Evening: Psalm 78:40-72; Luke 20:19-26
We
sometimes make “suckers’ choices” out of life’s necessary decisions,
saying things like, “You have to decide: is it this or that?” They did
that with Jesus, asking whether the Jewish people, who were subject to
Roman occupation, should pay taxes to the emperor or not. Jesus’
response suggested that choices are never that simple. Both obligations
may be valid. “Give to the emperor (Caesar) what is the emperor’s and
to God what belongs to God.” When someone presents you with an
impossible choice, there is often a third option … that both are not
only possible but necessary.
Franciscan priest Richard Rohr (https://cac.org/richard-rohr/richard-rohr-ofm/ ) speaks of our tendency to 'dualistic thinking' in this regard. Sometimes there is an answer that accommodates both choices, but at other times it would (possibly) be missing the whole truth to decide one way or the other. In such cases, Rohr suggests we need to keep both options in tension resisting the inclination to come down on one or the other side.
ReplyDeleteSee for example https://cac.org/dualistic-nondual-thinking-weekly-summary-2017-02-04/
Thanks Tim, Yes, it's like this when we disagree with one another too - we often need to listen on another level to find a deeper connection, even 'agreement'.
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