Franciscan Fractal
Contemplating Today’s Culture through the Eyes of St. Francis & the Life of Christ
“Re-Visioning Jesus”
“For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3
Attempting to understand Jesus is no easy task. It is like trying to comprehend calculus before learning the basics of math. No one simply understands calculus without first identifying numbers, and then learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
When trying to learn about Jesus, we long for basic, concrete stories that are easy to understand. Such stories about his life make us feel good (and at times learned). We begin with simple stories, like his birth in Bethlehem. The stories of Jesus’ miracles, even though they confound everyday common sense, are also loved. Our understanding of Jesus seems to expand as we see him wandering in the desert for 40 days and being tempted by the evil one. And, then, we end up with a varied and complex picture of Jesus dying, rising from the dead, and ascending into Heaven.
We embrace these images and stories. Yet, to be honest, these events are far beyond our true comprehension, and far removed from our daily lives. Thus, as many Christians do, we often stop at the level of simply learning the stories. The extra effort of understanding the “why” of Jesus’ life seems to be just too must work. Instead, we allow the Church to provide explanations.
The problem with explanations of the Church is that they come from human “interpretations” of the life of Jesus. Over time, human “interpretations” build upon one another and can hide the clear message of the Gospel. True followers of Jesus need to go back to the original lessons taught by Jesus over his entire lifetime in order to see again, or see anew, and “re-vision” the underlying purpose for his life.
When Christians are asked, “Why did Jesus come into the world?” the most common answer is, “To save us from our sins.” The Church did a good job in teaching us this refrain. Yet, we run amuck when we try to define the word “sin.” Usually, we list breaking the Ten Commandments. However, this definition is far too myopic. Jesus always moves beyond dualistic answers of “right” or “wrong.” He gives “sin” a totally new framework where evil is never outside of us or over there, where a person can point to it, punish it, and try to change it. Doing that is far too easy. This is organized religion’s constant temptation.1
Sin, for Jesus, is the very act of accusing — whenever we try to accuse as evil and expel people, groups, nations, or religions, and somehow leave ourself out of the equation, we end up “sinning.” Without denying sin or making light of evil, Jesus shows us the way of overcoming “sin.”
Jesus never denied objective evil, but he knew that any human attempt to conquer or control evil could only be done according to the mystery of the crucifixion. Within the crucifixion, Jesus teaches us how to hold sin, carry sin ourselves, and finally transform sin by recognizing our own complicity in evil. This stands in contrast to our eagerness to attack sin in another, rather than in our own crucifixion. (Galatians 3:13)
Until we let go of the illusion that sin is located outside of ourself, we are never prepared to attack evil. Jesus demonstrated this in the desert, when he singularly faced three temptations to power before he began his ministry. (Matthew 4:1-11) Unless we, like Jesus, face our own power demons, none of us are prepared to fight evil. That is the humiliating place where few Christians choose to stand.
It is obvious that Jesus spends most of his ministry standing with the accused, the excluded, the unworthy, the so-called bad people, and the demonized. It is actually rather scandalous how the only way he tries to change them is by loving and healing them, never accusing anybody except the accusers themselves. (Note: The word “Satan” means “the accuser.”)
Jesus always stands with the demonized. This is Jesus’ primary form of justice work, which is why Jesus’ “strategy” is always so hard to see. His justice strategy is solidarity with suffering itself, wherever it is. This is the core meaning of his crucifixion, and why dying to ourself is the very unique agenda for salvation and liberation from evil. (1 Corinthians 1:17-18)
True spirituality demands our own ongoing transformation. Jesus' solidarity with compassion was itself the healing. This was his strategy and, therefore, it is ours. It feels like weakness, but it finally changes things in very creative, patient, and humble ways. And, the expression of solidarity with compassion is always learned in two unique ways — contemplation and specific actions of communion with human suffering.
May we spend these fall days in contemplation and acting like Jesus who was always in communion with human suffering.
(This Fractal incorporates in part a re-organization and paraphrasing of work developed by Fr. Richard Rohr.)
Prayers and Blessings,
Fr. John
1 https://cac.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1-STANDING-WITH-JESUS.pdf.
