It was a 3 second cut to a face that I can’t seem to get out of my head. It was Good Friday and it was on a grainy video showing scenes of “The Passion of the Christ.” The face? A Pharisee. A face filled with hate…and satisfaction as he watched Jesus being brutally whipped and prepared for his crucifixion. Because Jesus called himself the Son of God, the Messiah. A man who seemed to break all the religious rules, who spoke and thought and loved differently.
This face remains with me partly due to something Dugan said to me later that week. What would it be like if Jesus had come now? Would we be any different than the Pharisees if we saw Jesus spend time with, say, the KKK, with members of al-Qaeda or the NRA, or an abortion clinic? How would we react if we watched Jesus spend time with someone that WE found disagreeable, disgusting, terrifying, diametrically opposed to everything we believed to be right and just? Would we follow Jesus or would we protest against him? Or… would we find ourselves joining a group to do something far worse?
If I looked in the mirror, would I see the face of a Pharisee?
The Jews had been waiting for their Messiah since being enslaved in Egypt. They were eagerly anticipating a rescuer to set them free, free from the oppression that they had lived under for generations. They had a singular, shared goal - waiting and looking for their Savior. Well, he came, but they didn’t recognize him. At all.
Which leads me to wonder if we’ll recognize Jesus when he returns. Scripture says that there will be a cry of command from heaven, the voice of an archangel, the sound of trumpets. It all sounds so simple. But scripture also says that he’ll come like a thief in the night. So if it’s anything like his first appearance, we won’t recognize him. AND in a world of Social Media, fake news, video and photo manipulations, when he does come, how will we know it’s really him?
I’ve been spending my week in prayer over this. The possibility of Jesus returning during my lifetime is highly unlikely, but it still causes me to pray. For those who will be here. I’ve asked God, when the time comes, to release a Spirit of Discernment unlike the world has ever seen or experienced because everybody’s going to need it. But, also, to fill us now with a Spiritual Drive to know God. Outside of ourselves. Outside of our world. Outside of our politics, agendas, religions and beliefs. To have the courage to be set apart, to be holy. Because if we don’t, we will miss him. We will miss Jesus just like we did the first time. Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I sure don’t want to miss one second with my in-person Jesus.
So, I like to imagine that if I was here when Jesus returned (and I was as spiritually ready as I could be), that it would be like what Hollywood calls, a “meet cute.” Bumping into him, suddenly looking in the eyes of my Savior and knowing that this is Him. My heart going crazy followed by the unexplainable knowledge that my life, once again, will never be the same.
To think about all that God has done for me is overwhelming. Jesus was willing to come to earth, to go through it all for me. To face loneliness, persecution, and death. And then to promise to come back, knowing that I haven’t changed much - still a sinner, but he loves me just the same, if not more. It’s truly a life and a love that I can only imagine.
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