That’s the central question in the Tom Selleck movie, Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise. It is the final (so far) movie about the life of Robert B. Parker’s Paradise, Massachusetts Police Chief. In it, the Massachusetts State Police accept Chief Stone’s offer to review one of their old, unresolved cases. Serial killer, Richard Steele, confessed to three, horrific, murders ... but is insistent he did not commit the fourth, identical murder.
No one believes him ... but absent a confession (or better evidence), the case remains open.
There are four premises used to conclude Steele is lying: (1) he confessed to being the killer, (2) the details of all four murders are identical, (3) the police did not reveal those details to the public, and (4) the killings stopped as soon as Steele was imprisoned.
As the story unfolds, Chief Stone becomes frustrated when some of the answers he’s getting to his inquiries seem to make no sense. He eventually voices a philosophy shared with him by a friend and counselor: “If you don’t like the answers you’re getting, check your premises.”
It’s good advice. And it leads Chief Stone to ... well, you’ll have to see the movie if you want to know more. For our purposes, it’s that philosophy we need to borrow. Though Jesus never actually spoke those words, He was constantly challenging His listeners (and still does, today) to “check your premises.”
We see a great example in this week’s selection from the Gospel of Mark. At the time of a Jesus, the Scribes were much admired for their knowledge of the Law of Moses, their erudition and their interpretations of precedents and tradition. Along with the Chief Priests, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees, they comprised the aristocracy of Israel.
In brief: because they interpreted the Law, they had the power to tell people how to live their lives. Most people made the assumption (premise) that they always had the people’s best interest at heart.
Jesus warns his followers to “Beware of the scribes.” He then urges them to consider some aspects of the Scribes that don’t add up. Jesus wants His followers to ask themselves: If the Scribes are so great, why do they have such a great need to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, to occupy the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets?
He then points out two serious problems: (1) the Scribes use their positions to impoverish widows, and (2) their prayers are not real, just attention-getting devices. Those are not the actions of people who really love the Lord.
His warning fits hand-in-glove with his command “to be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.” Without doing any harm, ourselves, we are to evaluate those who are in positions of spiritual leadership over us and apply some critical thinking when we do. The answer to “Who watches the Watchmen?” is ... us. We need to be ready to ask the hard questions ... and we can’t really do that if we start with the wrong premises.
And that’s why, if we don’t like the answers we’re getting, we need to check our premises.
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