Jesus Shows Us What God Prioritizes

Jesus said, 'When you see me, you see the Father'. Through his actions and words he was and is continually reinterpreting what we humans understand about God.

One way in which God has been badly misunderstood is in his relationship with the law. Often Jesus bumped up against the religious system and its leaders because their interpretations of the law misled the people. An example of this was Jesus' teaching about the sabbath: 'the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' His actions backed up this teaching; he would often break the religious rules about keeping the Sabbath by healing and helping people on the Sabbath.

This simple statement by Jesus carries profound meaning for our understanding of God. His priority is the well being of humans while religious systems are preoccupied with keeping the rules at all costs. The commandment to honor the Sabbath as a day of rest was intended to serve humans, not to burden us. But the maintainers of religious systems turn the Creator's loving care for humanity into a heavy yoke by making obedience to the rule the issue rather than the well being of the humans.

In his book, Jesus Before Christianity, Albert Nolan says, "Jesus was not opposed to the law as such, he was opposed to the way people used the law, their attitude to the law. The scribes and Pharisees had made the law into a burden, whereas it was supposed to be a service...They were using the sabbath against people instead of using it for them...for Jesus it (the law) was supposed to be for the benefit of people, to serve their needs and genuine interests...Jesus' attitude led to permissiveness whenever the needs of people would not be met by observance of the law, and to strictness whenever this would best serve their needs. The law was made for us, we were not made to serve and bow down before the law."

Jesus' approach to the law reveals God's approach to the law and shows how important human beings are to God. This not only helps us understand what God is like but it empowers us to approach the law in the same manner, seeing humans' well being as more important than adherence to the law. This requires genuine care for people and discernment of what God's care should look like in a particular instance so is a challenge to us who want to maintain a religious system or who want an easy quick black and white answer to people's problems.

Good News for All!

The dramatic announcement made to the shepherds is truly good news about what God is like! Unfortunately, in much of her history Christianity has lived and interpreted the story of Jesus in such a way that it doesn't come across as very good news for all but instead a story of exclusive qualifications in order to belong.  Let's listen once more to the angelic announcement: 

 

Luke 2 ^- "And in the same area there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And then an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid. But the angel said to them, “Listen! Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was with the angel a company of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

                                                                 Glory to God in the highest,
                                      and on earth peace, and good will toward men.”

As I reflect on this beautiful portion afresh, I see the following truths about God in the highlighted phrases:

First, "Do not fear." This suggests that God knows we humans are fearful people and wants us to understand that, unlike the intimidating gods of the nations, he is coming to us in an unaggressive way as a weak and helpless baby. Rather than fearing him, he desires that we trust in his loving kindness towards us.

Second, "good news of great joy." Our God is a joyful God with good news for us. This announcement isn't that of a vengeful, vindictive God but One, who like loving parents, is eager to surprise their children with gifts of pure love and affection.

Third, "to all people." This God is not tribal. He isn't coming for only one particular group of people but for all people, all nations. This is staggering news for humans whose bent is toward thinking that God has favorites or a favorite religion.

Fourth, "the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."  This God comes in the most vulnerable form possible and is born into the poor of society, underscoring his desire to identify with the lowliest and the disenfranchised of society and to come in the most non-threatening way possible.

Fifth, "peace on earth." This tells us that his nature is peace-loving and non-violent. He comes, unlike all other gods and kings, with no rivalrous nor competitive agenda, no need to prove himself nor to dominate anyone. The rule of His kingdom is a rule of peace.

Sixth, "good will toward men." This God comes with good will, good intentions towards all people. All other gods and rulers view people as a means to accomplish their agenda and glory. Our God is all about good for everyone with no need for dominance and glory.

This is an astonishing announcement! Everything about it shouts that this God has no animosity towards humanity but rather is in love with humans and will do anything to come to our aid, and because he is how he is, he won't assert and force himself and his ways on anyone. I can respond to such a God...

A Free and Fearless Space

Henri Nouwen summarized our calling (as followers of Jesus) this way:

"That is our vocation: to convert the enemy into a guest and to create the free and fearless space where brotherhood and sisterhood can be formed and fully experienced."

In my opinion, the dismantling of western evangelicalism of our day is a good thing. Over time, organized western Christian religion has become more about setting boundaries to determine who's in and who's out than about the kingdom (commonwealth) of God which is open to all, according to Jesus.

A number of young adults have come to me these days disillusioned with the "gospel" they were given and long for "a free and fearless space" to be part of. 

At the risk of oversimplifying things, I want to challenge the generations after my generation to do the hard work of finding and/or creating "free and fearless spaces" where anyone who sincerely cares about the outlandish message of Jesus (which includes the outsider and those who aren't 'productive') can experience genuine brotherhood and sisterhood. This will require a living imagination, hard work, perseverance, willingness to make mistakes, willingness to disagree, lots of inconvenience and humility....and more.

The more "free and fearless spaces" that are created (no matter how small), the more the ways of Jesus' commonwealth society will permeate the earth. 

God's Splendor Appears in the Crucifixion and in a Society of Equals

Matthew's account of Jesus' crucifixion in Matt. 27:45-54 includes the following dramatic and frightening happenings:

"At noon, a darkness fell over the whole land..."

"...the curtain in front of the Holy of Holies was ripped in half..."

"...the earth quaked"

"...boulders were split"

"...tombs were opened"

"Many bodies of holy ones who had fallen asleep were raised."

"(Those) standing guard over Jesus' body were terror-stricken at seeing the earthquake and all that was happening..."

Jesus' solidarity with those on the fringes of society resulted in his crucifixion; the impact of this radical face-off with man-made hierarchies and barriers caused the earth to quake in response. His refusal to bow to the oppressive religious and political powers made possible a new community of equals on earth; this new community was birthed out of the terrifying confrontation between Humility and Dominance, resulting in the Seed of humility dying and falling into the ground to bear fruit, and in the upheaval and ineffectiveness of the systems of dominance.

The prophet Isaiah alludes to this by declaring that the splendor and beauty of God will be seen when the systems of inequity and hierarchy are leveled/disrupted - the low will be raised and the high will be brought low:

A voice is crying out:
“Clear the Lord’s way in the desert!
Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!
4 Every valley will be raised up,
    and every mountain and hill will be flattened.
Uneven ground will become level,
    and rough terrain a valley plain.
5 The Lord’s glory will appear,
    and all humanity will see it together;

    the Lord’s mouth has commanded it.” (Isaiah 40:3-5 CEB).

In Jesus' crucifixion we see the splendor of God (his humility, compassion, solidarity with society's 'undeserving') on full display. 

In our world today, the expression of the splendor of God is wherever a community of equals demonstrates compassion, humility and solidarity with whoever society labels as undeserving.

May his Common Society come, and his will be done on earth as in heaven... Amen.

Lent - Day 10

"Faith is not a matter of certainty but of courage...Nothing important can be imposed by coercion."

                                                                                              -- Catherine Keller

Lent - Day 9

"Popular Lent is too occupied with guilt and repentance...Lent is rather seeing how to take steps into God's future so that we are no longer defined by what is past and no longer distracted by what we have treasured or feared about the present..."

                     --Walter Brueggemann (A Way Not Our Own)

Lent - Day 8

"The only way to make rapid progress along the path of divine love is to remain very little and put all our trust in God."

                                                                                  --Therese of Lisieux