WWJD? What Would Jesus Do? How about this? What would Jesus want us to do? Anyone who seriously reads the New Testament gospels will be uncomfortable when they realize what Jesus actually wants from his followers.
The following is a text version of this posting.
Some years ago, there was a fad among some Christian groups to ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” While it was a simplistic question, it was probably helpful for some people to reflect on their actions.
I want to ask an equally simplistic question. What does Jesus want? It’s not that I claim to understand what Jesus thinks or what motivated him in the first century. Instead, based on what we know from the Gospels, it seems that there’s a sharp divide between what Jesus taught and what Christians do today. So, what does Jesus want?
When walking into a Christian church, a distinguishing characteristic is hearing music and language praising Jesus and praising God. In traditional churches, it may be a hymn-like, “Praise to the Lord the Almighty, the King of Creation.” In contemporary churches, it may be a chorus or even a rock song focused on praising Jesus. Does Jesus want to be praised? Does Jesus want to be reminded that he’s great? Is Jesus so insecure or codependent that he wants us to tell him about the great things he’s done? I honestly don’t think so. Jesus never asked the people he encountered to praise him, to worship him, or even to tell him he was a great guy. But Christians spend a lot of time doing something that Jesus never asked for.
Similarly, how did we come to the idea that having a personal relationship with Jesus is critically important? The phrase, “a personal relationship with Jesus” is not in the Bible. Jesus did instruct people to have relationships with each other. But I want to be clear: Jesus never said that the essence of faith was being “best buds” with him.
What Jesus did want was for people to follow him, to follow the way of life he was teaching. He wanted us to treat others well. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” “Love one another.”
Jesus made an effort to spend time with people on the margins of society. He didn’t hesitate to have dinner with people who were considered scandalous in his day. It wasn’t that he was trying to convert them. Instead, Jesus actively demonstrated love for people who were marginalized by society.
Jesus wants us to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, to visit those imprisoned, to offer healing, and to comfort to those in pain. He said when we do these things for others, we do them to him. After all, he began his public life by saying that he came to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, and a time of favor, of jubilee. Contemporary Followers of Jesus are people who do these same things in their own ways.
What Jesus wants is for his followers to live a certain way. The way of Jesus is rooted in respect for others, and the recognition that we are all children of God and equal in God’s sight. There’s no judgment or condemnation. Instead, followers of Jesus bring healing and hope to others. Ultimately, Jesus said, “You’ll know them by their fruit.”
For many reasons, institutional Christianity seems to have mostly lost sight of the teachings of Jesus. That’s not surprising. The teachings of Jesus are difficult to follow. Loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you is a tall order. There’s also no money, no prestige, and no social advancement in being a follower of Jesus. Maybe that’s why today the practice of Christianity looks very different from what Jesus taught two thousand years ago.
Although Jesus never asked us to praise God, we do so in this “ungodly” culture in order to remember who we are striving to follow and why. I think that, for most folks, praise is an antecedent to remembering and following.
I don’t think Republicans would think much of your reading og the gospel.