Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far-off places:
Greetings in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ!
It’s impossible until it isn’t.
This phrase keeps hanging around in my mind and apparently doesn’t want to leave. I heard it a few days ago from Father John Dear at Ghost Ranch as he addressed the seventy-two gun violence prevention activists who gathered there. He kept us captivated by his adventures of nonviolence across the world. My, does John have stories! He talked of all the great movements which started from the ground up, movements such as labor, suffragettes, civil rights, women, LGBTQ, and so on, and each one was thought to be impossible. Until it wasn’t.
I have often concluded this whole Christian experiment seems impossible. My goodness, even Jesus’ disciples had great difficulty with it. How in the world could we ever think of living like Jesus, confronting the powers and principalities of each generation, speaking truth to power, standing up for justice, showing compassion, being strong as well as kind, and, if I go on much longer, I might collapse from the weight of trying to keep up with him.
Seems impossible, right? Until it isn’t.
In our story this Sunday, Mark 8:27-38, Jesus is once again heading to gentile land (he does this a lot), and as he walks with his disciples he turns and asks, “who do people say that I am?” they offer names like Elijah and John the Baptist and stumble over some unnamed prophets.
There are many people today who will gladly answer for us. Beyond all that we might glean from the gospels, we are told Jesus looks like a white American male, apparently uses weapons, is involved in party politics, shuns immigrants and the list goes on. I am always astounded, but not surprised anymore, at the audacity of people who claim Jesus in such ways.
So when John Dear told us time and time again that Jesus is nonviolent, it should make us pause. Is that the answer to Jesus’ question? That he’s the nonviolent Christ? John has scoured the scriptures and concludes Jesus was never violent, and if we call ourselves his followers, we too should never resort to violence. Not quite convinced? Then I invite you to scour the gospels as well, and when you see a violent Jesus, let’s talk.
In the meantime, what if we decided right here and now that we should get hold of Jesus’ greatest hits like, say the Sermon on the Mount, and read them every night and every morning, just as Gandhi did for much of his life? And what if we then figured out ways to live them out?
What if we actually took Jesus seriously? What if we entertained this crazy idea that we are already holding the secret to healing the world? Right here. Right now.
The very thought seems impossible to me. Just look around. The needs are tremendous, and Christianity can seem so small and inconsequential. How can we change the world?
Seems impossible, right? Until it isn’t.
Grace and peace,
Harry