Hogwash

 

Daily Office Reading 7-6-21 (Year One)

Luke 23:56-24:11

“But in their eyes this talk was clearly hogwash, and they refused to believe them.”

Lēros: Idle talk; hogwash; nonsense; foolishness.

“A more appropriate definition of nonsense, then, should be “language perceived as being unworthy of interpretation.” Stephen E. Kidd; Nonsense and Meaning in Ancient Greek Comedy

 

My dive into the meaning of the Greek words for “nonsense” began when I noticed that the word “lēros” appears only once in the entire New Testament— in this very passage. In looking it up, the only reference I could find was a scholarly work on Greek comedy, which is quoted above. Apparently the words for nonsensical talk in Greek (phluaria, lēros, phlēnaphia, and hythlos) often are used in reference to classical Greek comedies.

I began to wonder if the author of Luke-Acts intended the use of the word “lēros” to be funny in an ironic way. If so, what was the point? What was it about the apostles patronizing dismissal of the women’s story that was so important?

I mean, it’s quite clear in the Gospel that the women were in the right, and the other disciples were wrong not to believe them.

Of course, I inevitably jumped sideways at this point, and made the connection that it might be all about believing hogwash.

It’s not necessary for hogwash to stop being hogwash before we can believe!

No, it’s about learning how to jump right into foolishness with both feet, and believe it with gusto.

In fact, there’s quite a bit in Scripture (Corinthians mostly) about holy foolishness.

I think that was the lesson the male disciples learned, eventually—

If we want to follow Christ, we have to be cool with believing the most impossible and absurd things.

"I can't believe that!" said Alice.
"Can't you?" the Queen said in a pitying tone. "Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."
Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. 

Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."