By What Criteria?

Gospel: John 7: 43-50

The experts gathered.  Theologians and lawyers poured over the scriptures and the law.  They inquired into the background of Jesus, and they concluded he was not the Messiah of God.  Their sole criterion for making this decision was the place of Jesus' upbringing - Galilee.  The anointed of God cannot possibly be from such a place.  So it is written.  

But does such a criterion matter?  What difference does it make where the Messiah comes from? Is it not more important that he performs the deeds of God - saving actions of love and mercy that provide healing and nourishment to people? Leaving aside the fact that Jesus was in fact from Bethlehem, such a fact would not have convinced his opponents anyway.  They would have found another reason to reject him.  It is the task of the theologian and lawyer to exclude and condemn, to maintain power for the existing institutions.  It is not to seek the good.

Jesus does not institute a class of theologians and lawyers, though somehow they arose to dominate religion yet again.  Nevertheless,  he gave us all one simple criterion for us to follow: seek the good.  The person of good deeds is anointed of God.  Follow that example, the example of Jesus, and perform deeds of mercy and loving-kindness.  That is the only standard.  That is The Way.