The Jesus I Know

I realize that it’s been quite a while since I blogged about anything—partially from time constraints with other writing projects such as research proposals and lesson plans, and partially from having nothing that much to write about—but I just can’t keep my mouth shut now. Surprise, surprise.

In the wake of last Wednesday’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America to allow openly gay youth to officially be members, there has—of course—been all manner of reactions running the continuum from weeping with joy to mild interest to incensed disapproval to the downright vile. These are all valid reactions and all people are equally entitled to their opinions. I don’t have to agree with you to respect you.

However, what I can’t respect is when people of certain persuasions take the name of the faith I hold so dear and the teachings of the man I proclaim as Lord and use them to spout obscene messages of vitriol and hate. This I cannot abide. Nor can I sit silently by as my beliefs are hijacked.

I read posts and articles and tweets and think to myself, “What does that have to do with Jesus? That’s not the Jesus I know.” So I feel compelled now to write and introduce you to the Jesus I know. I recognize and appreciate and respect that this may not be the Jesus you know, but I hope it is.

Let’s start with the most prevalent divider. The Jesus I know never said word one about homosexuality. Really. Read the Gospels all the way through, start to finish, and you will find that Jesus talks about lust and divorce (Matthew 5:31-32,) adultery (Matthew 5:27-30,) and the importance of keeping your heart and mind spiritually clean (Luke 6:43-45,) but he never talks about homosexuality. And while lust, divorce, adultery, and keeping your mind and heart clean are paramount subjects to discuss in all healthy relationships, platonic and otherwise, they are not exclusive to heterosexual romantic relationships. I’m not implying that Jesus condoned homosexuality, I’m just pointing out that he didn't condemn it. (At this point, please do not quote Leviticus, Romans, or Corinthians. These were written by prophets and disciples. Not Jesus. I don’t mean to imply that their words are not important, but for purposes here I’m just sticking with the red letters.)

The Jesus I know preached love (Luke 6:27-36.) He hung out with prostitutes (John 4:1-26.) He fraternized with corrupt money launderers (Luke 19:1-10.) His best friends were fishermen on the bottom rungs of society (Mark 1:14-20.) He didn't care. He sat with people in the dirt on the roadside and quite literally met folks where they were at (Matthew 19:29-34.) He loved with abandon, urgently pouring love out on everyone he met, free of judgment. He didn't even condemn the Romans who occupied his country. (“Does Caesar need a tax? Then pay Caesar his taxes.”) In reality, his strongest condemning words were for the religious leaders. The Pharisees, who thought they occupied the moral high ground, had puffed-up opinions of themselves, were righteously pigheaded, and lorded it over those who were under them. These were the people Jesus rebuked because they had missed the big picture entirely. He holds no punches. (Matthew 23.) They had forgotten how to love, how to appreciate, how to see the person first before the sin.

When asked what the greatest commandment is—for the Jews had hundreds if not thousands of commandments—Jesus replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12: 28-34.) There are no qualifiers. Loving your neighbor or your spouse or your friend or your parent or anyone does not imply that you’ll never be mad at them, that they’ll never do anything to hurt you or you them, or that you even have to agree all the time. Love means cherishing them (and yourself) in spite of these shortcomings. Likewise, this love extends even out to our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48.) That’s what is supposed to set Christ’s followers apart from the rest of the world. Jesus says even non-believers can love the people who are like them; we’re supposed to love and cherish everyone regardless of race, creed, gender, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, or sexual orientation. You don’t have to like what someone thinks or does in order to love them. (It’s just harder.)

The Jesus I know told me it isn't my job to judge others (Matthew 7:1-6; Luke 6:37-42;) that’s God’s work. He told me to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, watch out for orphans, and champion the poor (Matthew 25:31-46.) Nowhere in those instructions did he say, “But only if they think like you. Only if they hold your beliefs. Only if they interpret my words the same way you do.” No such qualification was placed on his instructions. I may not agree with a single thing that comes out of Fred Phelps mouth, but if the man was lying in the gutter bloodied and beaten and I did nothing to help, then I am the worse kind of hypocrite. I can’t judge Phelps for believing what he does which I openly acknowledge is pretty much the antithesis of everything I believe; I can certainly disagree, but I can’t assume that I’m holier than he. I need to love him, too.

The Jesus I know said we should all act more like children. When his disciples ask him who is the greatest, he responds that it’s the one who humbles himself and becomes like a child (Matthew 18:1-6.) This isn't to say that we should actually act our shoe size (although that certainly has its place) but that we should be more open and accepting just like children are. Kids have to be taught everything from how to speak to how to do multiplication tables to how to tie their shoes and how to drive a car. The scary part is that a large portion of what they are taught is learned through observation. Have you ever watched an infant who’s just found his own toes? Or a toddler who inadvertently learns self-awareness by bashing her forehead on the coffee table? Or a child who learns how to walk through trial and error?

I don’t have actual numbers, but I’d hazard a guess that 99% of everything we learn in life is learned in the first five years through straight observation, and this includes behavior and belief. Children have to be taught how to walk and talk, and they have to be taught how to hate and despise. We’re not born with an innate sense of who to loathe. A little child doesn't care if you’re black, white, skinny, fat, short, tall, gay, or straight. A little child cares if you are kind, if you are loving, if you are nice. A child cares if you appreciate her toys or like his new boots or admire her brand-new baby brother. This is what Jesus cares about, too. The child-like faith and wonder and love that come with an unadulterated young life that has yet to be jaded.

Which leads me back to the Boy Scouts. Being a woman, I never had the opportunity to be a Boy Scout, but I've helped out with more Eagle Scout projects than I can count. I've chaperoned Cub Scout meetings and researched opportunities for badges. I've supported and loved dens and troops alike. For me, this whole debate isn't about sexual orientation or what you think of it in regards to religion and religiously affiliated clubs. It’s about what we’re really teaching our kids.

I don’t know the inner workings of the BSA organization, and I wasn't there when they voted, but in the aftermath—in this time of social media blurbs and tweets and posts—just think about what we’re really teaching our Scouts and our children. Are we teaching them about a Jesus who loved and cared and played with kids and didn't judge? Or are we teaching them that certain people are second class citizens? Are we teaching them about our own fears and shortcomings and biases? Are we teaching them that bullying is okay as long as you quote a Bible verse with it?

I’m not attempting to say who’s right and who’s wrong. Like I pointed out before, that’s not my job. And I fully recognize that there’s a tension in not judging yet holding one another accountable. But when all the dust has settled, when both sides have retreated from the front, when the tweets and posts become less, who is left? It’s the children. It’s the boys who are caught in the middle. And their sisters who love them. Regardless of what side you are on and despite what you know in your heart to be true, please remember that caught in the cross-hairs of this and so many other battles are the children. We must say what needs to be said, but do so with love. Say what needs to be said but without passing judgment, and without making a young cub scout feel that he’s a nobody.

I’m not trying to change your mind on the homosexuality issue. I’m not campaigning for you to change your beliefs. I just want to remind us all that regardless of what interpretation battle we’re fighting, Jesus came for, lived for, and died for us all. ALL. He loves us that much. We ought to do the same.