The story isn’t exactly the same in every version. The versions differ as to whether the men are blind or simply in the dark; the way in which the body parts of the elephant are described; how aggressive the conversation between the mean becomes; and whether the problem of their varying experiences is resolved or not.
Perhaps the most famous version of the story in the Western world is the poem by 19th century American poet, John Godfrey Saxe:
I.
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
II.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me!-but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
III.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried: "Ho!-what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me't is mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
IV.
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
V.
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
VI.
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
VII.
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
VIII.
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
Moral.
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Jesus is in the middle of a dispute with the religious people of his day about just such an elephant. This particular elephant is God’s Law—God’s plan for the people of God; and in our Gospel reading for today, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is talking to the disciples about his approach to that elephant. And it’s a very particular approach.
It’s not about coming up upon the elephant groping in the dark from one side or another and making judgments from a limited perspective; it’s about getting a whole picture—working off a whole plan—to understand what God’s requirements are all about.
Now it’s easy even today to get bogged down in one part of God’s plan just as Jesus was observing that the religious people of his day were doing. We pick and choose which bits we like and which bits we don’t. Maybe when we were listening to the Gospel reading today, we were feeling particularly uncomfortable when anger seemed to be equated with murder, looking at another person was likened to adultery, and oaths of any kind were compared with making false declarations. And if we were to pick any of the interpretations of the Law that Jesus is offering and not look at the big picture of what he is doing with his interpretations, we would be just as in the dark as those 6 men trying to work what it is that they have discovered.
Jesus uses a familiar rabbinic pattern: “You have heard it said…, but I say…” These are interpretations that have been offered of God’s Law; and my considered reflection is… And in each and every case, Jesus’ interpretation does not discuss mitigating circumstances or generous loopholes, rather it points to a stricter and more rigorous interpretation than what has been offered previously. Is this the same Jesus that defies the Sabbath laws to heal wounded people?
Well, of course, it is—because in both situations, Jesus is trying to raise people’s visions, broaden their outlooks, open up the whole plan for them; rather than allowing them to stay stuck in one particular rule or regulation, law or precept. It’s not about the laws; it’s about the Law. It’s not about the individual, practical guidelines that have been provided for us; or that we have written ourselves to help us understand what being part of the people of God is all about—it’s about understanding the big picture, the whole plan—catching a glimpse of who God is and what God wills for the whole of God’s creation.
It’s never been about following rules because the rules have been laid down. It’s always been about searching for, seeking after, aiming for the justice, love and compassion of God—the justice, love and compassion that God gives us and that we are called to offer to others. And if we ever think that working from the whole plan is easier than following the rules, then maybe we don’t understand just what an extraordinary hope that it is that God calls us towards.
We can’t rest on our laurels just because we know we’ve never physically killed or injured someone, we have to think about the injuries that we cause each other each and every day simply by being the people we are in the families and communities that we try to build. We can’t pretend we are perfect, simply because we’ve apparently lived in a faithful relationship for a long time, we have to remember that the going hasn’t always been easy, that sometimes we probably could have cheerfully killed each other for some minor hurt or another. We can’t think that because we’ve never made a false declaration, we are completely upright, we have to remember the times when we have made promises that we have been unable to keep, for any number of different reasons. We have to remember that we are no better than anyone else; that all of us are under the judgment of God’s Law which calls us to a world of ultimate justice, perfect love and unfailing compassion.
And that bring us to the other side of the whole plan that we cannot forget. God’s judgment is heavy; and the more that we are confronted by the heaviness of God’s judgment, the more we will understand the amazing depth of God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s grace.
God’s Law calls us to not to a world of human ideals and standards but to God’s world—a world that only God builds, only God plans, only God brings to fruition. Confronting God’s judgment forces us to confront God’s love. And maybe, because of that, we catch just a glimpse, unfold just a little more of the whole plan, we understand just a little better what God’s Law is really all about.
VIII.
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
Moral.
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Jesus is daring us to unfold the whole plan, to see the big picture, to capture an impression of the elephant, not in its parts, but in its totality. And that whole plan is both far more demanding, and far more freeing than we might ever imagine, especially if we become obsessed with just one small part.
Today, we are going to say together the Nicene Creed. It is one of the 2 ecumenical creeds shared by the whole church. It is traditionally recited when the Eucharist or Holy Communion is celebrated because it recounts the story of our faith—the big picture of who God is and who we are. It is our agreed understanding of what the faith is all about. And yet I know that for some of you, it is an uncomfortable statement of faith.
At various times in our faith journeys, each of us can get bogged down in part of that faith story. Perhaps we are concerned about the historical reliability of the story, or the scientific possibility of it. Perhaps we find some of the language archaic. We certainly don’t want to buy into left-handed discrimination by interpreting the “right-hand” where Jesus sits too literally. Nevertheless, whether we want to read the story literally or metaphorically, historically or symbolically, this story is the big picture for us; and yet it is only a vague impression of the whole story that is who God is and what God wants. It is only part of the whole story, and it is written in the limited language and concepts that humanity has at its disposal; and had at its disposal at a particular time in history.
It is more a narrative than an historical treatise. It is about theology and not about science. It is about trying to catch something of the big picture of who God is and who we are before God. It asks us not to give 21st century intellectual assent to a set of scientific principles; but to enter the story of a God who is always far more demanding, and far more gracious than we can ever fully grasp.
Sometimes the most complex things can only be shared in the simplest of language forms – that of story – because from a story there is always more to be drawn, more to be shared, more to be interpreted, more to be explored. And if we only ever relied on our own explanations of what the story itself means, we would lose the story all together.
That is what Jesus is warning against in a very roundabout way in the Sermon on the Mount and our Gospel reading for today. Don’t get lost in the outworkings; don’t get lost in the interpretations; don’t lose your way in trying to be perfect or get things perfectly right and in order in your head. Rather, remember that the whole plan, the big picture is always about the justice, and love, and mercy, and compassion of God—a justice, a love, a mercy, a compassion that we can never hope to emulate fully; and that we would gravely misrepresent if we thought it was only about following a few rules.
Let us affirm our faith in our God who is just, loving, merciful and compassionate beyond our ability to describe and our capacity to be.
