Following Jesus…But Only So Far… : Kevin H

There is a scene in the newest season of “The Chosen” where we see Jesus and his disciples making a trek on a road to Jerusalem.  Along the way, they encounter a band of Roman soldiers, or rather the soldiers spot the Jewish travelers and command them to carry their gear for the next mile, as was entitled to Roman soldiers by Roman law to make Jewish citizens do.

The disciples are irritated, resistant, and humiliated, but Jesus tells them to concede to the soldiers’ command as this is the law and they ought to obey the authorities, even to do so without grumbling.  While still harboring their disturbed feelings, the disciples do obey Jesus’ instruction and take up the soldiers’ gear.  When they reach the mile marker, the disciples are relieved to be freed from this arduous, embarrassing, and infuriating task and begin setting down the soldiers’ gear….. only to witness at their exasperation that Jesus is continuing to walk with His gear.  The bewildered disciples cry out to Jesus, only to realize that, they too, will need to walk another mile.  Some of the disciples remain upset and perplexed, while others can only laugh as they recall His words at the Sermon on the Mount, “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”

So much of what Jesus taught was counter-cultural….. not only was it counter-cultural, but so often it was counter to our human nature.  Who in their right mind wants to offer their opposite cheek when having just been slapped by their adversary on the other one?  Who in their right mind wants to be last when they can be first?  Who in their right mind wants to carry the heavy gear of a despised oppressor on a hot day, only to do doubly so?

The incongruousness of Jesus’ teachings with so much of what we see in our American church today is striking.  His teachings are many times not easy for any of us to do, but seemingly large portions of the American church have not only struggled to do them, but have actively taken it upon themselves to outright rebuke them.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers?  Nah, we need to disparage, dominate, control, and get our way, latching onto whatever means necessary and whatever strongmen necessary to do so.

Do it unto the least of these?  Certainly we can do that – We can do it to them by pejoratively labeling them as illegal immigrants, welfare bums, and race agitators, so that everybody knows they are people to be feared and despised and for whom we should be doing everything we can to get rid of them and give them what they deserve.

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s?  Well, we may pay our taxes in order to avoid legal trouble for ourselves, but we sure don’t like it and will complain loudly, sometimes even accusing the government of theft, and will gladly hide earnings (tips, under the table payments, etc.) that we think the government has no chance of finding out about, plus, everybody does it anyway.

Then there’s the Apostle Paul’s teachings about obeying and respecting government.  Now we know that this teaching has its limits, as we are not to obey the government if they are commanding us to do something that violates God’s law, but we sure go through all kinds of theological hoops and wizardry to justify our derision of political leaders or our refusal to comply with the wearing of masks or social distancing.  Sometimes we barely even try to justify it at all, simply denouncing politicians and authorities as evil and of conspiring among themselves to oppress the people, as if this dubious and lazy rationale is reason enough to denigrate and disobey.

Jesus’ teachings many times are truly counter-cultural….. particularly to our case they are counter to the tribalism, divisiveness, and contemptuousness that are so prominent in our culture these days.  Yet, many parts of the American church seem to seamlessly fit into these ways in our culture.  Not only do they fit in, but they do so boldly, proudly, and unashamedly.

One must wonder what attraction a non-Christian may have to Christianity when they survey the landscape and see that Christianity is apparently no different in their ways when compared to many other groups?  One must wonder what a non-Christian who is familiar with the teachings of Jesus must think when they observe so many Christians brazenly rejecting the teachings of the one they supposedly follow?  One must wonder what this all does for our witness of Jesus Christ?

Partisan politics are poison to the soul.

Jesus is the cure.