Alienation

When Jesus cleansed the temple, the disciples remembered this passage, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:17). Often a short quote from the Hebrew scriptures is not simply to cite those words alone, but to direct us to the whole passage from which they come. Here is more of that song-prayer of David:

8 I have become a stranger to my kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.                                                  10 When I humbled my soul with fasting,
they insulted me for doing so.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
Psalm 69:8-12

This psalm is a lament about being rejected, ridiculed, misunderstood, and alienated for the sake of pursuing a life with God. David, though king, made a habit of humbling himself before God that others thought was unbecoming to his royal state (2 Samuel 6:16). Kings wear fine robes; they do not fast and wear sackcloth!

However, when others mock or gossip about his devotion to God, David finds solidarity with God: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” With Jesus, as with David before him, choosing the path “of the few” (Matthew 7:14) brings with it the experience of being alienated by some people, often those who think of themselves as devout.

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:11

Jesus solemnly warned his disciples that they would be hated by the world (John 15:18-19) and persecuted by some from their own religious tradition (John 16:2). Family relationships would be affected as well (Matthew 10:34-36). If this is the case for those who choose a spiritual path, how should one respond to this alienating behavior from others?

Jesus gives guidance by his own example. He was always willing to welcome relationship with all others. He never responded in kind to those who alienated him.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Matthew 23:37

Jesus also identifies why this happens.

They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. John 16:2-3

This alienation, in all its forms, happens because those doing this know not the Father nor the Son. In their complete misunderstanding of God, they, as service to God, do the very things which are against God’s character. Jesus is not making a derogatory, condescending, or condemning statement concerning these people, but reminding the disciples to have compassion. We are to forgive those who do not know better.

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Being judged, shunned, the subject of gossip, or mistreated because of one’s devotion to God is extremely trying – but not unknown to our Lord. Jesus openly tells us to expect to be misunderstood and maligned, but he teaches us to continue with generous acceptance and forgiving mercy.