— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
In the words of a hymn: I want to follow Jesus.
So, I try to remind myself to ponder:
What would Jesus do?
Often this is not an easy question to answer with certainty. Current situations do not always parallel those into which Jesus was born and through which He lived. But, in my view, it is the most reliable question to ask. In reaching our answers as to what Jesus might have done in current circumstances, in my view it is important to grapple with what we understand of Jesus’ life and teachings recorded in the Gospels. I think this is more reliable than claims to individual and ‘group’ revelations even when we sense (or claim) those revelations to be from the Holy Spirit. Currently, the USA provides a cautionary example on how groups of Christians can think God is leading them – in approaches to society that in some instances are diametrically opposite, even contradictory.
What would Jesus do?
Jesus summarizes God’s commandments as follows: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and all your strength. And, love your neighbour as yourself. (Mark 12: 30-31 and Luke 12:27). In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus is recorded as amplifying who our neighbour is in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Most of us know that parable: our neighbour is not primarily the person who is accepted, even looked up to within our society. In this parable it is the ‘other’ in society. I think it is spiritually dangerous to narrow down our concept of neighbour to those who are closest to us: be these family, or those with the same ethnicity, faith, language and/or nationality. Jesus was very direct in this parable.
I am travelling, so reference our Service together on Sunday 16th February. In the Confession we recited together at ACF that Sunday, it was not living up to the demands of these two commandments for which we asked God’s forgiveness, and for which Vinod pronounced/reminded us of God’s forgiveness.
That Sunday’s Gospel Reading was from Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:17-26). Luke does not only record those difficult circumstances through which people paradoxically should perceive as being ‘blessed’, he records Jesus’ warnings to those who (I summarize) are well-off, comfortable, and self-satisfied in life. In the New International Version of the Bible, this section is headed: Blessings and Woes. Jesus clearly is not legalistic in his approach. A few paragraphs earlier (Luke 6: 6-10) Jesus asked of the Pharisees and teachers of the law: I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it? By restoring the withered hand of a person present in the synagogue on that Sabbath, Jesus’ answer was a clear repudiation of a legalistic approach, even while He remained mindful of the importance of the Law.
What would Jesus do?
In recent weeks there has been a whirlwind of declarations from those claiming to be God-anointed political leaders, including around the re-structuring of society and the international community. Which of these declarations passes the test: what would Jesus do? If the substance, style of execution and likely consequence of these declarations do not resonate from what the Gospels record of Jesus’ teachings and approach, then it is unlikely that these declarations are God-inspired.
Jesus stated that he is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). In my view, if we follow Jesus we cannot claim or accept as God-inspired, leadership (political or otherwise) that seeks to gain advantage in a post-truth manner.
In the conflicts and attendant human tragedies that so strongly fill our western imaginations, what would Jesus do? For instance, would Jesus have allowed himself to be part of the Russian invading forces into Ukraine, or allied Himself with a war on civilians? Would Jesus have allied himself with those from Hamas who invaded parts of Israel neighbouring on Gaza, killing, capturing and taking people hostage? Would Jesus have hidden Himself behind a civilian population, as Hamas fighters have done? And, would Jesus have supported the (in practice) wreaking of such awful vengeance on Palestinian civilians, as the Israeli armed forces and some West Bank settlers have done?
Many of us come from different parts of Africa and other parts that were colonized: I find it hard to recognize ‘following Jesus’ in the actions of colonial administrations that came together with missionaries. Nor, currently, in the wars and conflicts around the world in which civilians are treated with frightening brutality.
None of us might be able to make a strong political impact. But we can try to follow Jesus in our daily interactions – for instance taking notice of people, greetings, smiles, expressing thanks even when this is not culturally usual, going out of our way to help people we see to be in need, trying not to be blind to those in need even when we cannot help, and supporting those people and institutions that do the work of the ‘neighbour’ in situations where we cannot help. Yes, none of us can support everyone and everything. My answer to a young Christian student from the Caribbean, when he felt overwhelmed by the challenges in the world that he was being exposed to by his fellow students, was to suggest that he choose the area where he felt called to make a personal (and sacrificial) contribution, and to remain morally supportive of those engaged in other areas.
What would Jesus do?
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 