As I read one of Andrew Greeley's books, I came across this delightful
passage.
"Jesus," he continued to us, "had a very bad habit of refusing to fit
into anyone's paradigms. He learned a lot from the Pharisees, but He
wasn't one of them. He may have hung out with the Essenes, but He was not
a compulsive hand–washer. He was surely a Jew, steeped in the Torah, but
He put a very different spin on it. He was charming and even witty and
told wonderful stories but He refused to be a celebrity. He dealt politely
with those in authority, but did not sign on with them. Half the time He
reassured people and the other half of the time He scared them. He told
all the old stories but with new and disconcerting endings. He was
patently a troublemaker. Which is why they had to get rid of Him.
"It's been that way ever since. Everyone claims Him for their own, He's
on our side. He's doing things our way. He confirms what we say. Then when
we think we've sewed Him up, He's not there anymore. When we have
domesticated Jesus, we may have a very interesting person on our hands,
even a superstar maybe. Alas, it is not the real Jesus. He's gone
somewhere else, preaching His contradictions about His Father's kingdom
and stirring up His kind of trouble. A Jesus who does not disconcert and
shake us up is not Jesus at all."
Wow! How many times have I gotten comfortable with Jesus? You know what I
mean
— just gently stirred. And then, when I think
I've got everything under control and comfortable, doesn't He shake
me up and shake up my life, usually pretty hard. I often say, "Life is full
of surprises." That means Jesus has just shaken me up again.
Something that bothers me is when I see a Church or Sunday School or Home
Study Group or any cluster of Christians who "correctly" understand Jesus.
You can spot them pretty easily when they begin saying things like "Ours is
the only way to Heaven" or "You're not worshipping the right Jesus" or,
worst of all, "You must worship Jesus our way." These people really need to
be shaken up.
Too often we forget that the things that bind us together as Christians
— love of Jesus, love of each other, faith in
His Resurrection, sharing the bread and wine in Remembrance of Him. These
things are (or should be) much stronger than the things that separate us — the days and times we worship, the exact wording of this or that creed or
document, our methods of worship, our belief in various "writings" or
prophets, the songs we sing, the list seems to go on and on.
As I explain in About The Author,
my wife and I have actively participated in over a
dozen different denominations — from Baptist to Roman Catholic with
Evangelical Lutheran, United Methodist, Christian & Missionary Alliance,
Presbyterian and others thrown in for good measure. EVERYWHERE we
have worshipped we have found some of God's people. To go further, I have
worked with and become friends with people active in Christian groups with
whom I probably will never have the opportunity to worship. Yet, these were
wonderful Christians, loving and serving God as the best they could. Do I
agree with everything they say and do? No, but that's not the point. I don't
have to agree with them on everything. Isn't it enough that we both love
Jesus as we understand Him today and we are willing to change as our
understanding grows or as He shakes us up? |
|
John said to Jesus, "Master, we saw someone using your
name to cast out demons. We tried to stop him because he isn't in our
group." But Jesus said, "Don't stop him! Anyone who is not against you is
for you." (Luke 9:49-50 NLT)
"Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop
criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others,
you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37 NLT)
"Not all people who sound religious are really godly.
They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. On
judgment day many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and
cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But
I will reply, 'I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were
unauthorized.'" (Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)
|
|
Lord God of Heaven and Earth, Creator of the Universe,
I trustingly and fearfully ask you to shake me up. Shake me out of my
complacency and my comfortableness. Today help me to see you, your son,
Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in a new way. Help me to see others as your children. Do not
allow me to create a stumbling block for anyone who wishes to find you.
Amen. |