate reasons. See how God also uses people who does awful things for His purposes. In that way you could even learn to appreciate enemies and difficult people.
Secondly and maybe more importantly, Jesus shows us that tradition is a good thing that should be honored and respected. What is tradition? Tradition is anything we have that has it’s roots in thoughts and actions that started way before we were born. Some of the best things has a tradition behind it. Canada has a strong culture of human rights because its backed by a tradition of looking out for the rights of others. That tradition wasn’t always impeccable. Some things that were accepted in the past like residential schools are now seen as no-no’s but still when you want to contribute to human rights in Canada, you will do so best by knowing and respecting the tradition. It will prevent you from reinventing the wheel. Also from excessive pride.
We also read and study the Bible in continuation with a long line of people all across the world that studied it before us through many ages. If you totally disregard the tradition, you tend to read into the Bible rather than reading it responsibly. That doesn’t mean the Bible could not speak to us in new ways or that we cannot come to different conclusions, it just mean when we do that we do it with regard for the tradition, not by ignoring it.
This week there was an article and a news interview on CBC stating how conspiracy theories are spreading like wildfire not only in the US but also in Canada and especially among church members in Canada. It is true. I thought to myself what could be a solution? What could help people distinguish between conspiracy theories and truth? I am still thinking about this but one answer this text seems to give us is to when you encounter a theory, ask from what tradition does it stem. If it is completely new chances are good that it is made up to serve a dubious agenda. If you encounter a Christian writer with some engaging ideas, go have a look at his background. To what tradition does he link or is his church and teachings only rooted in himself?
Yes, tradition could also be allowed to dictate and then it stifles ideas and renewal but to disregard tradition is not something Jesus ascribed to. Jesus understood himself, even though He was the Son of God as aligned with the tradition of the law and the prophets. Pastor Rick Warren explained this principle excellently when he said. Tradition is good because it is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is bad because that is the dead faith of the living. Respecting tradition is a cure for arrogance. It requires and acknowledgement that you don’t know everything, that our generation doesn’t know everything and that we need to stand on the shoulders of those before us to see clearly into the future.
Follow teachings not examples (and sometimes follow examples, not teachings).
Jesus legitimizes the teachings of the Pharisees to the point of telling his disciples to do “everything the have told you”. He only gave a similar instruction once and that was when He referred to his own teachings before he left earth and told his disciples to do everything He commanded. But He warned them to not look up to their example. Now what is interesting Jesus sometimes pointed to people as if to say follow their example even when they did not offer teaching and even when their teachings was wrong. He pointed to a widow giving very little and basically said: “if you want to learn about giving, follow this widow”. He engaged with a woman at the well and she was a Samaritan. He verbally disagreed with her teaching but her testimony and life change were an example to many.
This is so relevant. We live at a time of such disagreement especially when it comes to politics. You might have caught yourself asking. If that person is a Christian, how on earth could he like Trump? He is so vulgar and condescending! O…r if that person is a Christian how could he say people should vote for Biden? He isn’t even pro-Life! You also might have experience how you look up to someone that disagree with you on major issues because of the beautiful way that person lives his life. You might experience feeling far from somebody even though on paper you guys are in complete agreement from everything from politics to religion. I guess we would do well to ask ourselves whose examples we can follow and whose teachings.
But when in comes to our own person, we need to strive for both. Right and truthful teachings complimented by right and truthful actions. The gap between our Orthodoxy (right teaching) and our Orthopraxis (right practice and action) need to be as small as possible or at least be shrinking increasingly. We need to ask ourselves constantly: If this is what I believe about God, how should I live? It was this huge gap between what the Pharisees taught and what they lived that upset Jesus so much. There is a huge difference between agreeing with a teaching and accepting a truth in faith. The difference is the latter changes your actions.
I have such a dangerous job. I speak about things on a Sunday that takes a lifetime to master in deeds. And it is ever so easy to assume my job is over once my sermon is preached. We also tend to assume our job of being a Christian is over once we listened and agreed with a sermon. It has only started once the sermon is preached. We are called to incarnate the messages we hear in the reality of our own unique lives. Incarnating one truth trumps listening to thousands that you don’t.
Don’t get hung up on Titles (but rather on verbs)
“Reverend” means “revered one”. “Rabbi” is a person well versed in the Tora. We need to understand ourselves not in static titles but in terms of the active verbs in our life. You see, I can be called reverend because of things in my past, not because I am currently doing things that are admirable. I can be called Rabbi because of things I learned in the past, even though I stopped learning new things a long time ago. Being called by a title is a dangerous thing. It might cause you to stop doing the things that title was invented to describe.
When Jesus was called elaborate titles, ones He surely deserved, He told people to keep it secret. Not because He did not want to be known, but because He needed to be known by the verbs that filled his life, not by the titles that were to crown it. Titles have this way to fool us. When we hear the word “mayor” or “councillor” it shouldn’t inspire awe and admiration in us unless that title matches the verbs that made them. Verbs like protect, listen, consult, engage.
Your essence lies not in titles but in the verbs you fill your life with. Positive change in you and others does not happen when your title is changed but when your verbs change.
Close
Last week, I said that we should be careful of this notion of “just being yourself”, that it is often a smokescreen for staying self-obsessed. That we should go beyond ourselves. But ironically, to do that, you need to know your own quiddity and see and respect that of others.
We do that by following Jesus. By neither idolizing nor demonizing an individual. By acknowledging and emulating what is good even if other things lack. By looking critically at the verbs that fill our lives rather than the titles and labels others stick on them.
Let us be quiddity detectives in other people and ourselves. Let us seek to understand as much as we seek to be understood. And there is no understanding without standing under. Without being humble enough to put yourself under the authority and care of God and in service of those around you.
Amen