Stop Yelling

There’s a sector of Christianity bent on taking Jesus public, crowning Him king over everyone and forcing their version of Christianity on the world. 

It’s most obvious in Christian nationalist movements, but it also shows up in the rhetoric/posture of Christians who are engaged in culture war, defending their way of life by opposing things they view as inconsistent with Christ.

Let’s talk about being consistent with Christ, with the Jesus Way. The rhetoric of war permeates the Biblical story, and literalist readers carry that forward as applying to the way of Christ.  But it doesn’t. Leaving the literalist reading of Scripture aside for another discussion[1], let’s look at Christ (the true Word of God) and how He comes across to the world.  By implication then, how are we His followers to show up in the world?

For brevity I’ll refer to one story from Isaiah 42:1-4 where God the Father describes the posture His servant (Jesus) will take with the world. And I think that as you read about the life of Jesus, you will see how consistent He was living according to this ‘way’…

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I will put my spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.  He will not falter or be discouraged until he establishes justice on earth.”

For some Christians it seems Gods' ‘justice on earth’ is accomplished forcefully and via a culture war.  That’s the opposite of what God the Father lays out here as the ‘way’ of Christ.  Stop yelling.  Stop hurting the broken. Stop blowing out what little flame exists in the hearts of people towards the Divine. Show up quietly, faithfully, consistently, persistently.   That’s the Jesus Way.

 

Perhaps Robert Service, in his poem The Call of the Wild, sums it up best how we change the world:

“…the simple things, the true things, the silent men (sic) who do things…”

Harv

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[1] Suggested reading: A More Christlike Word by Bradley Jersak, Whitaker House, 2021

 

The World is Too Loud

I am emerging out of a period of blogging silence.  For the last while I have been in an unplanned, unforced season of quiet. Some of that was due to my waiting for personal clarity on aspects of my vocational and spiritual life.  I was reflective, but just couldn’t write it down for some reason. Sometimes, it’s just good to be silent and sit – especially for those of us who like to comment on things, stir the pot, and challenge conventions.

It’s a pretty loud world out there. The planet is a cacophony of crises.  There’s constant competition for minds, hearts and money.  How about the loud cheering from the opposite poles of political ideologies?   I have tinnitus – but these sounds are even more annoying!

There’s another noise that aggravates me.

I am a follower of the Jesus Way, desiring to reflect and demonstrate how His way of life makes us more authentically human, and our world a healthier, more abundant place.  Yet the noise around Christianity-as-religion largely drowns out that message.  When I try to put myself in the place of an outside observer looking into whether Christianity ‘works’ or not, I don’t think I’d join up.  Public expressions of my faith/religion are too often issue-based, politically motivated and sometimes just outright hateful and exclusive. There’s a definite leaning toward ‘otherness’ rather than embrace, towards pointing out the darkness rather than shining a light into it, and towards outreach/mission to the world rather than a participating in and with the world to make it a better place.

Now in the US (and it’s bleeding into Canada), there is an unabashed political movement toward Christian nationalism that completely bypasses the Grand Story of God for humanity & the planet.  It is co-opting Christianity as a political platform for narrow and often distinctly un-Christ like ends.  The noise is deafening.

So what do we do – send out a louder, more positive message to counteract all this?? 

There’s a more powerful, more quiet way.   It’s Jesus’ way, and is more silent that you may have been led to believe if you are listening to public Christian rhetoric.  Jesus the Christ isn’t competing to be heard.  He is silently, quietly and powerfully present (in and through us as His representatives), to bring hope and change.  He brings justice and abundance to the world without raising His voice, without loud speeches & demonstrations.  Rather, He demonstrates persistent acts of gentle love and justice.  In a passage in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12, verses 14-21, Jesus is described as one who is not quarrelsome, and whose voice is not heard yelling in the streets! He is one who will carefully handle a broken reed so that it isn’t further damaged, and will keep a smoldering wick going so its light doesn’t burn out.  This is a gentle, silent and truly transformative power, and we are to act in this Way.

I am a fan of Robert Service’s poem The Call of the Wild because it ‘places’ us humans in the context of Creation so that we humble ourselves in its magnificence.  One line in particular applies to what I have been saying here, and has implications for how real change happens in this world.  Change for the good is not ultimately reliant on government programs, grand social contracts & movements, public or private initiatives or religious efforts.  These are all helpful, but it’s “The simple things, the true things, the silent men (and women) who do things…” that is the unseen, underlying power for transformation.

Be quietly UN-noticeable.  It will truly change the world.

Harv Matchullis