Our neighbor George, who likes to talk about the life of Jesus after his nativity, recently asked if Christ-followers really want a grown-up Jesus.
What do you mean, I asked? He replied that we love the sweet, gentle, loveable Jesus as long as he stays in the manger. On the other hand, do we want any part of the Jesus who was a Sabbath lawbreaker and told us to "love our enemies"?
In the contemporary hymn written by Jane Parker Huber, she wrote "the baby in a manger stall is God Incarnate for us all" — and then went on to add "we cannot keep the Savior there, for Christ is meant for everywhere."
Taking Jesus out of the manger and allowing him to grow up could be a dangerous thing. In Jesus we often see a rebel, maybe even a revolutionary, who seemed to be turning the status quo upside down. George said he believed that many "Jesus followers" would be horrified to use those terms and added: Remember what cost Jesus his life was not being sweet and loveable, but his desire to make the Kingdom of God a present-day reality.
A key to understanding the teachings/message of Jesus centers on "the coming of the Kingdom of God." It is more than an eschatological event. When his disciples asked him how to pray, he told them that God wants the heavenly kingdom to be established on earth (see Matthew 6.10). Jesus calls for it and God will bring it, but the radical thing is that we have been invited to be part of seeing that the will of God on earth takes place. Is this what the Kaddish prayer means when it says "May God make his kingdom reign in your lifetime?" In Jesus the future apocalyptic hope has become a possible present reality.
Is it possible that the reign of God will come when we chose to walk in the light that shines in the darkness and not stay in the comfortable darkness of our own political and ideological opinions?
Shaking up those of us who want a couch-potato faith, Jesus said when you are giving a banquet invite first the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Jesus' invitation to "let the children come to me" isn't some sweet invitation because he loved children but a radical thought that the least of these, the last, shall be called first and those who feel they are the most important find themselves at the end of the line. Was God sending us a message when shepherds received an invitation to come to the manger before kings or presidents?
The biblical account of Jesus turning over the tables of the temple money-changers is a clarion call to put people before money and the power of banks and Wall Street. Jesus invites us — or is it a command? — to "share the wealth," which is a no-no in many political circles.
In his "Come, follow me" Jesus invites us, his followers, to accompany him on his ride into the holy city of Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday. The crowds shout "Hosanna," which means "save us" or "save your people." How will he save the people? He didn't sneak in by cover of darkness or by the back door. The way he entered the city said loud and clear if you want me, here I am! His message was that love is more powerful than hate. Love is more powerful than division or separation. Is it true that salvation comes through the love of God in Jesus?
It still is very comforting to receive the invitation from Jesus to "Come to me, all that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11.28 NRSV) At the same time there is some discomfort when we say "I will follow you wherever you go" and Jesus responds, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." (Luke 9.58) And if I follow you, I ask, where do I lay my head? And the reply is simply, "come and follow me."
Let the dialogue continue. I simply ask that you think on these things.
The Rev. Dr. Wm. Louis "Lou" Piel is pastor of Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Finksburg and can be reached at julo1@verizon.net.
