The Radical Call of Jesus

A conversation I had a few days ago reminded me just how lame our Jesus is.

Yeah... You read that correct.

"Our" Jesus is a lamo, cushy, conservative who is more concerned with proper piety and social respectability than living in radical surrender, selflessly Loving God and people.

• The word radical means to get to the root of something. As followers of Christ, we aren't trying to be radical 'cause it's trendy. We are learning to respond to life at the realest level, or root level - which is the God-level. Like we should expect, our domisticated version of Jesus is a very surface person, concerned with our material success, comfort, personal prefrence, and our ability to compartmentalize life.

I was talking with another youth pastor about ministry and he told me how he longs to be doing something "radical" for Jesus. He was frustrated with how unradical youth ministry was. It didn't really occur to him that the call we are answering in ministry is by nature radical, and that whatever isn't creatively radical may be where "our" version of Jesus steps in.

Many of us know "our" version of Jesus isn't "THE" Jesus. Yet we are so deeply infected with our version of him that we struggle with letting the real Jesus be who he already is.  Ordinary people like me fear that if we really let Jesus be Jesus, we simply can't survive. And we're right. The raw untamed Messiah isn't safe for us. He's an "all in" type of guy who unreservedly, yet lovingly, asks for our total allegiance. He asks - no, commands - "Follow me... take up your cross... come and learn how to die, that you might truly live." Yes, the call of Jesus is radical. And it's not just radical for a few of us either. The call of Jesus is RADICAL, peroid. Somehow we've domisticated Jesus to the point that only some people hear the radical call of Jesus while others hear the regular call (you know, be good people, join a church, tithe regularly, etc).

Truth is, I'm longing for the culture of Jesus. And my religious ego hopes and prays that I continue longging for it. "Our" Jesus is ok with us theorizing and emotionalizing our relationship - even if it isn't real. 

Who is Jesus? I fear we often know too much of him to really know him at all. Contemplate what he says. Intently watch the way he lives. Pretend he's a stranger. Is this guy the express image of God or a crack head?

As for the call of Jesus, it seems pretty clear to me that he is telling us to abondon our culture and join his radical life - repent for God's Culture/Kingdom is here and available. Jesus is calling us to follow him - not a religion or a program. And that's radical! Following Jesus isn't a life-style choice... it's LIFE. He came, not to give us Christianity or some super ethics but, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." The life he gives is so good, you can get your self killed  - and love it. Or sell all that you own - and love it. Or feed mean, stubborn old people - and really love it. Or literally reach out to a prostitute - and love it. Retiunely help a homosexual - and love it. Actively forgive a terrorist - and truly love it. Serve a musty, stinky third-world community in Africa - and love it. You get the picture.

 
Matthew Armstrong
June 6th, 2009