Well I broke my New Year's Resolution to stop sleeping with my computer tonight, and I sort of got waylaid by back episodes of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so I'll be brief:
In the next section of chapter 3, Wright talks about Jesus defying symbols of Jewish identity. He broke the Sabbath, failed to keep kosher, told somebody he couldn't wait to bury his father--denied his own mother, for that matter, if we want to talk about family values--and desecrated the Temple. Again, Wright argues that he was deconstructing the current image of Jewish identity rather than arguing with the Pharisees about legalism and the "salvation by works" mentality that was revived during the Protestant Reformation.
In this portrait, Jesus was self-consciously living the life of a subversive revolutionary; Wright compares his actions to burning the flag. I'm trying to find other contemporary actions that could be comparable to turning the tables in the Temple--any ideas? Vandalizing a church (or a library) would be one example of taking apart something that I at least hold sacred, but I'm having trouble finding other parallels.
This is the Jesus I don't like very much. I've always been uncomfortable with Jesus saying he has come to turn parents against children and children against parents, but here I find Jesus the protester, Jesus the radical, come to undermine traditions and preaching against everything in the establishment. Much as I like pretending to live on the edge, I'm pretty happy with the status quo. I like loving my family! But he comes preaching unrest that leads to peace, hope and love. It's a little hard to take him seriously.
On a slightly different note, what is it like to live in a world that's so deeply symbolic? Did most of Jesus's contemporaries understand his actions the way Wright reads them, or only a few (the learned/religious leaders)? Or did the ordinary folks not see the underlying message that Wright finds (and that Jesus supposedly explains when he's in private with his disciples--haven't bothered to refer back to the gospels to confirm and can't really rely on memory for this one!)? Furthermore, how does symbolism fit into my life? When do I see hidden messages behind public meanings? Do any cultures exist now that are deeply symbolic in the way Wright indicates Jesus's Jewish world was immersed in symbols?
More on this later, perhaps--as I said, I sort of fell off the wagon and am typing this from my bed, it's time to sleep.
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