Week 6: That's in the Bible? - Pearls Before Swine
November 24, 2019 Job 28-17-28
Deborah Laforet Matthew 7:6
“Pearls Before Swine”
We live in a world that sometimes feels like it is spinning out of control. We have the US president in the midst of impeachment proceedings, we have young people protesting and standing up for improvements to our climate policies, there is an increase in mental health problems and opioid addictions, teachers threatening to strike, protests in Hong Kong, and so much more. If you’re reading the paper or listening to the news, you might get overwhelmed by it all. It might keep you up at night and keep you worried and anxious.
Anxiety is a growing problem in our society, which causes people to want to maintain control as much as possible. People on the highways are more aggressive when mistakes happen. More people are not talking to strangers for fear of their safety. Parents are watching their children’s every move and, some might say, being over-protective. We all deal with this anxiety in a number of ways. Some find ways to maintain control in their own lives; while others seek to control the lives of others.
Is today’s world different from past generations? Well, of course it is in some ways. This new generation has so much technology that is used in so many different ways and in so many parts of our lives, and it is having effects of which we are still learning, but does that mean we have more anxiety than previous generations? I don’t know. What I do know is that Jesus, 2000 years ago, was talking to people about worry and anxiety.
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus offers the sermon on the mount. This is a time when Jesus went up a mountain, and shared his wisdom with crowds of people. In the bible, his words take up three chapters. There are lots of “You have heard it said….but I say….” This is where we hear about the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” or “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” In his sermon, Jesus also talks about worry, about people attempting to control their own lives as well as the lives of others.
Before we go into the part of Jesus’ sermon on which I want to focus, I want to show you something about this sermon on the mount and how it is shared in our bibles. I have put chapters 6 and 7 on the screen from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. You’ll notice how the chapters are broken into segments. Every few verses, there is a new heading, or a title. Not every bible does this. Some versions split the segments differently, name them differently, and, sometimes, like the King James Version, these headings are absent. The King James Version would be the best version in this case. These headings were not created by the original writers and of course, Jesus would not have added these headings as he was speaking. These headings are the work of our interpreters, and they highly slant the way we read the bible. The chapters even were created later and can also affect the way we read the bible.
So we have this section of Jesus’ sermon at the end of chapter six that is usually entitled “Do Not Worry” and we have this section at the beginning of chapter 7 sometimes entitled, “Judging Others,” which tends to make them feel like different ideas or thoughts. But what if these two lessons weren’t meant to be separated? We have split them up into two chapters with different titles and we have treated them as if they are separate thoughts. Verse six of chapter seven, the verse I want to highlight today, is also usually set apart from the rest of the chapter, sometimes entitled, “Profaning the Holy” or “Despising the Holy.”
I want to try and explain this connection through a popular comic strip, one that my son loves, called “Pearls Before Swine.” In this comic there are several characters, but I want to focus on two: Rat and Pig.
Rat is they cynical character. He has a sarcastic wit, is very judging of others, and always thinks he know what is best. He is constantly imparting his knowledge onto others, especially Pig. Pig is the sensitive and naive character. He loves life and hates seeing people in pain. He lives in the moment and appreciates each day. I’ll show you three clips that I was able to find online that kind of show their personalities:
Pig Solves Life: https://images.app.goo.gl/FuQdond4z8rPYfpw8
Depressed Rat: https://images.app.goo.gl/PKo3mqfLVdoAVCn6A
Expectation Crusher: https://images.app.goo.gl/VMX4hA9ScKKu8Y4P7
Friends, we are meant to be more like Pig. Jesus tells us not to worry about our life. Life is more than food, clothes, treasures, and such. Jesus wants us to strive first for the kingdom of God. It’s not meant to be trite. Jesus is not saying, “Don’t worry; be happy!” Jesus knows that worrying about tomorrow does not make today better. We need to appreciate each moment and work towards a world where others can do the same.
Jesus tells the people not to judge. He tells them not to worry about the speck in your neighbour’s eye until you have taken care of the log in your own. But then he says, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” Most commentaries will explain that this is Jesus telling us to be careful with whom we try and share the gospel and that it’s no use sharing the gospel message with people who don’t want to listen. In these commentaries, dogs and swine are creatures treated with disdain and they have Jesus naming people who are not worth our time, dogs and swine. This though has really nothing to do with what Jesus was just talking about. This is where these headers and titles get in the way. If you read this verse in the context with the rest of what Jesus was trying to say, how might we interpret it then?
Rat judges others. He calls people stupid, he calls them idiots, and he ridicules and scoffs at those with whom he doesn’t agree. This is how Rat doles out his judgement. Some, though, will do it with honey. Some will sweeten their words to try and get people to change. They will act if if they’re trying to help or doing what is best for the other person, but in the end, they also are being judgemental and expecting them to change. Sometimes this makes people angrier than that tell them straight out. It feels deceptive. In this context, hear the verse again: “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” Do you hear it differently? Give dogs and swine what dogs and swine need, not what you think is best for them, based on what is best for you.
In our passage from Job, we heard about wisdom. Where shall wisdom be found? Only God knows. We may think we know. We may think we’re being helpful when we share it with others. We may think we have wisdom for which others are grateful. We may think we have more of it than others, especially those we view as too young, too poor, too uneducated, too old, not worldly-enough, etc. etc. There are many ways we judge and sometimes we are so nice about it.
When we spend our lives worrying about our families, about our safety, about our health, about our stuff, our grip on these things get tight and then our worry extends to other people and our judgments of them and what they should be doing. I’m not saying don’t be judgemental. As human beings, that’s just what we do. We compare others to ourselves and ourselves to others. We judge. But if we can worry less, if we can let go and not hold so tightly, we may feel more content with our lives and better able to let others live theirs.
May we find ways of better appreciating each day and worrying less about the coming ones. May we learn how and when to share our wisdom, knowing when it is useful or whether we are offering it out of our judgements. May the wisdom of Jesus, the patience of the Creator, and the guidance of the Spirit help show us the way. May it be so. Amen.