Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
John 12:20
Jesus was famous for not taking the classic all-time parental advice, don’t talk to strangers. Samaritans, Pharisees, Sadducees, Gentiles, the Syro-phoenician woman… and here in the Gospel of John, some Greeks. While I don’t normally advise ignoring your parents, Jesus did seem to make a habit of it. Remember when he ‘got lost’ and stuck around in the temple in Jerusalem? Or when his mom wanted him to make wine at the wedding and Jesus tried to get out of it. There is a reason that our parents tell us to not talk to strangers. Especially as children, it is for our protection. Making sure that we don’t end up in dangerous, difficult, or uncomfortable situations.
However, as adults, it is possible we take this feeling of safety a little too far. Only spending time with people we know, people we grew up with, people who look, act, talk, and think like us. Given all of the advances in technology, this is easier and easier. You can have almost any interaction over text or email, or increasingly with artificial intelligence specifically designed to get you exactly what you want, especially if it is a refund on your stolen Amazon package.
Let that sink in.
Collectively we have decided as a society it is easier and cheaper to re-order the same product someone stole from you, even if you know who it was, than to figure out how to change their behavior.
Unfortunately, there are some conflicts that A.I. and high corporate overhead cannot solve.
This week I am reading a book on the conflict in Northern Ireland, a first person account by Senator George Mitchell on how they were able to come to a resolution. In it he says one of the first things he did was go and meet with as many leaders of different factions as possible and they all had wildly different views on what started the conflict and who was to blame. They all agreed, however, on one thing.
Years of conflict and violence had created crippling poverty. Jobs and economic opportunities had to be a part of the solution. So that is where the work began.
When Jesus’ disciples try to stop these greeks from meeting with Jesus, they are just trying to protect him (and maybe themselves). But Jesus is always willing to hear out those of differing viewpoints in order to find common ground and a path forward. We could stand to do the same.
And not through text, or A.I. or faceless voices online or in the news. But in person. Face to face. What is behind the compulsion to vote a certain way, live a certain way, act a certain way? Can we be curious first, and leave the judgement behind? Can we, like Jesus, entertain the idea that something different, new, challenging might be…. Better? For us, and for the world.