Pharisaic

If the church has ever

typed with both hands,

it is in our caricature

of first century Judaism's

institutional professionals.

We condemn their job-class

with generalizations

at our own risk,

unremembering the likes

of Nicodemus, Jairus, and

an unknown host of others

who may well have been willing

to cast aside privilege and

maybe even belief

for a shot at grace.

If we dig deeply enough

into their faults, we just might

realize that, chief among them

is attempting to protect God

by focusing far too exclusively

and confidently on behavior

applicable only to a people

wholly other, which creates barriers

to seeing them as holy other.

E tu, Brute?

© 2015 Todd Jenkins