Hijacking Jesus
By Carol Forsloff
Want a job, get out of jail free, become part of the “in” group, have a platform for politics, be able to say one thing and do another, and cover up corruption? All you need to do is use the name of Jesus and you can get away with almost anything. You can acquire power, become important and admired and manipulate people, events and information. You can plant Jesus’ name on a billboard someplace or on a tee shirt like so much media advertising, so that no one will know you have him or not. You can excuse whatever you do, have done, or will do by just using his name enough. Hijacking Jesus in all of these ways, however, sullies his name and defames his teachings of love and simplicity. It has created deep divisions among individuals, religious groups, political parties, social organizations and nations. Those divisions are no more obvious than they are now. It comes down to this: is Jesus a loving influence or an influence for selfish, personal power?
An example of how Jesus has become identified with power has been demonstrated in the past 20 years by those who sought to infuse a specific set of notions into the social and political system of the United States. Many people were innocently led to political, often inconsistent and hypocritical beliefs related to gun control, abortion, gay rights, affirmative action, gambling, divorce, pornography, contraceptives, prayer in the schools, war and social welfare programs, without investigating whether or not there was consistency among these beliefs and whether they were coherent with Jesus’ message and the behavior of those espousing it. This has damaged relationships on every level and the reputation of Jesus as well. One group or another may also refer to itself as being more “Christian” than another, ignoring the core issues that truly bind believers.
According to the Pew Research Institute and the Graduate School of the City of New York most people in the United States, or between 75 and 86%, say they believe in Jesus and identify themselves as Christian. Yet the conversations that take place among us often don’t include Jesus’ principles of love and compassion but instead contain personal judgments at decibels far beyond the peacemakers’ pitch Jesus spoke about. In fact it has become a game among people to out-Jesus each other in the corridors of powers, in neighborhoods and communities, with each side trying to maneuver the other from full possession of Jesus as one would with football.
The hijack has not only happened with Jesus but with other important symbols and honored ideals including the flag, patriotism, family values, and love of country. It has sometimes been planned and carried out with mischief by leaders of various stripes who use slogans and slander rather than reason and respect. At times it has involved contrived, fragmented or fallacious excerpts from legitimate sources to include honored religious texts and government references in such a way that good folks no longer know who or what to believe.
Hijackers talk about love of God and country, as if they are of equal importance. Are folks to love country as much as they love God? Doesn’t loving all men as brothers mean loving everyone without exception since that is supposed to be how God loves? When thousands die in other parts of the world, shouldn’t we mourn their loss as we would our own family, friends and neighbors? Should we excuse aggressive war in a fashion that isn’t faithful to loving our brother as ourselves and condemn those who protest it as unpatriotic?
Many folks who celebrate life with their advocacy in one area deny it in another. For example, those who favor life in relationship to abortion sometimes resist helping poor and disadvantaged mothers care for unwanted babies, condemn the “sins” and refuse to consider social programs designed to provide important care for those who can’t care for themselves. Those who protest war and capital punishment also reaffirm life. Yet there are those who advocate one issue that affirms life but not others. Should we continue to segment our beliefs so inconsistently that we inhibit conversation and understanding?
Jesus spoke of “the least of these” as those we should care about most. Yet why are the poor, the disadvantaged, the dislocated and the disabled so lacking and treated so badly by those who are rich or aspire to be? Indeed hijackers fear, but don’t favor, the poor. They worry about giving too much when indeed they give too little as the gap between rich and poor in this country clearly shows.
There are many people who believe that Jesus had a great name and reputation and want all of this to stop. He belongs to everyone, not just the Pharisee-like few he wouldn’t want to be around much anyway. He said so himself. So folks should quit dividing him up, taking him over and making him something he isn’t and wasn’t. Let's set him free and put our priorities back to the principle He considered most important: Love one another first.
