This is not a “What a
friend we have in Jesus” Jesus text, but then Jesus is more complicated than
any single hymn or Gospel text or bracelet that lets the wearer decide What
Would Jesus Do? Jesus may have died to save us from our sins but he was crucified
for being a trouble maker. That is not to say his offense was primarily
political even though the Romans were happy to crucify another trouble making
Jew between two common criminals. Jesus’ “crucify him” worthy crime was
ultimately a religious offense to people whose history made them worry about
anyone who colored outside the God defined lines. Remember the Babylonian
captivity? So the Romans killed him because he messed with the law and order
that they maintained to ensure a steady stream of tax revenue. The more
complicit of the Jewish leaders condemned him to death because he messed with
the profitable religion that the Romans allowed them to continue as long as they
contributed to the system. But the pious cried crucify because Jesus named the
God who could not be named, Abba, and there is nothing that breeds more bitter
hatred than someone who says they know your God better than you do. God help us
we have been crucifying each other over that since the beginning of time and
will do so until the end of time when God decides it is finally time for
everyone to get out of the pool. But until the last cloud rises in the west or
the last south wind blows maybe we could interpret the present time in light of
the future time and allow that Jesus is more complicated than a single hymn or
Gospel text or personal preference WWJD bracelet and that the divisions Jesus
talks about in Luke 12 are our own doing and not God’s design.
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