My old home town just elected a mayor: local body elections were last weekend. Since then it has been revealed that he has been having an affair with this woman, and that he had acted as a referee for her. This is generally a sacking offence: and a number of (right wing) politicians have been forced out of parliament for similar behaviour.
The left are yelling that the person who broke this has, himself, had an affair: he did, two years ago, and it all got ugly and ended up in court. But the issue is much more around corruption and influence. One has to feel for his wife and daughters: his paramour is single, but one has to feel for her parents.
I like the narrative, that one cannot judge. Well, that’s slightly wrong. Consider that John was trying to judge if his cousin, Jeshua, (Or Jesus) of Nazareth was indeed the one Israel had been waiting for.
1Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.
2When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:5the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
1Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you — unless you have come to believe in vain.
3For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them — though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
There is no one perfect in this world. If you look at any person who blows up corruption, you will find that they have erred. None of us are righteous, none at all, but Christ.
And the religious authorities considered Christ a scandal, and ensured that he was killed (for treason: the Romans did not care about blasphemy). People take offence if the righteous are around, for they presume they are being damned — as they all so readily do to their enemies.
What should we do? Well, we should proclaim the gospel, despite being the littlest of the least. We shouud do good, for it is what Jesus did. And those who see this as a scandal and offence that we try to reveal the wrong and correct it — have to deal with their core sin.
Hubris. They want to be as God. They want to be in control. I’m far too aware of my own sin and my own errors to want that. I have enough difficulty obeying the clear commands of a wise and good God: I do not want that job.
