WWJD?
I just found my old WWJD bracelet a few days ago. When I was about 15 years old, everyone seemed to be wearing one of these little bracelets that said “WWJD?”, which stood for “What Would Jesus Do?”
So when I found my bracelet, it struck me, because right now it is such a good question.
What would Jesus do right now?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot these past few days. There are so many thoughts racing through my mind. It is hard to express what I am feeling or thinking. So this question has really helped me. I found 3 stories that I think illustrate what Jesus would do if he were walking around America in 2020.
There is this one moment recorded by the gospeller John, when Jesus shows up at the funeral of Lazarus. Everyone is crying. It is a truly sad moment. What was about to happen next? Well, Jesus was gonna raise Lazarus from the dead.
You know what Jesus didn’t use the moment for? He didn’t choose the moment everyone was grieving to start airing his opinions. He didn’t use the moment to try to tell people why they should calm down.
You know what he did do?
"Jesus wept.”
Jesus sat down with everyone and just cried. He was present. He felt what they were feeling, because it made him upset too.
So if Jesus were in America right now, he would be with those who are hurting, and allow himself to hurt with them. He would have compassion. He wouldn’t try to just move past the emotions.
Jesus grieved with those who grieved.
In another moment captured by John, a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery was dragged out into the middle of town by a group of men.
Their plan was to execute her publicly for her crime.
But then Jesus stepped in. He crouched in front of this woman, and began drawing on the ground.
What we sometimes miss about this part of the story is that in the minds of these men, they had every right to begin throwing stones. By stepping between them and this woman, and crouching by her, Jesus was binding himself to her fate. If the men chose to begin throwing stones, Jesus would have died too.
Then Jesus spoke the iconic line:
“…let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”
One by one, the men all dropped their stones and walked away.
The irony? Jesus was the only one there without sin. And instead of condemning her, instead of throwing a stone, he protected this woman.
So if Jesus were walking around the streets of our cities right now, he would stand with the oppressed. He would come alongside those who are being mistreated by the authorities. He would be willing to be harmed if necessary.
Jesus stood with the oppressed.
The last scene I want us to watch together happens right before Jesus gets beaten and crucified. He had just spent the entire night crying and praying in a garden.
A group of guards then came to arrest Jesus. Peter, one of his guys, sprang into action and cut off the ear of one of the guards. Peter figured it was the right thing to do- no one was going to arrest Jesus! I assume he was aiming for the guy’s neck, but as the guard dove out of the way, he sliced the guy’s ear clean off.
What Jesus does next was totally unexpected. He grabs the bloody ear off the ground, and puts it back on the guy’s head, healing him.
Then he looks at Peter and said:
“Put your sword away! For all who live by the sword die by the sword. Shall I avoid this hour of destiny my Father has chosen for me?”
Jesus reminds Peter of one of the most profound mysteries of the message that Jesus preached: love always conquers hate. Love is greater than force.
And then Jesus did one of the strangest things of all- he allowed himself to be crucified.
Why? Out of love for people. The very people who were crucifying him. For people he didn’t agree with. For people who were horrible to other people.
Actual love is a really messy but fierce thing.
So if Jesus were witnessing at one of the many scenes of violence we have all watched these past few days, he would use whatever power he has to stop it from happening, to bring healing. He would show love in every way, even to his oppressors, and to people he didn’t agree with.
Jesus led with love.
So what would Jesus do in 2020? Well, after weeping over our cities, he would grieve with those who are grieving, he would stand with the oppressed, and he would lead with love. Jesus would be able to love people and disagree with them at the same time. Jesus would be able to stand with the oppressed and at the same time tell people to love rather than turn to violence. He wouldn’t feel the pressure to conform to any viewpoint but that of the kingdom of God. He would simply be Jesus.
Being reminded of this has given me so much freedom.
I have been able to cry as my black friends ask me to pray for them as they have really hard conversations with their kids. I cry because it isn’t right. But I also cry because I realize that I don’t have to have those same kind of talks with my sons. Instead I have to explain to them what prejudice is, what privilege means. But my friends of color have to tell their kids something very different. This is not the way things should be. So I cry. I feel. I grieve.
I have been able to feel absolutely okay in standing up against racism, even in people I would usually try to respect. Authority figures, community members, and 10,000 voices online are saying things that I can’t believe are being said in 2020, and I simply won’t put up with it. I think over these next few weeks, I will probably have some people choose to not talk to me anymore. But I cannot stand by and watch other humans be oppressed and do nothing about it.
And I can stand in love. I watched the video of George Floyd, and I felt absolute outrage. It was flat-out murder. I can see the anger in the faces of protestors, and I can resonate with it. We should be angry. I have watched peaceful protests, and feel proud of my fellow Americans who are standing up for what this country is supposed to be about. At the same time, I have watched rioters and looters overtake what these rightfully angry, yet peaceful, protestors are trying to accomplish. I can watch these scenes of violence and destruction, and feel anger about it. But instead of condemning, I can love. And I can feel angry about anything that isn’t love, because I know that hatred destroys, while love never fails. And I can trust that those who lead with love will be the ones who truly change this nation.
Remembering how Jesus lived brings me clarity. It reminds me what love looks like, what justice looks like, and what humanity can look like.
I wish I had better words for this moment, but so far, this is what I have come up with- three pictures of Jesus. I know I’ll be sharing more as we continue to walk this out as a country.
But I want to leave you, for now, with these words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“By opening our lives to God in Christ, we become new creatures. This experience, which Jesus spoke of as the new birth, is essential if we are to be transformed nonconformists . . . Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.”
