A few weeks ago I drove up to my newly built beautiful suburban Lutheran church. As I stepped out of my late model vehicle, I noticed a bent over, dirty, unkempt man walking along a sidewalk near the church carrying a paper sack. I don't know what was in that sack, but I suspect it was a cheap brand of alcohol. He was such a contrast to the dressed up people coming and going from the church. Some were greeting one another and making plans to meet at restaurants for brunch. "Wow", I thought to myself, "If I invited this man in to the worship service what would we have to offer him that would make a difference in his life?" A liturgy that is the lingo of Lutherans? What would "Hosanna to God in the Highest" mean to him when his life is in the gutter? What does "Hosanna" mean anyway? When the service starts with a pulpit talk about making monetary pledges, while necessary, it can make the poor only feel poorer. Many of the prayers are rote and the hymns and responses and Bible stories are known only to those who have been Lutheran for 50 years. We support the down-trodden and needy with our offerings and prayers, but do we want them in our midst? Do we want to invite them to go to the Country Club Easter Sunday Brunch with us and have them sit at our table? They may burp loudly and not say thank-you and excuse me. They may have poor grammar and smell funny. Their children may be unruly and run around and say embarrassing things. They may have life styles that are at odds with our Christian ethics and morals. The Country Club Manager may ask us to leave.
What would Jesus do?
I think that is an easy question to answer. Long before WWJD was printed on any bracelet, when I was little, my Mom told us that in any situation we should try to think like Jesus. Of course I mess up with that all the time but I keep trying. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI like this reflection by the North Dakota born Marcus Borg. It shows that there is more than one answer to the question "What Would Jesus Do?' within any given context:
ReplyDelete"'What Would Jesus Do?' About a decade ago, it became famous once again, mostly among young evangelical Christians. WWJD even had its own jewelry. It's a good question, an important question. And our answer to that question depends upon what we think Jesus was like. Which Jesus? The Jesus who tells us about the importance of believing in him so that we can be with him forever? The Jesus who will soon come again to judge the world? If so, then what Jesus would do is to try to convert people to believing in him. The Jesus who teaches a rigorous personal morality? If so, I suspect the answer would be following a
code of moral purity, much of it having to do with sex.
I do not know how the question was answered in circles that emphasized WWJD. My point is the more general one: our image of Jesus shapes our answer to that question. To use the image of Jesus I have sketched, what would Jesus do in our context? He might once again disrupt the temple—the unholy alliance between religion and empire. I think he would teach the wrongness and futility of violence in human affairs. He would be passionate about compassion and justice as the primary virtues of a life centered in the God whom he knew. And of course, he would teach the importance of a deep centering in God. Without such centering, Jesus's vision ceases to be Jesus's vision.
Source: "Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious" by Marcus Borg, page 518.
Oops I miswrote the title of the book, "Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary."
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Sam. Marcus Borg speaks with much wisdom.(North Dakota roots did that for him!) I'm always interested in your point of view.
ReplyDelete