“As One with Authority”

by Bruce J. Johnson

February 2, 2003

 

First a pair of brothers heard His call coming out of the blue, breaking into the ordinary routines of the fishing, daring them to follow Him—which they do! Then this man walks into a Capernaum’s synagogue on the Sabbath and teaches as no one has taught in recent memory--- with such a presence and power, as someone who obviously spent hour upon hour with his media consultants. That day, in that place, He spoke as one with authority.

 

We’re not told anything about what he taught but we are given some indication of what he was truly about when he delivers that poor man from what the scriptures call—an unclean spirit. We all know that spirit don’t we-- the nasty stuff inside that distorts our self-image, corrupts our identity, perverts our thought and then subverts our behavior with its lies but is the first know the truth when it is confronted and called out!

 

This reminds me of a story about a certain Army man who had been a heavy drinker for 35 years. He had the temperament of a particularly vicious sergeant long after he had become a Colonel. Finally, he encountered Christ and his whole life changed around.

 

He was speaking once before a group of medical people. He told them of his personality change, how he was now… as temperate as he had been intemperate; as considerate as he had once been severe; as concerned for others as once he had been selfish and self-serving.

 

A psychiatrist, who believed that personalities are so firmly set in early life that no one can change, protested to the Colonel that at his age a person could not have such a radical transformation.

 

“Well,” replied the Colonel, “that may be true. But I am under new management now—I answer to another authority—the highest and truest there is.”

 

“I AM UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT NOW--- I AMSWER TO ANOTHER AUTHORITY.”

 

With the rhetoric of war swinging from ‘if’ to ‘when, these are very difficult times for all Americans, and I think especially for those who are Christian, who agonize over the issues of what role their faith should play and how our understanding of discipleship factors in. These are difficult times for me, as a pastor who grapples with the huge challenge of finding a pastoral voice that’s faithful to the gospel, obedient to the teachings of the Jesus and relevant to the issues.

 

I’ve read that 50,000,000 people listened to President Bush the other night deliver masterfully an extraordinarily well crafted “State of the Union’ address. As of this morning, the polls indicate that 2/3 of Americans support the administration’s position--- the case being made by not only President but certainly others as well, from those in government and out of it.  There is a veritable chorus of voices in the debate--- political, military, economic, social, moral and media figures and of course, the religious community too. It is, I think, well documented, and much to his credit, that President Bush is a religious man, a Christian and from the speech it is clear that he understands his policy and plan as a kind of divine mission. He invoked God four times during the speech.

 

“The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to humanity.”

 

“We Americans have faith in ourselves but not in ourselves alone. We do not know--- we do not claim to know all the ways of Providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all life and all history.”

 

Then, in addition to his use of phrases from some gospel hymns, he closed the speech with a modified benediction. Instead of saying, “May God bless America,” he said “May God continue to bless America.”

 

Then, as he has done so well before in times of crisis, he spoke to the nation

yesterday--emotionally and eloquently and with the conviction of his faith:

 

“In the skis today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet father than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words the prophet Isaiah, “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

 

The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the Shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we pray that they are all safely home.”

(Isaiah 40: 26)

                                                          (President George W. Bush, 2/1/2003)

 

I commend this sincere expression of faith but in the matter of war and peace, we must as Christians at the very least ask the question of kind of voice do teachings of Jesus have in our lives and as compared to other voices. How authoritative are they?

 

On Tuesday, Kris Jacobi sent me an article from the NY Times which was written Joseph Loconte, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. It was titled: “The Prince of Peace Was a Warrior Too.” I have since followed the responses on the op-ed page. I was so taken by the article that I shared it with the diaconate and the Church Council at this month’s administrative meetings. He writes:

 

“Everyone, it seems, wants Jesus on his side. Nutritionists publish books with titles like “What Would Jesus Eat.” Environmentalists issue policy statements asking, “What Would Jesus Drive?” With talk of war, we’re now hearing “How would Jesus Vote on Iraq?’—assuming that he were a member of the United Nations Security Council.

 

A growing number of religious leaders have decided that Jesus would veto a war with Saddam Hussein. Back from a fact finding trip to Iraq earlier this month, a delegation from the National Council of Churches said it harbored no doubts: As disciples of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we know this war is completely antithetical to his teachings…”

 

Loconte than goes on in an attempt to present the side, rightly noting that Jesus preached that we have a moral obligation to confront evil and resist the darkness. He rightly observes that Jesus rebuked hateful mobs, cast our demons and chased religious charlatans out of the temple with a whip. (Mind you, as far we know, no one was injured, and no one died!) And then most interesting of all he cites the oft misquoted line from Matthew 10: 34.

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but the sword.”

                                            (NYTimes.com, 1/28/03)

 

What he fails to mention, astonishingly, is that the 10th chapter of Matthew is all about Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples and sending them out as “sheep in the midst of wolves” (v. 16) and to a life of “floggings and draggings” (v.17-18) and yes even death, (v. 28). It is the chapter where, against this background of sacrifice and hardship, Jesus reassures them of their essential worth--- even much more than that of the sparrow! The point, of course, is that discipleship sometimes puts individuals at odds with the authorities, your family and the world.

The paragraph ends with a call to carry the cross and the promise:

 

“He who finds his life will lose it and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

 

 

On Friday, the Reverend Bob Edgar, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches responded with these words:

 

Jesus could certainly be tough. He chastised those in his own community who did not live up to the moral standard of their professed faith. Conversely, he sought to forgive and redeem his enemies, even in a time of brutal oppression, steadfastly refusing to lead an insurrection despite pressure from some of his followers.

 

How we handle this crisis with Iraq is ultimately not about what kind of person Saddam Hussein is but what kind of people we want to be. I cannot believe that the Prince of Peace would condone a war in which the most power country in the world causes the needless death of thousands of innocents, even to remove the likes of Saddam Hussein.

 

Jesus by his example would call us to find a better way than war.”

                                                                       (NY Times, 1/31/2003)

 

   I agree.

“And they went into Capernaum; and immediately, on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority.”

 

Eventually, he found himself on a hillside overlooking the Galilee. A huge gathered about him and among his teachings were these:

           

“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

 

“Blessed are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the sons and daughters of God.”

 

“You are the salt of the earth--- you are the light of the world!

 

“You have heard it said, “An eye for eye and a tooth for tooth but I say unto you…     (well, you know what he said about that!)

 

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

 

 

I know that there are many voices and that’s what our beloved country and freedom are all about but as we listen and ponder and decide, let us remember that Jesus longs to speak to us and teach us as one with authority.

There must be a better way than war.

 

                                                                                             Amen

eritage Foundation