I'm back from our little trip to the Lower 48. Even so, with visitors this week, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to study this week's Sabbath School lesson.
This week the lesson (Lesson 7) title is "The Puzzle of His Conduct." As it the case with most of the lesson this quarter, we could spend considerable time discussing just one day's subtopic: Neglecting parents; displaying anger; destroying personal property; neglecting the persecuted; hanging out with undesirables.
Are Jesus' actions as recorded in the gospel accounts examples or patterns? Is there a difference between these two ways of thinking about His actions? I often hear Christians describe Jesus as our example; that we should follow his actions whenever we are confronted with a decision; i.e., What Would Jesus Do (WWJD)?
I have a problem with the basis of WWJD. I can find contradictory examples: e.g., on one hand Jesus seemed to dismiss his parents and family, yet on the other, he had deep respect for his mother. In a related note, we can find contradictory examples throughout the Bible.
In my mind, an example only works if everything about the situation in question is identical to the example: peoples, cultures, historical setting, education, technology, etc. However, we live in a very different time from 1st century Judea and Galilee. I find it more appropriate to look upon Jesus' actions as patterns to be adapted to circumstances as they come up in our lives. Jesus' actions were patterns that attempted to tangibly show God's love and care for His creation. Thus rather than enumerating specific details of our current situation and trying to find the closest match in Jesus' actions, I believe it would be better to work with the Holy Spirit to determine the most appropriate course of action that fits the current situation which best shows the love of God.
I think that Jesus' actions are examples in this one way: They paint a range of responses to the human condition that are all appropriate. I think that they can be seen as snapshots to help us realize that there is no formulaic method of determining how we respond to others. They are not examples that we are to necessarily imitate, but rather, examples to get us thinking about how we are to respond using our own personalities, interests, skills, and abilities.
The remainder of this discussion focuses on Thursday's study: Hanging out with undesirables.
If Jesus were to walk among us today, most of us would like to think that He'd hang out with us: Christians at the very least, and we'd like to think He'd spend most of his time hanging out with good church people. Many of us might also think that Jesus would be a good ____________ (fill in denominational affiliation).
If the gospel records are any indication, we might be the people Jesus spends the least time with. We might also be the ones most irritated with Jesus.
If Jesus were in the world today, I have a sense that He would be going to the druggies and inviting them to "follow Me." And then in the next block He'd be talking to the pusher and giving him an invitation, too. Going down the street He'd find both the prostitute and the pimp and saying to them, "Follow Me, and I'll teach you how you can bring others to know true love and satisfaction." And I'd bet that He'd be visiting all the residences of registered sex-offenders and inviting them to join Him in getting to know the greatest Lover. In fact both victims and abusers of all types would be following Him together. I suspect that Jesus somehow would find a way to make it work. (After all He had a tax collector and a Zealot in the group that he had.)
These would be the kinds of people Jesus would bring with Him to church for the weekly meetings. Would the church welcome Him? I think most would say to Him something like, "Jesus, we don't want any trouble. Some of your followers, well, they aren't safe. We have women and children, and I'm sure you understand what we mean. (We have insurance policies and church policies to consider...) If you leave them a block away and come by yourself, we'd love to have you join us."
No, as I thought about it this week, I really think that most of today's churches wouldn't be comfortable with Jesus, and Jesus wouldn't feel welcome in them.
Jesus welcomed into his circle anyone who wanted to find God. He entrusted his mission with them. No resumes, no interviews, no background checks. No batteries of personality and skills assessments. Most of us would probably advise him that this is no way to run an organization. We'd advise Jesus to be more prudent, safe, predictable. We'd point him to Harvard Business School studies on how to start, manage, and grow effective businesses.
But Jesus didn't come to start or run an organization, did He?
Maybe that's where the church first went astray... By becoming an organization.
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