True power

Perhaps you were as shocked as I was when Senator Joni Ernst made that infamous quip, “We’re all gonna die,” and then made it worse by posting a walk in a cemetery. At the end of her walk, she invited listeners to know “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

 I don’t want to know that Jesus Christ. Do you? That Jesus, largely found in our public square, is flippant, dismissive, and exclusive. That Jesus is armed and dangerous. That Jesus belongs to so-called “Christian” nationalists, I suppose. That Jesus looks powerful, talks powerful, but isn’t powerful at all.

 Remember Jesus before Pilate (cf. John 19)? Pilate had the authority. Pilate had the ground, the clothes, the pomp. And yet look at him in this exchange with Jesus of Nazareth, the poor man, who probably hadn’t bathed, and who certainly didn’t look “presentable.” Pilate sensed His power. Pilate was downright agitated and afraid. Jesus towered over him, and Pilate knew it.

 Integrity does that. Truth does that. Jesus wasn’t willing to do what Pilate had done all his life – look for the way out; take advantage of the situation no matter what reversal it required; look out for number one. We lose ourselves when we do this, and there are far too many of us doing this.

 Let’s be courageous. Let’s look for and commit to the real Jesus Christ, the one who towered over compromised authority. Jesus knew who He was. We can know Him, too. And His power is ours for the asking.

 Reflection

What power do you long for?

 Prayer

Dear God, yes, it might be nice to imagine the kind of power that throws my enemies to the ground and gets me all that I think I want. But that kind of power is temporary, unpredictable, and based on lies. Teach me about Your power – truth and adhering to it; justice, no matter the cost or effort required to pursue it; and a commitment to heal ourselves, to be come whole, holy. You are the master of this power. Help me to turn to You always. Amen.