Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Red-White-And-Blue Lens


Apparently this pictured angered a bunch of folks. Imagine that, the gospel of Jesus making people angry. Maybe thats a clue to the American church, that our gospel doesn't seem to be as radical as Jesus'. I am not trying to imply a message that attacks folks, but when Jesus preached, people had 3 responses, fingers in the ears, trying to kill him, or following him. I think our gospel has become retail merchandise. We live in a culture where we buy products to fix us. Maybe we have bought the gospel for the same reason? What if the gospel is about empowering us, what if the gospel is a radical call to leave yourself. What if the gospel will actually ruin your life (as we know it). I believe Christ's work on the cross forgave sin, reconciled man's brokenness to himself. But Christ didn't stop there, so why do we? Why are we so comfortable that we have hijacked the gospel. Jesus says sell everything and give it to the poor, and we say Oh that's a metaphor, or he was just talking to the ruler who was greedy. But when it comes to inheriting the kingdom in all its splendor, of course he is talking specifically to you and I. When he says to take care of widows and orphans and feed the hungry and clothe the naked, we ignore that. Because we don't want to invite the least of these into our homes or lives. That would be inconvenient and uncomfortable.

My frustration is that I was born American. (Now I like America, and If I was born somewhere else I would be writing about a different set of cultural assumptions.) And everything I see is tainted with this red-white-and-blue lens. I want to follow Jesus in a real and true way. I don't need to follow the path of home ownership and early retirement if its not going to get me closer to God. And if America declares someone an enemy I want them to know Christ still died for you. I think we often forget that Paul was a terrorist too.