Who is Jesus and how do we know what's true?
a reflection for those who profess Christianity
Well, it’s been a week. Each day brings revelations of the new administration’s plans for the next four years, and since this is not the place you go for political commentary, I’ll spare you my thoughts on any of that. I have been wondering, though, about the many allusions to God and religion that we’ve seen this week; in the inaugural ceremonies, in social media and elsewhere, by politicians, clergy and laypeople alike, and I guess I’m wondering just how we as professed Christians in this country got to such disparate opinions about who God is and what He thinks.
Author Anne Lamott says,
“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
But in this divided time, how easy is it for us to do just that? And how does a person create God in their own image (and how do we know that we haven’t?)
If you asked some people, they’d swear that God favors some political leaders and countries above all others. You’d swear that God was seriously into capitalism and wealth and that He concerns Himself with amassing worldly power and strength. You’d think that Jesus’s goal was to transform country, society, and culture, elevating Christians above all else.
If you asked others, they’d say that God is about mercy, compassion and self-sacrifice, that He favors the lowly and walks with the least of these among us. That He was the first to challenge the religious leaders of His day and that He was at work teaching and healing the forgotten ones and building a Kingdom that was not of this world.
And so, I’m wondering, fellow American Christian, what do you believe about the nature of God, and from where did you get your idea?
Because if God exists, and if Jesus is the Son of God who came to Earth as a human to walk with, teach, heal and ultimately to die for us, then it matters what we think about His nature and about how He works. And it matters that we look at the source of our information, because there are plenty of clergy who will and do teach a mind-bogglingly wide range of conflicting ideas on the subject in every church in America and using every form of media. Either Jesus was a nationalist culture-warrior and taught us to be the same or He wasn’t. Either He allowed Himself to be brutally killed by religious and governmental leaders and taught that dying to self was the way forward, or He didn’t.
What do you believe?
This week I asked people in my Instagram stories to use three words to describe Jesus and to tell me the source of their understanding. In their responses were words like, “compassionate,” “forgiving,” “demanding,” “genuine,” “loving,” “challenging,” and “welcoming,” and the source of these perceptions?
The Gospels.
Reading the stories about what Jesus actually said and did provides critical understanding and context for knowing how He wants we His followers to operate today. When we neglect to read the Gospels for ourselves or when we take our beliefs from someone else’s loud opinion offered in the media or even within the walls of a church, we can get really lost really fast, and so far afield of the person of Christ that it leads us into some pretty dark places.
Here's an example. In your social media feeds, have you come across the idea of the “sin of empathy,” and how it must be avoided so that we can “hate what God hates”? I’ve seen this idea in a bunch of places, but I’m wondering… does this sound like Jesus to you? Where in the Gospels did Jesus teach that concern for our fellow human was sinful? Well, it’s heresy of course1, but this idea along with the tenets of Christian nationalism are spreading like wildfire today nonetheless. And to dig in a bit further, let us ask ourselves: why would the idea of empathy-as-sin be introduced into a church and a country which is about to see human suffering brought to its doorstep in very public ways? Who would benefit from the idea of empathy-as-sinful if not the perpetrators of such suffering?
It's time for professed Christians to get really real about what we believe about God and critical about the source of our understanding. I’d challenge all of us who claim a share in the Body of Christ to begin to answer these questions about Jesus and to ask ourselves why we believe what we do:
What was His mission?
What was the most important thing to Him?
What were His politics?
How did He spend His time?
What’s your favorite story about Him?
What did Jesus think about weapons?
Does God save people from suffering?
What was His take on money?
What did kids think of Him?
What’s the best thing He did while He was here?
What teaching of His is the hardest for you?
Who was His favorite?
What frustrated Him the most?
Why was He killed?
And what would Jesus think about Bishop Budde’s prayer service call for mercy to those who are at risk and frightened at this time in our country? Did Jesus show mercy while He walked the Earth? Did He call others to show mercy? And if so, which humans did He show mercy towards? What was Jesus’ take on outcasts and the lowly among us?
If these are hard questions to answer for us, if they take a little digging, I hope we’ll see them as the opportunity they are to delve into the Gospels and understand Jesus a bit better for ourselves. As others use His name widely, it will be incumbent on we who call ourselves Christian to know who He is for ourselves and then to live out His teachings the best we can, for such a time as this.
Raised Catholic rewind:
Raised Catholic 3 - Who is God? - transcript with link to episode
Raised Catholic 111 - Jesus of the Gospels - transcript with link to episode
What I’m reading/listening to/recommending:
Author Laura Kelly Fanucci’s The Holy Labor here on Substack
Bible Gateway: an easy way to read the Bible online and check out different translations (today’s verse Philippians 4:8: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.)
Seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching, by USCCB
Journals: Common Horizon - writings and art on themes of Catholic Social Teaching by From Here Media
Video: Sister Thea Bowman’s 1989 address to USCCB
Prayer:
Oh God we thank you for who you are. Help us to know you and serve you and your people in the many ways you’re calling us. For us and our dear ones, we pray in the name of Jesus and wrapped in the mantle of our Mother Mary, amen.
Here’s how I know: Matthew 25:31-46
The Gospels and common sense... These times are frustrating to say the least.