The Jesus nobody wants...

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so...little ones to him belong they are weak and he is strong...ish....because he also is meek and mild....in fact we all know that this is what Jesus looks like...I mean lets face it....He's white, has long hair a well groomed beard and blue eyes, something

that always made me wonder because growing up in the church tradition I grew up in guys having long hair was considered some kind of major sin that would inevitably lead to promiscuity, drug use, drinking, smoking, swearing, and very likely devil worship complete with regular human or at least feline sacrifices.  This Jesus is safe, this Jesus is fun to follow, a mash up of Barney, the Wiggles, Mr. Rogers and David Copperfield (the magician).  Christians like this Jesus because this Jesus is above it all, this Jesus never did any of the gross things that humans do.  He never had doubts, never questioned authority, never had a crush or fell in love.  This Jesus turned water into Grape Juice, floated a few centimeters above the ground, and
shed tears on a regular basis.  This Jesus was led quietly away without a sound or complaint....This is the Jesus so many grew up knowing, and believing in and the reason is simple, this Jesus is manageable.  This is the gentleman Jesus that I wrote about the other day and people like this Jesus because this Jesus will never surprise them, never call them to care about more than what their church says to care about, never ask them to stand up for people no one else will stand up for.  This Jesus would be welcome in our churches because this Jesus wouldn't rock the boat. He would "find his ministry" and spend his days checking kids in, or taking offering, or parking cars, or singing on a praise team or in the choir, nodding, smiling, affirming what comes from the pulpit.  People like this Jesus.

Recently, due to life I've done a lot of re-evaluating of my faith.  There were always things that didn't sit well with me growing up.  Things that didn't make sense that caused me to push against the edges which is a good thing when we push against the edges of our faith authenticity develops but I've said that before, it's nothing new.

While we love that Jesus in the picture we are afraid of this Jesus, and the reason is actually pretty simple, this Jesus is not happy, he's not meek and mild, he isn't offering you and I our best life now.
On the contrary this Jesus is angry, this Jesus had doubts, this Jesus wondered if "the plan was worth it.  This Jesus is the one that did one of the most irrational things that a person can do, and in doing it should offer all of us a type of hope that the other Jesus, the meek and mild floats above the clouds Jesus could never give.

Mark 11:12-14 (NLT)
¹²  The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
¹³  He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.
¹⁴  Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.¹³  He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.
¹⁴  Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.

I love this scripture because it shows  Jesus really did get it, he really did live among us, he really did walk the earth, have feelings, got angry and lost his cool, but more than anything it showed he could be irrational and respond in a completely emotional way.  IT WAS TOO EARLY FOR FRUIT. Jesus knew this, and yet he was hungry, and tired, and frustrated and so he reacted he just said no fruit for you, never again.  I can see him walking away the disciples shaking their head thinking what did you expect it's not time yet.  Keep reading the story and you find that they saw the fig tree a few days later is didn't just have no fruit, it was dead.  In his frustration, in his anger, Jesus destroyed a tree that wasn't supposed to have fruit on it yet.  

Jesus begged his dad to not make him have to die, I know we love the idea that Jesus said not my will but yours and it was just this resigned shuffle off to death, but the Jesus the cursed a tree for not having fruit, when it wasn't even time for it to have fruit wouldn't have done that. I believe there was a lot of struggle, a lot of angst, a lot of begging, with the ultimate surrender not because he had to but because he chose too.  I believe the Jesus that cursed the tree to death, that threw out the people buying and selling, that got angry at the mourners at Lazarus tomb, that stood and cried because his friend was dead, even though he knew what he was about to do, had crushes, got in a fight or two joked around with his cousin, skipped out on chores, came in late, argued with his parents from time to time, made good choices and sometimes made bad ones (that tree again.)  

This Jesus is not the Jesus we want, but it is the Jesus we need, correction it may not be the Jesus you need but it's the Jesus I need, because this is that Jesus that offers humanity the hope that the end result of a walk of faith, and lets face it, his time on earth as a HUMAN was a walk of faith, can lead somewhere besides church on a Sunday morning.

One of my favorite stories from the life of Christ happens just after the resurrection.   Jesus is about to forgive Peter and lay some pretty heavy instructions on him.  The disciples are fishing, Jesus tells them to put their net on the right side of the boat they get a huge haul of fish peter rushes to shore even after he had denied Jesus...but the part of the story I love is that Jesus is already cooking breakfast.  Jesus built a fire, brought some fish, and was cooking for the disciples, he knew they would be there, he knew they would be hungry, and so he was meeting their need, not only that he invited them to bring some of what they had to round out the meal.

John 21:10 (NLT)
¹⁰  “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said.

Jesus has always viewed faith not as a blind trust, but a full on partnership. A partnership with people just like him.  People who walk the earth, who get angry, who love, who hate, who hurt and who help.  People that doubt and fear, and make good decisions and sometimes are irrational.  People who can become more like He is now, because he took time to be like we are now.