Love in the Age of Blasphemy

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Early Christians were mocked for worshipping an ass, as can be seen by this piece of graffiti found near the palatine hill section of Rome. Modern Christians are faced with the other image. This is a picture of two men at the Hunky Jesus competition held annually in Dolores Park in San Francisco on Easter.

An initial response is anger. When our Lord is mocked in such ways by the very people he gave his life for, it is repulsive to those of us who honor him. But should we be surprised that humans would treat Jesus this way? After all, it was humans who beat him, spit on him, mocked him, and hung him on a cross. In this post-Christian age we should actually expect more of this.

So how should we respond? I suggest that we respond as Jesus would respond. Peter tells us “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:21-24).

On one occasion the disciple were traveling through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem. Because the Samaritans rejected Jesus, the disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven upon them. This might have been how you felt when seeing the picture of the hunky Jesus. But Jesus rebuked them for such a response (Lk. 9:51-56).

To respond in anger and malice is to take on their sin. It is to allow them to dictate how we will feel and act. Rather we are called to let the Holy Spirit work in us to provide a different attitude. You might remember what kind of fruit the Spirit produces. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

If we are to follow in the steps of the Master, then we must learn to treat others the way our Master did. We must learn to love not only our friends, but our enemies as well, just as he taught us (Matt. 5:44). We must learn to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39). We must learn to have compassion for those who wander aimlessly like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36).

Someone will inevitably argue that we need some righteous indignation, like Jesus expressed in the temple when he turned over the tables. To such arguments I would like to point out that Jesus showed righteous indignation NOT to outsiders, but to insiders. To those religious people who should have been caring for the lost sheep. It was to those that Jesus gave the stinging rebuke found in Matthew 23.

Nowhere do we find Jesus taking such an approach with outsiders. Nor do we find it with any of the followers of Jesus in the New Testament. And there were plenty of opportunities. Paul could have showed some righteous indignation with the philosophers who sneered at the idea of the resurrection, but he didn’t (Acts 17:32). He could have lambasted Felix and Festus, but he didn’t (Acts 24 & 25).

Instead of trying to pressure our government into suppressing such blasphemous activities as seen in Dolores park, Christians should be in the business of serving those very people. Is that not what our Lord did? Did he not eat with tax collectors and prostitutes? Does he not love the gay person who blasphemes his name as much as he loves us?

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