Easter may represent a truly anti-American moment. At best it's counterculture to many of our dearest-held American values. The same can be said to one degree or another about any other culture as well, but we must deal with ours. The wisdom of this world fights to obscure, hide, and twist the truth of God. Spotting this becomes more difficult when a people begins to believe that their nation, their culture, is somehow immune to the effects of sin.
One of our strongly held American archetypes is the rugged individual who overcomes his (and sometimes) her enemies by destroying his opposers by an act of force or popular support. The honorable gunslinger that proves God is on his side by giving him victory through battle in a gunfight. The bad gunslinger is slain and God's justice has prevailed. The gunslinger has now been replaced by the beefy, sweaty, bare chested warrior with belts of ammunition slung across his shoulders mowing down his enemy with fire spitting machine guns.
We have a deeply held cultural belief that might makes right, but that is a sharp contrast to the message of Easter. During our never ending election cycle there has been a growing belief that we can solve our problems through political power and force. Over the last few decades more and more Christians have entered into the culture wars, an attempt to use peer pressure and public power to get people to talk and act the way we want them to. The underlying theme is that our enemies need to be put down, humiliated, and destroyed.
And then there's Jesus and Easter. There were no armies of angels or vengeful lightning bolts at the last moment. The crowds didn't suddenly come to their senses, overwhelm the Roman guards, and rescue Jesus from the cross. Pontus Pilate, Caiaphas, and Herod were able to walk away feeling satisfied that they had done right. Jesus was not the heroic gunslinger, and yet...
And yet, Jesus won. He brought lasting change. He changed the world. Why? Because he didn't come to defeat people. He came to save them. He didn't desire to humiliate anyone but to love them. Did he call out people? You bet, but not that often and very carefully. Instead of focusing on those few moments (but don't ignore them either), we should focus on how he treated people most of the time.
"The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Mat 23:11, 12) He taught us, "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:27-28) He even instructed his people to go the extra mile and carry an invading army's packs farther than required. (Mat 5:41) That doesn't sound like a gunslinger, Rambo, the latest Bruce Willis incarnation, or Bruce Lee. But Jesus' goal wasn't to prove himself. He was confident in his own identity and of the truth. It was to bless others with truth and deliverance.
Paul learned from Jesus firsthand, "...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:12) There is a set of tools for the fight against spiritual enemies and another to use in the battle for those caught in sin. The gunfighter only wins for the moment. There is always another bad guy waiting in the wings. But Jesus changed hearts. Changed hearts lead to changed communities which lead to changed nations which results in a changed world. We are to fight for those trapped in sin rather than against them.
Jesus tells us we have it all wrong. We don't prove ourselves on the bodies of our enemies. Love, service, and sacrifice lead to meaningful change. Those are the tools that God's Spirit blesses and empowers. When Jesus asks us to pick up our cross and follow, he asks the gunslinger, the destroyer of men, to follow the example he gave through the cross (Mat 16:24) and become the servant of all. For that is the path Jesus blesses with greatness.
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