# Matthew Chapter 12
---
## Summary
Jesus is criticised as his disciples pick heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath he points to Davids own defilement of the temple when he and his men were starving. The Pharisee's seek to test Jesus and clarify if he will health on the Sabbath. Jesus returns the question to them and heals the man. But noting their intent to destroy him withdraws. The Pharisee's again seek to discredit Jesus by claiming he casts out demons in the power of Satan thereby demonstrating their lack of knowledge of how Kingdom's operate.

Jesus notes that a good tree is known by it's fruit, and Jesus notes the seriousness of every careless word that individuals must account for. Some of the scribes and Pharisee's demand Jesus offer a sign of his authenticity, Jesus then uses paralellism to denote how those in Nineveh were repentant at the preaching of Jonah but that this generation has failed to repent. Jesus then talks about how `spirits` are likely to return to an ordered house. Jesus then denies his mother and brother claiming that those present are his mothers and brothers.

## Imagery and Theme's
The authority of Jesus is something that is clearly outlined within this chapter. Jesus is anything but 'humble' proclaiming himself Lord of the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, lecturing religious authorities and disowning his own family. One might consider these morally questionable activities if one failed to recognise that Jesus reports to a higher authority than the universal [law]. Jesus has in the preceeding passage noted that only *he* knows the father and those whom he chooses to reveal the father too. This is the infinite to which Jesus defers. 

Jesus also demonstrates effectively his skill set as a teacher, making an effective use of parallelism and seemingly always having the right answer to the situation in which he finds himself. Confronted by those who seek to trap you? Not a problem for Jesus. Your followers are experiencing criticism from religious authorities? Again not an issue for Jesus. In each case he demonstrates his wisdom.

Nestled in the midst of all of the many attempts to trap him against the universal [Law] Jesus offer an olive branch to his detractors. He notes that real goodness, truth and beauty does not stem from blind adherence to the Universal [Law]. There is something more that he desires, namely mercy. Mercy is the key here which the Pharisee's have not found. They wish to control the situation demanding a sign, seeking to trap Jesus, seeking to discredit him. There is no mercy in this. There is no love in any of their actions. This is the religious spirit which so often we let indwell.

For myself I have become increasingly aware of the symptoms of not dwelling in the pattern. I become increasingly stressed and agitated. I find myself criticising others, and most frequently institutional aspects of the Church. From the simplicity of the message delivered to the content of the bland repetitive poems put to pop-post-rock that we call worship. Whilst there is some `truth` in these criticisms it's the delivery that is problematic. I don't say it with love, it's almost a projection of my own shortcomings onto the things that mean most to me. It is one of the reasons I find the 'social justice' movement so unpalatable. A militant approach to dealing with social iniquity in my experience generate resentment rather than virtue in others. In any case recognising that mercy is missing is the first step towards taking a deep breath and adopting one's approach. 

In Social Work we talk about `reflexivity` which is consciousness of how one's sense making equipment influences interpretation. For example I'm a middle child, and as such have a proclivity towards `middle-child-syndrome` which I something like a hyper-awareness to being overlooked. For example my Parents took digital photo's of all their children's Birthdays. Yet when looking through Photo's I was first to spot that I quantitatively have less photo's that my siblings for *every* one of my Birthdays. In all probability this is coincidental but not to my pattern finding brain. Similarly in the work place it's easy to see all the events when I have been overlooked rather than those times I have been praised or rewarded. Reflexivity would be a valuable addition to the Christian life to recognise how your formative experiences shape latter thinking and to in-the-moment choose to act otherwise.