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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 CW Weekly Devotional - "Which Jesus?" By laneglaze @ 5:12 PM :: 436 Views :: 0 Comments :: :: Weekly Devotional     When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36, NIV   Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:23-24, NIV Tonight in the amphitheater a large group of students will gather around 9 pm to hear a presentation by a fellow student on the question, “Why Jesus?” It is my understanding that several Clemson students, independent of any particular church or campus organization, have been planning the event for several months now. Per their website, the group’s goal is to “answer the question of who Jesus Christ was, what He did, and why He is such a central figure in the lives of so many people around the globe.” The sponsoring group refers to themselves as “The Body,” and their vision is to work with the various campus ministries “to create an avenue [where] all these different campus ministries can come together to work as one body to reach Clemson’s campus for Christ.” Given the fact that I oversee one of the more significant campus ministries at Clemson and I have yet to meet any of The Body’s leaders, I must confess that I am a little skeptical of the group’s stated goals. But who knows, maybe the bridge-building is scheduled to begin tomorrow morning? Nonetheless, I look forward to catching part of the program tonight to hear what my brothers and sisters in Christ have to say.   Since arriving in Clemson almost eight years ago I have sought to build bridges across the many different campus ministries at Clemson. I hope that when my days in Clemson are over, I will be remembered as someone who, even though linked to a particular ministry and denomination, sought to be in relationship to all Christians, whether liberal or conservative, liturgical or contemporary, worship-centered or service-centered. And just as important, I hope that I will be remembered by non-Christians as kind, compassionate and non-judgmental. Engaging in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue is very challenging but so crucial for all people of faith to practice in our post-9/11 world.   During my first few years in Clemson I too focused much of my time on asking the “Why Jesus?” question. Why Jesus and not Moses? Why Jesus and not Muhammed? Why Jesus and not Allen Greenspan? Why Jesus and not Tommy Bowden? Why Jesus and not George W. Bush? Of all the human beings who have lived, why should we look to a Jew who lived 2,000 years ago as our Savior and Lord, as the “author and perfector of our faith” (Heb 12:2)? In hindsight, I have worked hard over the years to answer the “Why Jesus?” question, so hard that I have often been accused of “loving Jesus too much.”   Several years ago I decided that the “Why Jesus?” question was not nearly as important around Clemson as the “Which Jesus?” question. You see, there are many different “Jesuses” worshipped and followed around here. There’s Jesus the slain Lamb of God and Savior of the world (or of “the chosen” or “of those who profess his name,” depending on your theological slant). There’s Jesus the Radical Liberator, the new Moses who desires freedom from the bondages of the past. There's Jesus the Gatekeeper, the one who issues tickets for who's included or excluded from heaven after you die. There’s Jesus the Gift Giver, the one who gives us everything we want and need – we just have to ask. There’s Jesus the Homeboy or Friend who’s cool to claim. There’s Jesus the Anarchist, the one whose voice is always in competition with the economic and political powers that be. And not to forget, there’s Jesus the Academician, the one whose wisdom rivals that of the other great minds of history.   Yes, it is difficult to have the “Why Jesus?” question before you identify “Which Jesus?” you might meet or hear about in Clemson. Surely, the answer to both questions is one reason why the “one, true Church” can be found in so many different manifestations today.   And which Jesus have I sought to proclaim during my years in Clemson? Two different glimpses of Jesus come to mind, both from Matthew’s Gospel.   The first glimpse of Jesus can be found at the end of the Sermon on the Mount and the ten miracles, where Jesus is described as having compassion on the crowds when he sees them. Repeatedly throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ first impulse is to have compassion on those who are lost, hungry, hurt, broken, “harassed and helpless.” I believe that Jesus always has compassion on those whom we might describe in this way, including ourselves at times.   The second glimpse of Jesus is depicted in the last days before his crucifixion, where he has these and other harsh words for the religious leaders of his day: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Here we seem to meet a very harsh, hell-fire and brimstone Jesus, a Jesus that is often lifted up in pulpits around the Bible Belt. What most preachers fail to remember is that Jesus’ words here are not directed to the hurting and harassed masses (those in the pews or tonight’s amphitheater, you might say), rather they are directed toward people like me – people who seek to speak on behalf of and represent the triune God in the world. Sadly, such misrepresentations of Jesus have led many to live lives either consumed by guilt or outside the Church.    It is for this reason, I believe, that those of us who seek to proclaim the Gospel do so with “fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). While it might be tempting to call down “fire from heaven” on those who may reject Jesus (Lk 9:51-55), we must always remember that Jesus speaks for the One who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6, NRSV).   May all who claim the name of Jesus, whether in the pulpit or the pew, seek to do the same. And may God be with “The Body” as they seek to represent faithfully Jesus and the triune God tonight.    Focusing on justice, mercy and faithfulness, lane Rev. C. Lane Glaze Director - Clemson Wesley Foundation Campus Minister - Clemson UMC PO Box 1703 Clemson SC 29633 864-207-9135 (c) or 864-654-5547 (o) www.clemsonwesley.com Feel free to forward this email to a friend. The Clemson Wesley Weekly Devotional is a ministry of the Clemson Wesley Foundation, the United Methodist Church’s ministry to students on the campus of Clemson University. The purpose of this email is to look at issues relevant to the life of Clemson students through the lens of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you would like your name added to this list, email Rev. Lane Glaze at glaze@clemson.edu.