The ‘Jesus’ I saw/see is a carpenter’s son from the Galilean village of Nazareth. He has few possessions. The cries of the oppressed echo in his mind. He can name neglected beggars who grasp for a few coins at the village gate. He touches the diseased and maimed. He surrenders much-needed money to exploiting tax collectors. He listens carefully as friends feverishly lash out with revolutionary invectives against Rome’s occupation army. He knows widows who have been manipulated out of their meager means by self-righteous religious leaders. He has neighbors whose hearts can no longer be stirred . . . and others who can be taken in by any charlatan offering hope of deliverance and restoration of the old days of national glory.
The ‘Jesus’ I saw/see travels at about age thirty to the Jordan River where his cousin is baptizing those who respond to a call for repentance. After baptism and much heart-searching time alone in the desert, he begins to attract attention as he makes his way back through Bethany and Cana to Capernaum. Once home again in Nazareth, he announces his intentions to a Sabbath audience by reading from the prophet Isaiah:
A riot breaks out in the synagogue in response to this bold claim. Neighbors he has known for years drive him out of the city. Narrowly escaping, he leaves for Capernaum.
Talk spreads rapidly from village to village. The crowds this ‘Jesus’ attracts swell with the curious and the serious from regions far and near -- in today’s terms, grisly miners . . . polished executives . . . political refugees . . . tinseled TV evangelists . . . homeless children . . . divinity school professors . . . maimed war veterans . . . streetwalkers . . . public defenders . . . AIDS victims . . . . Some seek personal relief. Some are drawn by his words. Some are ready for him to declare a holy war against Rome. Some begin plotting his death because he flaunts religious tradition, tells stories that honor the socially marginal, and questions the integrity of religious officials.
To keep his spiritual balance, the ‘Jesus’ I saw/see frequently seeks the isolation and quietness of high places. After one such all-night retreat, he comes down to a great multitude that has gathered to hear and receive. When he sits down on a level place, his special students identify themselves by moving close to him. Within hearing distance of many in the multitude, he begins to explain the implications of his way of living and thinking:
Then – after transposing this extraordinary vision for living into case study applications about murderous thoughts, sexual infidelity, and dishonesty – the ‘Jesus’ I saw/see pushes to the breaking point:
The scene does not end there. The ‘Jesus’ I saw/see goes on to make unsettling comments about the need to break free from linking self-image to material possessions, from self-aggrandizing shows of piety, from hypocritically judging others. But I see the focus in such a scene shifting to his students. Perhaps a few slip back into the crowd. Why?
To stay near meant admitting and uprooting any complicity with those who rewarded aggression, manipulation, intimidation, coercion. No simple task. Subtle attitudes as well as every action had to be scrutinized.
The ‘Jesus’ I saw/see travels at about age thirty to the Jordan River where his cousin is baptizing those who respond to a call for repentance. After baptism and much heart-searching time alone in the desert, he begins to attract attention as he makes his way back through Bethany and Cana to Capernaum. Once home again in Nazareth, he announces his intentions to a Sabbath audience by reading from the prophet Isaiah:
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
A riot breaks out in the synagogue in response to this bold claim. Neighbors he has known for years drive him out of the city. Narrowly escaping, he leaves for Capernaum.
Talk spreads rapidly from village to village. The crowds this ‘Jesus’ attracts swell with the curious and the serious from regions far and near -- in today’s terms, grisly miners . . . polished executives . . . political refugees . . . tinseled TV evangelists . . . homeless children . . . divinity school professors . . . maimed war veterans . . . streetwalkers . . . public defenders . . . AIDS victims . . . . Some seek personal relief. Some are drawn by his words. Some are ready for him to declare a holy war against Rome. Some begin plotting his death because he flaunts religious tradition, tells stories that honor the socially marginal, and questions the integrity of religious officials.
To keep his spiritual balance, the ‘Jesus’ I saw/see frequently seeks the isolation and quietness of high places. After one such all-night retreat, he comes down to a great multitude that has gathered to hear and receive. When he sits down on a level place, his special students identify themselves by moving close to him. Within hearing distance of many in the multitude, he begins to explain the implications of his way of living and thinking:
If you take the narrow and precarious path -- you will know poverty first hand . . . you will be mournfully touched by the human condition . . . you will be gentle . . . you will be driven by a passion for justice . . . you will be forgiving . . . you will be single-minded . . . you will be peacemakers . . . you will be like salt, or a city built on a hill, or a torch for light in your communities. Many will laugh at you, ridicule you, even abuse you just as previous generations did to those who stood up for mercy and justice. But you will be consumed by a vision of being together, the standards for which are not satisfied when the secrets of the heart contradict observable behavior.
Then – after transposing this extraordinary vision for living into case study applications about murderous thoughts, sexual infidelity, and dishonesty – the ‘Jesus’ I saw/see pushes to the breaking point:
Some teachers argue -- “Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth”. My view – do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer the other also. If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, give your cloak as well. If a Roman soldier forces you to carry his baggage for one mile, do so for two miles. Give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Expect nothing in return. Some teachers argue -- “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy”. My view – love your enemies . . . pray for those who persecute you . . . and do good for them. . . . It is hardly enough to flock together like birds of a feather. The question that matters is -- who are you when you are with people who are not like you or who do not like you? . . . It is far more healing and, perhaps to your surprise, more blessed to be a giving sort of person rather than a taking sort of person.
The scene does not end there. The ‘Jesus’ I saw/see goes on to make unsettling comments about the need to break free from linking self-image to material possessions, from self-aggrandizing shows of piety, from hypocritically judging others. But I see the focus in such a scene shifting to his students. Perhaps a few slip back into the crowd. Why?
To stay near meant admitting and uprooting any complicity with those who rewarded aggression, manipulation, intimidation, coercion. No simple task. Subtle attitudes as well as every action had to be scrutinized.
