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Christianity does not always have the best reputation. From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to the Salem Witch Trials, Christians have done some awful things over the years. Which may be why Gandhi, a Hindu, says, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Some Christian ministers and televangelists demonstrate the truth in Gandhi’s words. They preach a Jesus who seems full of hate, homophobia, bigotry, racism, sexism, judgmentalism, and resentment toward the poor and the homeless. They seem to believe that Jesus said things like, “Love your neighbor...unless your neighbor is an immigrant, a Muslim, a woman, gay, poor, homeless, or is in some way different from you…then it’s okay to hate your neighbor.” That’s not who Jesus was. That’s not the authentic Jesus. That Jesus is a lie. That Jesus is a fake. That Jesus is a hoax. So why is that the Jesus some people learn about in church? Perhaps because parishioners in the pews don’t know any better. I heard a preacher once talk about “Those heathen Jews in Hollywood,” and I saw a congregant dutifully taking notes of the preacher’s sermon in her Bible. Oy vey! Hopefully Christians will do better, without apology. Go in Peace. Live in Love. Abide in Joy.
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I’ve come across a group a few times called, “Jews For Jesus.” And I thought: That’s great, because Jesus himself was a lifelong Jew. Many Christians probably think Jesus was the first Christian. Nope. Jesus was born, lived, and died a Jew. In fact, he was a rabbi, and you can’t get much more Jewish than that. So I figured Jews For Jesus is a perfect group.
Alas, come to find out, Jews for Jesus is a group of Messianic Jews, Jews who believe in the Messiah, i.e., Jesus. That would be like a bunch of Jewish people calling themselves, “Christians For Moses.” Jews For Jesus might better be called, “Christians For Jesus.” Christians For Jesus might sound ridiculously redundant. Of course you would think Christians are for Jesus. But I sometimes wonder if that’s true. After all Jesus said, “Love your neighbor.” But some Christians seem to think Jesus actually said: Love your neighbor…unless your neighbor is an immigrant, a Muslim, a person of color, a woman, a member of the LGBTQ community, a homeless person, a poor person, or is in some way different from them. So obviously not all Christians are for Jesus. At least not the Jesus of the Bible. They’re for some different Jesus, a Jesus who’s a bigot, a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a cold-hearted human. So maybe Christians do need a group called, “Christians For Jesus,” Christians who believe in the authentic Jesus. The Jesus who teaches people to: Love your neighbor…whoever your neighbor happens to be. Go in Peace. Live in Love. Abide in Joy. I heard a Christian song the other day that gave me the creeps. At least one line did. It was about Jesus, of course, and the song said of Jesus, “You lived to die.” Say what? Who lives to die? Not anyone I know, including Jesus.
I know the point of the song: Jesus lived to die for our sins. But did he really? Why? Because God demanded a human sacrifice to make up for our mistakes? So is God like some ancient deities who demanded a virgin be thrown into a volcano to appease the gods? Does that mean God was pleased when Jesus was crucified? Was God thinking when Jesus was hanging from the cross: Oh, goody. Now I can forgive humans for not being perfect? Didn’t God know from the time humans were created that we weren’t perfect? If God wanted people to be perfect, wouldn’t God have created people to be angels, not humans? Jesus didn’t live to die for our sins. Jesus died because he angered people by saying and doing things they didn’t want to hear or see. “Blessed are the peacemakers.” “What?!” Say the warmongers. “Blessed are you who are poor…But woe to you who are rich.” “What?!” Say the wealthy and the well-off. “Love your enemies.” “What?!” Say the vengeful. Jesus overturns the moneychangers tables. “What?!” Say the Capitalists. So, Jesus didn’t live to die. He died because of how he lived. Speaking truth to power. And Jesus lived, not to die, but to show us how to live. As Jesus himself said, “I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” L’Chaim! To life! Go in Peace. Live in Love. Abide in Joy. I heard a Christian song the other day that gave me the creeps. At least one line did. It was about Jesus, of course, and the song said of Jesus, “You lived to die.” Say what? Who lives to die? Not anyone I know, including Jesus.
I know the point of the song: Jesus lived to die for our sins. But did he really? Why? Because God demanded a human sacrifice to make up for our mistakes? So is God like some ancient deities who demanded a virgin be thrown into a volcano to appease the gods? Does that mean God was pleased when Jesus was crucified? Was God thinking when Jesus was hanging from the cross: Oh, goody. Now I can forgive humans for not being perfect? Didn’t God know from the time humans were created that we weren’t perfect? If God wanted people to be perfect, wouldn’t God have created people to be angels, not humans? Jesus didn’t live to die for our sins. Jesus died because he angered people by saying and doing things they didn’t want to hear or see. “Blessed are the peacemakers.” “What?!” Say the warmongers. “Blessed are you who are poor…But woe to you who are rich.” “What?!” Say the wealthy and the well-off. “Love your enemies.” “What?!” Say the vengeful. Jesus overturns the moneychangers tables. “What?!” Say the Capitalists. So, Jesus didn’t live to die. He died because of how he lived. Speaking truth to power. And Jesus lived, not to die, but to show us how to live. As Jesus himself said, “I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” L’Chaim! To life! Go in Peace. Live in Love. Abide in Joy. I always get a kick out of how Jesus is portrayed in the movies. He looks like some Hollywood Hunk. At the risk of seeming stereotypical, given the fact that Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew 2,000 years ago, chances are Jesus looked less like Mel Gibson and more like Mel Brooks. (Who is a Hollywood Hunk in his own right.)
I understand Tinseltown’s point. If Jesus was followed by dozens, if not thousands, and now more than a billion people, he must have been tall, dark (darker than he’s usually portrayed), and handsome. He couldn’t have been short, dark, and average looking, and been followed by all those people, right? Oh really? Well, Hitler was short and lots of people followed him. (Ooo, bad example?) I believe people followed Jesus, not because of his looks, but because of his words and actions. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Many people today follow Jesus because they are dispirited and want to be blessed. “Blessed are those who mourn.” Many people today follow Jesus because they are mourning and want to be blessed. “Blessed are the merciful.” Many people today follow Jesus because they are merciful and want to be blessed. I’m not saying do away with all the paintings of a good-looking Jesus. Let’s just remember why people follow Jesus. Hopefully because of what he said and did. Not because he looks like he just walked off the pages of GQ. Go in Peace. Live in Love. Abide in Joy. |
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November 2020
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