Growing up Catholic, I loved all the pageantry that pointed toward the divine, miraculous nature of Jesus. Angels, miracles, heaven and hell, transubstantiation (Eucharist turning into the real body and blood of Jesus), virgin birth, tongues of fire at Pentecost … and that is just the New Testament excitement! God smiting my enemies with floods and fire and turning people into pillars of salt? Bonus! Bring on Ezekial with his wheel in the air and Joshua blowing down the walls of Jericho with a trumpet.
Of course, based on the myriad of rules from the Bible and the Church, it seemed like no one would be safe from damnation and eventually, I found myself in a fugue state between what I was being taught and what seemed right - and not just “right” in the sense of Satan’s grand plot for my soul, but also like “hmmm … something doesn’t quite seem right about what the church is saying vs what Jesus said. At the time, I didn’t realize this was the same conundrum Martin Luther had faced 500 years ago, and I wasn’t nearly as committed as he was, so I was just going to walk away and try not to be bothered by it anymore.
Luckily, some brilliant people continue to ponder our theology. As we approach Holy Week and Easter, a time charged with some of the most powerful of Jesus’ miracles - including his death and resurrection, here are some of the ways my view of Jesus has changed in the last 20 years. Many of these thoughts were condensed in a list by theologian Jim Palmer, but are all things I have come to understand during my spiritual journey.
Jesus thought deeply about how people treated each other. He preached about accepting children into worship, talking to women, and loving people who society would usually cast out. In short, he was trying to transform society, in a humanitarian way, for the living. We forget that when we focus on what we need to do to get into heaven. If we think it is right to treat people badly and we are forgiven at the very end, or Jesus died to save us so we get a free pass, then we’ve missed the point.
We should be focusing on spreading Jesus' message of love. That’s what Jesus asked us to do. He didn’t say, “worship my name every Sunday and then go on with your lives.” He was confident in who he was, but I’m pretty sure he was a humble guy who really just wished everyone would play nice. Jesus’ death and resurrection is an excellent reminder of our salvation, but it is also important to see that while Jesus was alive, he was teaching us that there was already no separation between us and God.
If we are waiting for Jesus to return and save us from all the suffering of the world, we aren’t taking any responsibility for making the world better ourselves. We should be using our own power with the example Jesus taught us to effect change rather than hoping that saying Jesus’ name will magically make things happen. There IS power in prayer - but that doesn’t mean we sit back all the time and let God do all the work.
Jesus is a beacon of courage, justice, humanity, beauty, and love. If we focus on his message and the gifts God has given us, we can hear how the Holy Spirit is calling us to be part of the Resurrection promise.
Your sibling in Christ,
John Johns, Music Director