At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him,
“Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
A week or so ago the President gave a speech to a joint session of Congress where he declared that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion had been eliminated from the Federal Government and the country. Recently Target announced that it would no longer support DEI initiatives. In the late 1930’s a photographer took a picture of a large crowd giving the Nazi arm salute in Germany. Two thousand years ago, a group of Pharisees came out to see Jesus to tell him that the king wanted to kill him.
In each of these situations, one group of people tried to get another group of people to buy into the notion that THEY had complete and total control while the other group of people had absolutely no control… that they had been reduced to helpless victims. Believing that you have absolute control or believing you have absolutely no control are what what the brain pros call “Control Fallacies” and along with other Cognitive Distortions, like the “Shoulding” we talked about last week, the Control Fallacy is another kind of Stinkin’ Thinkin’ that we are giving up for the season of Lent.
They are called “Fallacies” because they aren’t true! The fact that they aren’t true becomes immediately apparent when anyone pushes back on them even slightly. As the president insisted in his speech that DEI had been stamped out of the Federal Government a camera cut to a close up of Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, an African American, Muslim congresswoman. With that one camera shot the president’s attempt to sell us his Control Fallacy was shown to be exactly that… a laughable fallacy. As Target abandons their DEI initiatives we are being sold the idea that retailers are helpless against this push. That is until Comedian Kristin Key first laments losing Target with the shout, “haven’t we lesbians suffered enough!” and then sings a parody song about breaking up with Target, her abusive ex, for whom she still has feelings. She goes on to remind us, however, that we still have Costco with auto parts right next to produce! And the fallacy falls apart. In the photo of an entire crowd of Germans giving the Nazi salute, a second look reveals that there is one man standing there with his arms folded. That one man proves that even in the
extreme of Nazi Germany, total control is still just a fallacy. When the Pharisees came out to tell Jesus that the king wanted to kill him, trying to convince him that when it came to standing against Herod, he was just a helpless victim, Jesus simply responded with his unchanging plans for the next three days.
In each of these examples we are shown how people in different circumstances and in different times, all push back against the Control Fallacy being sold to them. From those examples we too can learn how to give up that destructive way of thinking for the season of Lent (and maybe even longer!). Ilhan Omar shows us that sometimes just showing up is all that is needed to send this fallacy tumbling to the ground. When we show up here, we come to a place with rainbow chairs where the words of the apostle Paul continue to be proclaimed, that “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of us are one in Christ Jesus.” That one German with folded arms reminds us that sometimes opting out is all that is needed to destroy this fallacy. Kristin Key reminds us how powerful humor is when it comes to fighting control fallacies, and Jesus shows us that one of the very best ways to push back on the idea that we are nothing but helpless victims, is to simply to keep on doing the things we value day after day… like bringing compassion and kindness to our neighbors regardless of what they look like, who they love, or how they identify.
All of these examples show us ways to push back on the house of cards that is the Control Fallacy that we are being sold… the Fallacy that we have been reduced to helpless victims… and all of these examples show us in a wide variety of ways, just how exceptionally frail this fallacy really is and how easily it falls to pieces with just the slightest nudge.
To practice giving that fallacy a nudge, I want you to turn to someone around you and first tell them whose face comes to mind when you think about someone you love. Share a little backstory with them. Not a comprehensive lifelong biography! Just a little something to help them remember who that person is to you. (Give some time) Now, think about a little act of compassion or kindness that you plan to bring to that person this week. Then share your plans with your neighbor. (Give some time) This week, your assignment is to DO that little thing for the person you love and as you do it, remember… that what you are doing, in addition to the kindness, is telling THAT FOX that you are far from being a helpless victim and that they are king of nothing more than a frail falling house of cards. Amen.
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