As a child, I was taught (and rightly so) that sin is the reason Jesus died, plain and simple. As an adult, I have started to explore this idea more deeply, especially after Kevin's sermon a week ago dealing with half truths about sin. (Click here to listen!) All sin is not equal in severity and consequence, but all sin is equal in that the wages of it are death, and forgiveness is made available through the blood of Jesus.
When you really think about it, hate is easy, isn't it? Way easier than love. It takes little thought on the part of the hater, but it affects the hatee very deeply. As someone who has suffered from deep depression as an adult and peer-dealt oppression as a child, I identify deeply with the victims in these stories. I know what it's like to feel like a walking mistake, simply because of the way I was born and the way my brain works. I am judged as a mother because I suffered from PPD, although there's not much I could do about it because that's how my biological body responds to hormone fluctuations. According to some, apparently, I don't really suffer from anything, because depression doesn't exist. To others, I am simply succumbing to "sinful lifestyle" to admit that I deal with long term depression and anxiety (and they have proof texts to hit me with as well!), but I know when God looks at my heart, he sees someone who just wants to follow him with all they've got, no matter what, and who strives to see themselves as he sees them - as someone who is worthy of being called his child, even when they're not perfect. And I would hope that other Christians would see that as well, but we all know that is not always the case. When I read or see the stories of others who struggle like me, I want to reach through the screen and grab these fellow humans and hug them and tell them there is hope, there is healing, and that they are not alone. Each generation has a preferred target, but we all have that group of people that we feel threatened by - even as Christians! We often feel threatened by other believers that are different from us. We fool ourselves into thinking that we have it all exactly right, so they have to believe as we do, when the reality is not another person on the earth believes exactly like you do or like I do. I hear a lot of talk about, "Well, we know them by their fruit," and I understand where that comes from - but I also think maybe our fruit seeing eyes aren't "all that," you know? What if what looks like weak, shriveled, or even non-existent fruit to me looks like the biggest, juiciest orange in the garden to God, because he knows their story and what they've gone through to get there and I do not? It's a point worth considering, simply because it puts the focus back on the log in our own eye and not the speck in theirs. Think about the people Jesus praised and how they looked to the Pharisees, essentially the God appointed "fruit-judgers" of Israel. What they saw as rotten, Jesus saw as good, as vice versa. It's something to think about. And even as I write out my thoughts, I am aware of the fact that I in no way think I am absolutely right about these things. I know what I believe and why I believe it and I am more than happy to share it with anyone who wants to hear it, but I also desire to be humble enough to actually listen to someone who is different from me and be validating of them, even if I do not agree. I still fail (often miserably when it comes to my own "pet peeves"), but I am trying.
As I read the story of Jesus' life, I am drawn to the fact that he was also a controversial figure; hated by those who decided what the "status quo" was and who fit in - and also who didn't measure up. Who were these power mongers? They were the people Jesus had in his sights, the ones whom he called "whitewashed tombs" and "brood of vipers." They were the religious and government leaders of his day. The successful ones that everyone looked up to; the ones who claimed they knew all about Jesus' secret agenda to take over their power and they would stop at nothing to stop him. They accused him of blasphemy against God when they themselves were guilty of just that. But still, they followed and defined the status quo, so they got the "last word." What they said, went: Jews in, Samaritans out. Rich in, poor out. Righteous in, sinners out. Barabas in, Jesus out. And just when they thought they had everything under control, here comes Jesus representing everything they hated, is it any wonder they wanted him gone? I mean he shared a cup with a Samaritan woman, he dined with and even protected well known, seemingly unrepentant sinners; he touched lepers and forgave adulterers, he challenged flowery public prayers and praised the woman who gave only 2 pennies as an offering. Jesus was different, he took "tradition" and "law" and replaced them with "grace" and "relationship." He was different and they feared different. Different threatened their power. So rather than listening with open hearts, they clung to their fear and let it turn to hatred.
And in their fear and hatred, they killed him.
No, they didn't drive the actual nails in his hands, but they banded together, forming an ugly, bitter unity; and they even convinced a beloved friend to betray him (although Judas himself was also to blame). Just like the people that belittle and bully vulnerable teens into killing themselves, telling them that no one cares, not even the people they thought loved them and they'd be better off dead because they are in and of themselves just a big, fat mistake. Even the governor washed his hands of Jesus' case, for fear of retribution from the people. Sure, Jesus knew all this was coming, but do you think that saved him from any hurt? I don't think it did. I hate that he suffered because of me, but I am thankful to have a Savior that knows what it feels like to be betrayed and hated and yet still loved by God. Jesus never said that the rules or laws didn't matter, but he did say he was sent to restore what was broken and that love mattered much much more than following the rules and holding others to ridiculous standards. Righteousness starts in our hearts with the love of God, true repentance, and humility in the face of our own shortcomings.
Fear and hatred kill. They kill our bodies, they kill our spirits, they kill our hope. They killed our Savior. Of course there is further hope in the resurrection - but we're not there yet. We're not to that place in the story. Please, don't rush ahead, even when it's uncomfortable to dwell; even when it causes you to take a good look at your own shortcomings. I encourage you to take the time during Holy Week to explore what you fear and what you hate. How will you treat the dark skinned woman in a hijab who sits by you on the bus? How about that gay couple across from you in the restaurant? What about the single mom with the screaming kids in the grocery store? Or maybe the older person in front of you in the pharmacy line who doesn't understand how to organize all their medications? Better yet, how would Jesus treat them? Would he think to himself "What a sinner/annoyance/idiot!" and then just move on? Think on those things you harbor in your heart that no one else knows about. We all have them. Allow God to shine a light on them. Confront them. Listen to Him with an open heart. Don't be like the fig tree Jesus took issue with after he cleansed the temple, you know the one that looked really good and followed all the "rules" of being a good looking, church going tree, but was bare bones when it came to the thing that mattered: love, I mean figs. You're better than that. God's church is better than that. So let's start showing it, shall we?
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