Would Jesus Go to a Protest?
Imagine a rough-around-the-edges, bearded revolutionary who was, himself, formerly a refugee.
This man is a product of a relatively scandalous birth and background. While he lives in a nation that is theoretically “his,” a country he might attempt to take some pride in, his reality is one of a deep, systemic subjugation. He has never been “free,” in any political sense. His every move will be closely watched by the authorities—both the state and cultural watchdogs—and nearly every word he will ever speak will be controversial.
He will eschew the channels of typical historical change: power and money.
He will apply his voice, almost entirely, to the grassroots: the poor and disenfranchised.
He will haunt the minds of nearly every holder of class-power: both state and religious.
He will be politically assassinated by a combination of those very forces.
The revolutionary I am referring to is not—
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, or—
Karl Marx, or—
Emiliano Zapata, or—
Leon Trotsky, or—
Ho Chi Minh, or—
Ernesto Guevara, or—
Huey P. Newton.
The Man I’m describing is Jesus of Nazareth. Formerly a refugee—in Egypt. Seemingly scandalously conceived—by the Holy Spirit. An Israelite—in a Roman-occupied police-state. Watched on every side—by the Romans, Herodians and the sanctioned religious authorities.
As I’m personally living through the cultural-historical moment that is the “George Floyd/BLM Summer of 2020,” my job, as a follower of Jesus—and, frankly, a poster child for the American WASP—is NOT:
To have my own firmly rooted “opinions.”
To attempt to return to my comfortably entrenched, easy “answers.”
To live in the foolishness of false, worldly fears.
To latch on to political positions that have nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth.
MY JOB IS:
To listen.
To learn.
To move out of my (quite obvious) position of privilege.
To yearn for a nation where rights, opportunities, freedoms – and every individual’s hopes and dreams – are legitimately equal for everyone.
So, if you’re watching the news and finding yourself retreating to your personal opinions, old answers, foolish fears, or to political figures calling up the very worst in you, I’d invite you to take a radically different approach.
Think to yourself:
Where would Jesus be right now?
What posture would He be taking amongst the downtrodden?
How would He personally conduct Himself, no matter what city block He was walking down?
NOT: What Would Jesus Do? in some past-tense sense.
INSTEAD: What is Jesus doing? in the Present Active Indicative.
And, lastly, if I may humbly ask for a few more minutes of your time, I’d implore you to read (or re-read) Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
Because, personally, I want to live in a nation where we seriously, finally learn to “dream the dream”—and walk the walk—of that wonderful man.
Because, remember: that wonderful man was following in the footsteps of another Wonderful Man: that Greatest Revolutionary.
