Jesus in Dialogue

A postolic joy is nourished by the contemplation of Jesus Christ, that is, by observing how he moved about, how he preached, how he healed, how he saw the world. ... The heart of the priest should be steeped in this contemplation and through it resolve the main challenge of his life: his friendship with Jesus Christ. I propose here to contemplate a few of Jesus' dialogues with different types of people. We want to reflect here on how Jesus speaks, first, with those who want to lay down conditions; then, with those who are trying to entrap him; and finally, with those whose heart is open to the hope of salvation.

There are many accounts in the Gospels of persons who approach Jesus but only with certain conditions. For example, Luke 9:57-62 mentions three persons who want to follow Jesus, but not unconditionally. In the Gospel of John, we read the stories of Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) and of the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-41), both of whom also approach Jesus with conditions. The three persons in Luke's Gospel seek to limit their commitment to Jesus for particular reasons: concern for wealth, for friends, for parents. The Samaritan woman, on the other hand, attempts to deflect her dialogue with Jesus because she wants to avoid what is crucial; she prefers to speak of theology rather than explain about her husbands. The case of Nicodemus is different but also conditional; he visits Jesus only when he can do so safely, under the cover of night. Jesus realizes that this man is not quite ready and so leaves him wrapped up in his musings, which serve as his refuge to avoid the demands of loyalty.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57-62)

Other persons approach Jesus deviously, with the idea of "testing" him to see whether his teaching is coherent with his action or whether cracks can be found in it which will allow religious devotion to remain a profitable business. Such persons seek to exchange faith for security, hope for possessions, love for self-interest.

In the scene of the woman taken in adultery (John 8:1-11), if Jesus approves the stoning, his mercy is called into doubt; if he disapproves, he goes against the law. In these devious dialogues Jesus usually does two things: he utters words of instruction to those who want to trap him, but he speaks differently to the victim (here, the adulterous woman) and directly addresses the deceitful situation. In this case, Jesus turns the condemnation back on the schemers, telling them to apply it to themselves, and then he restores to the woman her very life, encouraging her to live from that point on responsibly.

Similarly, we can meditate on the devious question about paying tribute to Caesar (Matt 22:15-22), which attempts to implicate Jesus in the Sadducean temptation of collaborating with Rome. To this question and the one about his own authority (Luke 20:1-8) Jesus responds by exhorting his adversaries to pay heed to the "authorities" that God has sent to them but that they have refused to accept.

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. (Matt 22:15-22)

To another wily question of the Sadducees, about the woman who was married to seven brothers (Matt 22:23-33), the Lord responds by looking toward the eschatological horizon. When the devious heart becomes irreversibly hardened, then there is sin unto death (1 John 5:16), sin against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:32), and confusion of spirits. This ploy is so shameful that the Lord doesn't even bother to argue with the tricksters: he responds simply by asserting the sublimity of the glorified life (Luke...