Crazy Jesus!

“He has gone out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).

How many times have you heard that said about Jesus?  Not exactly the most flattering of confessions.  I’m just trying to imagine what it would look like if on Sunday mornings we added that description to Jesus. 

“We gather in the name of the Father, and of the Son (who’s out of his freakin’ mind) and the Holy Spirit.”

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (who’s gone loco on us)….”

“The Peace of Christ (who flew over the cuckoo’s nest)…”

“Lamb of God (who’s finally lost it)… you take away the sin of the world…”

The thing is; Jesus hasn’t gone out of his mind.  He’s doing the work of the Kingdom over and against the institutions of the day. 

Watch out Caesar, Jesus is taking you on from the very first verse of Mark’s gospel.  “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  It’s common knowledge in Jesus’ day that Caesar is not only the messiah-like “son of god”, but that only Caesar can be the bearer of “good news”.  Not so, that’s Jesus!

Oh and you, the religious establishment?  Yeah, Jesus is taking you on too.  Healing those who are ritually unclean?  Strike one!  Healing on the Sabbath?  Strike two!  Healing the unclean, on the Sabbath in the synagogue?  Strike three!

Oh yeah and family values?  Jesus is duking it out with you too.  Apparently blood is not thicker than water.  In the face of Jesus’ mother and siblings trying to reign him in, Jesus re-defines family right before their eyes.  “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35).  

In a world of rules, safety nets, and barriers, Jesus is clearly breaking them down and re-defining everything. So why then does the church, who claims to follow Jesus, so often live comfortably behind walls buying into the status quo? Why does the church remain silent in the face of racism?  Where are we, followers of an abundant God, in the midst of overwhelming poverty and violence? Where are we, disciples of the Prince of Peace, when wars are waged and bombs are dropped?

If yesterday’s gospel reading shows us nothing else, it reveals that Jesus was not into institutional preservation.  So why then are we?  I’m not saying the church as an institution doesn’t do good.  In the context of history, the church in North America has played a pivotal role in the abolition of slavery and in the enactment of civil rights.   But the church cannot be the object of our ministry.  The gifts in our offering plates cannot just be about turning on the lights or paying your pastors.  They must be about ushering in the Kingdom of God.  After all, this is what Jesus’ ministry is all about; ushering in a kingdom of justice and peace; a kingdom of mercy and risk taking.  But be careful when you do this Kingdom of God stuff, because according to Mark’s gospel, it doesn’t attract many followers.  In fact, it actually turns people off.  Throughout Mark’s gospel, folks can’t get away from Jesus fast enough, until finally at the end, Jesus is left alone on the cross screaming out in forsakenness to God.  Now, there’s an evangelism program for you.

Maybe our numbers, as well as those of other churches are down, because we’ve been focused on self-preservation when the world around us has no interest in such things.   Well the gig is up.  Folks in our neighborhood don’t care whether or not we have money to turn on the lights or the AC; they don’t care about endowment fund balances or drainage issues.  But what they are looking for is an authentic community; a beloved community in which they can help make the world a better place; a place of justice and peace.  A place where all are included; where no one leaves the table hungry, and all are cherished.

Do we dare be that boundary breaking church living outside the safety nets?  Do we dare put the neighborhood’s needs before our own?  Do we dare be the church that is totally out of its mind?

Peace and Love,

Pastor Doug