jesus would bother us
The more I read and learn about the Jesus, the more I think that if he were here today, contrary to popular belief most of us would not have liked him. Many think that if Jesus were here today he’d be our pal, walk around with us, and smile approvingly at all the things we do day to day.
More likely, He would have come and challenged us, and the way we live our lives to such an extent that, while we would never kill him, we would more likely brand him a radical, a heretic, or a liberal. We would say those things so that we could discount what he was saying as rubbish, and live the way we want to live paying him little or no attention. He would challenge us in many ways that would make us rather uncomfortable I think …
Consider these words of Jesus, and then think through the realities of the Church in America.
“… a teacher of the law came to [Jesus] and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Jesus was homeless … the one who came to start the revolution that we call church had no structure that was rightfully his. In many places in the world, churches can relate to this. I have a friend who was a pastor in Cuba for years. His building was a three sided corrugated metal lean-to with a blue tarp on the open end. Some of the most recent building projects by evangelical churches of note in the U.S. within the last three years have totaled $62 million, $72 Million, $90 million, and $100 million respectively. The problem however is this … that in America we have buildings but no churches, and in Cuba they have churches but no buildings.
Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus literally says, “In your going, make disciples …” It’s almost like he presumed that we would be going out, that we would be living out the kingdom here on earth. Now we call people and instead of saying “Follow me as I follow Jesus …” (which is the nuts and bolts of following Jesus). We say, “Come sit in my pew.” From the very start we teach them to sit. Jesus walked everywhere with his disciples … why are we not taking people places to show them what it means to be his hands and feet?
Jesus said, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus was interested in our bringing heaven here, now, and telling people of the availability of God’s Kingdom on this earth. Yet, one of the most popular tag lines that people say now is “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would spend eternity?” This single question has caused much doubt and nervousness among the ranks of people as to whether or not they will go to heaven or hell. They spend their time worrying over whether or not they are still “saved.” This fear is rooted in this very question. We have become so enamored with getting into heaven, and getting out of this world that we have missed the very heart of Jesus when he teaches his disciples to pray.
Jesus said, “Follow me.”
His disciples went to some pretty suspect places, had dinner with some fairly unsavory characters, and even saw a woman let her hair down! We say, “Come know about Jesus.” We have text books, work books, study books, study helps, Jesus books, not “worldly” books, and how to be a better person books (I wanted to work in a joke about Christian Romance Novels, but it just didn’t fit). We spend so much time trying to know about this Galilean Jew named Jesus that we essentially miss following him around … we miss the meals, the pain, the joy, the testing … we miss living.
Yes, Jesus would get under our skin wouldn’t he? The reality is this … we know what he said, and we know how he lived. Many have chosen to do little with it other than to take the light that Jesus is and shine it so brightly on themselves that they are blinded to anything else. The Jesus that came called us to act … to restore, to rebuild, to renew … to place ourselves last so that in dying to ourselves we may find life.