The Trouble with Jesus
by Constance Hastings
The Trouble with Jesus is he doesn’t ignore the worst of us by putting us in a stupor of spiked eggnog while snorting Ho Ho Ho.
Well Jesus, you have finally lived up to what you really are. Here it is the start of the Christmas season. We’re looking for sugar-coated gumdrops on gingerbread houses while people sing of a winter wonderland and everyone is in a Hallmark movie finding love. But no, that’s not you. It’s almost like you rub it in our faces that the world is going to come to a horrible end. No wonder people would rather forget you the rest of the year.
Go for it then. Just pretend that people aren’t dying in war, children held hostage, old disputes never end but are greased in blood. Sorry to be so graphic, but get real. Jesus did not shy away from what the world is doing to itself. The Trouble with Jesus is he doesn’t ignore the worst of what is by putting us in a stupor of spiked eggnog while snorting Ho Ho Ho.
Apocalypse Now
Jesus frankly describes how the sun, moon and stars will go dark. “Horrible days,” he calls them. Bow your head; take some deep breaths. Whatever the future holds, the present isn’t so calm and bright as the carol would have us sing. Whether it’s headline news, in your backyard, or across your own kitchen table, horrible days are among us. People call out to God so much, “the powers of heaven” are shaken as the world quakes in anxiety and fear.
Don’t like his righteous realism? Go find a cave. Like that will really help. Perhaps what Jesus is getting at is how in the pitch black of midnight expect to see God as you never have before.
God on the Move
An image of the Son of Man sending out angels to gather from the ends of earth and heaven his people has distinct overtones of end times. Possibly so. Yet there’s another thought. This rounding up of the faithful could be the drafting of an army, a multitude trained to fight according to his plan. Not that the plan is always appreciated. That’s why there’s a fight of sorts, a forceful, insistent push shoved up against those who would eliminate his movement to meet the world and bring his peace.
Lieutenants in Mission
For all of his graphic descriptiveness, Jesus comes at his message from another angle, that of storytelling. The central figure of a homeowner is easy to identify, the Son of Man. He hints at what will come. The homeowner leaves but instructs his workers as to what their jobs are, particularly the watchman/gatekeeper. Everyone is told to keep a sharp lookout in the meantime because they don’t know when the homeowner will return.
These workers know what their duties and responsibilities are. Love. Serve. Engage. No hiding in a cave allowed.
Love: That is, love God with all you’ve got and your neighbor/enemy too. That means whoever shows up in your journey through this life, you are to love them. No apathy in this room.
Serve: Some of the gathered ones are called to wage this fight directly with the big issues: terrorism, war, racial injustice. Just as central to the battle are those who give of themselves in small but consistent measures. They feed Jesus’ sheep when hungry, naked, sick and imprisoned with small, yet regular contributions of goods and finances. They write to jailed convicts, and they listen sympathetically to the depressed, lonely, grieving, abandoned, abused. They are seen as ones who wash feet.
Engage: This isn’t a solitary venture. No army can succeed by sending out its infantry one by one. Community is central. That means being with others in love and service as Jesus would do, and connecting with those who have no clue about the season ahead and it real meaning. This Jesus was born in a manger, lived just as those whom God created for the purpose of relationship. Emanuel was his name, meaning God with Us. Be it family, the people down the street, your city, nation and world, be known as a member that is active, supportive and ultimately makes it a better place because of how you live like him.
Where’s the Hope?
Prepare for it, Jesus said. He is coming, both in a few weeks with a holiday celebration and in the eternal realm. Watch for it. You won’t know the exact timing so be expectant with eyes wide open. More often than not, it happens in quiet, church mouse-like fashion, only visible to the people of the night, the modern-day shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night.
But when the gathered ones live out with gifts that speak of Jesus’ name, hope begins.
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