Bullies want one thing. They want control. Everyone else ends up playing by the bully’s rules once they give them that control. For the intended victim it is a no-win situation. Once the victim begins winning according to those rules, the bully changes them. And worse yet, if it does not go the bullies way, they play the victim.
Playing At Testing Jesus
The events of holy week that are recorded in the synoptic gospels are often read during church. But each section is read on different days. This leaves the preacher a list of topics. But preachers do not get an opportunity to wrestle with with the overall problem. Traps are being laid for Jesus. There is a desire to kill Jesus. All the bullies have to do is give the Romans a reason to kill him.
Preachers get some topics for sermons during this time. We read what Jesus said about “rendering unto Caesar,” the supremacy of the Messiah, marriage and the Resurrection, and other lessons. These can be used and make for boring sermons because every one has heard them beforehand. How long can you draw out “render unto Caesar?”
Playing The Anti-bullying Game
Cyber-bullying is a real problem. But it is part of a greater problem. Like a lot of bullying victims, I heard lectures from school leaders about why bullying shouldn’t happen. But the same leaders did not want to take sides when the bullying was pointed out. Bob Clark’s cult favorite A Christmas Story points out the one is either a bully, a today for the bully, or “one of the nameless rabble of victims.” But it is never the majority bullied. There is an identified victim. The bully’s rules make the others look down on the victim as someone who won’t stand up to the bully. It is ultimately a game that supports bullying.
Church Bullies
Jesus is tested by bullies. But, few people in churches recognize these efforts on the part of his opponents. Why? Because he appears to best them. But he does this by not playing by the rules. Church leaders -clergy and lay – miss this point. Stop taking bullies seriously even in church. Some people with a complaint simply do not have a point. But they are attempting to make life miserable by the procedures used in church governance.
“Was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?” Jesus asks a question that but the bullies on the defense. They claimed not to know the answer. Jesus refuses to answer the question put before them. Why? Because Jesus demonstrates the answer is not the point of the exchange. In much the same way, bullies are not interested in anything other than to have control. Jesus refused to play when the rules changed.
Playing the Victim
“Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses?” (Matthew 26:65). This comes after the high priest placed Jesus under oath. Jesus does not directly answer the question. But the high priest plays out the drama. Earlier in the text, Matthew tells how the disciples cautioned Jesus’ apparent intemperance. “Do you know the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” (15:12b)
It is easy to play offended when one claims religious belief is involved. I told a joke during a funeral that some people pretended to be offended by. My District Superintendent was in the audience and barely remembered the “incident.” Others claim offense when they do not care for answers they are given. A colleague was questioned by an outraged person if he believed anything in the Bible after he said homosexual person’s were “born that way.” The lay person questioning did not voice disagreement. She pretended to be offended in order to get criticism against the minister from other people.
Evil People Bully
There is no playing the game with evil people unless one intends to play honestly. The investigative procedures churches use must be employed honestly. Bullies control by force, lies, and playing the victim. Church leaders must recognize these methods for what they are. Evil simply at play.
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