It was a moment that could only occur in one of those Bible studies that can only take place among Christians who live privileged lives -- who have a lot invested in the here and now, who have a great deal to lose. We were studying the the Sermon on the Mount. As you know, that’s not the easiest piece of Scripture to swallow, so one has to read it with defenses at the ready. And we were ready. You simply have to be when you know how prone Jesus is to making unworkable, unreasonable demands.And the timing of the moment was perfect. Someone read Matthew 5:38-48 with all its gristle (which is no problem because you can always spit it out), and before our teacher could even begin the lesson some obviously experienced Christian provided the moment: “Does Jesus really mean to say…?” And with that one move, we emasculated the Sermon and empowered ourselves. Listen. Can't you hear the honesty, the searching, and the humility in the question? “Does Jesus really mean…?” Trouble is, it's not really a question. It is a declaration, and the declaration is this: Long live me.
Of course, we never simply deny that Jesus is Lord, flatly rejecting all his impractical commands (we are Christians, after all). No, instead we simply ask the question that allows us to take Jesus’ Sermon “seriously” without going crazy and having it destroy our lives as we plan to live them.
I remember that someone in the class that day noted, "It’s really hard to tell when Jesus is using hyperbole and when he wants us to take him literally." Heads nodded.
Do not resist an evil person
Turn the other cheek
Go the extra mile
Love your enemies
Pray for those who persecute you
Understatement maybe, but not hyperbole -- even though we’d rather they be. Because if Jesus is just the Great Exaggerator, then I can dismiss what he says and determine the level of "self-sacrifice" I'm comfortable with in my "discipleship." But if he’s speaking literally then, well, he wants my whole life. All of me.
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And Jesus sighing, answers, "Take up your cross and follow me."
"Wonder what he could mean by that?" we ask each other with a shrug.
It's a fairly typical day when Jesus comes walking into my home, your office, our church. Just as he had done with the fishermen by the sea of Galilee, Jesus looks us squarely in the eye and challenges, "Follow me."
Some will.
And some won’t.
4 comments:
so, who is our church is really doing this? even halfway, much less all the way? do i know anybody in our church who seriously can claim that jesus is running their life. i've been told all my life about the claims of jesus, but i never seem to meet anybody in the church who can show me that claims of jesus in his/her life. show me a demonstration of how it works. show me that it is survivable. show me something i can hang onto that will make a difference in my life.......
Anonymous,
Who in the church is...
not resisting the evil person?
turning the other cheek?
going the extra mile
loving their enemies, and
praying for those who persecute them?
I know a lot of people who do that. Agreed, I know none who are perfect, but many, many who are on the way.
You ask for someone to "show [you] that it is survivable"???
Whatever gave you the impression that it is survivable? I think the point is that it's not. One way or another you die.
One more thing, Anonymous,
Always keep in mind, our salvation is not determined by how closely we follow Jesus, how well we live up to the Sermon. It is by grace that we are saved, and that not of our own doing; it is the gift of God.
What grace does NOT mean, however, is that we therefore let each other off the hook when it comes to discipleship. Though we reach and keep falling short, still we aim as high as Christ's own life.
What anonymous said, has haunted me as along as I have been a Christian. I doubt if I even came close for even an hour. What C.S. Lewis said about it makes sense to me. We take a child's hand with a pencil and form the letters of his name. Someday he can form the letters too, but it will never have the beautiful touch of the Master. Christianity is a process that we will never complete until there is a new heaven and earth united, but if we don't try, we will never get there, and Mr. Pot calling Mr Kettle black won't help.
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