Looking For Jesus

On March 7, 1965, John Lewis helped to lead a voting rights march of more than 600 peaceful protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. He and the marchers were greeted by brutal attacks from Alabama State Troopers that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Lewis himself was beaten so badly, that some were not sure he’d live.

This was not Lewis’ first protest. He’d been jailed and harmed many times before through his participation in sit-ins, numerous voting rights marches and his work on the the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

So in 2021 when, as a Congressman, he said, “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America,” he knew what he was talking about. And the “trouble” that he was talking about meant a direct confrontation with the powers that were causing harm to people.

In our reading today from Acts 6, we hear the story of Stephen. He is in trouble with the religious authorities and has been hauled into court. He will eventually be stoned to death and is known as the “first martyr.”

And if we think back to the reading from yesterday from Acts 5, Peter and some of the disciples have been brought in before the Sanhedrin for questioning (and I imagine some roughing up). But instead of backing down, they say – not unlike what John Lewis believed – that we “must obey God rather than [human law].”

The early Christians, as evidenced by the testimony provided in Acts, often found themselves at odds with the religious and political authorities. They were public with their witness and willing to endure the real consequences that came with defying the powers that be.

Dare I say that Christianity has become pretty “tame” in its willingness to resist the status quo. In fact, there is much of so-called Christianity that supports and enforces the status quo and the powers that be these days. This is a far cry from the days of Acts and is not focused on the kind of “good trouble” that John Lewis spoke of.

In the gospel today from John 6, Jesus and his disciples are on the move and the crowds can’t find Jesus. We’re told “when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were [where they expected them to be], they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.”

This got me thinking to myself, “How hard am I trying to find Jesus these days? Where am I even looking and would I recognize him if I saw him?”

What I love about this gospel is that Jesus was not where folks expected him to be. He is always on the move!

For example, if someone wanted to find Jesus on Sunday, March 7, 1965 in Selma, AL, they would have found him in the marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. 

If they wanted to find him in late first century Jerusalem, they would have found him in the community of believers that shared everything in common and was getting arrested for standing up to the religious and political authorities.

If we were looking for Jesus in this day and age, where do you think he’d be? What actions would the “Jesus movement” be taking in this moment? With whom would he be aligning?

We’re in a time of intense social turmoil and there’s a lot of harm happening to people and the planet – some of which is coming directly from state-sanctioned directives and executive orders. 

John Lewis was a devout Christian, and his reading of the tradition and the gospels led him to look at the world and put his body on the line to try to address the harm that he saw happening as well as to work to create the kind of world that Jesus envisioned.

We can each do that in big and small ways – putting our lives on the line for causes of justice, doing random acts of kindness and generosity, aligning our priorities with those who are left out or marginalized, speaking up when we know things are wrong.

This is, in fact, what made the early Christians so compelling and what made someone like John Lewis so charismatic. Their public witness – at a personal cost – was in-spiring to others because it was so real.

Peter Maurin, one of the co-founders of the Catholic Worker Movement wrote a series of what he called “Easy Essays.” In one of them, he wrote:

In the first centuries of Christianity the hungry were fed at a personal sacrifice, the naked were clothed at a personal sacrifice, the homeless were sheltered at a personal sacrifice…And the pagans used to say about the Christians, “See how they love each other.” In our own day the poor are no longer fed, clothed  and sheltered at a personal sacrifice, but at the expense of the taxpayers. And because of this the pagans say about Christians, “See how they pass the buck.”

There is something in his writing that evokes what we’re talking about today – pointing to the power of the witness related to people working for a better world “at personal sacrifice.” I’m not suggesting that goverment does not have a role in creating a system where all are cared for. But What I think Maurin is inviting us back into is a public witness that makes a difference.

Jesus ends his talk to the crowd today by telling them, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life…”

As we move forward in life, let’s not trade our time and energy for things that, ultimately do not satisfy. Let’s give ourselves to things that are true, causes that inspire and actions that make a difference for people.

These may get us into trouble. But, if they do, know that there are many before us who have traveled down this road and are urging us on.