This Christmas, Let’s Make Jesus More Than Our Mascot – Baptist News Global

A statement recently surfaced He said on social media: “Jesus was a liberator of the oppressed, not a mascot for the powerful.”

Undoubtedly, Jesus was a defender and advocate of the poor, vulnerable and oppressed. He came to the aid of the woman at the well, the paralyzed man, the widow of Nain, the son of the Roman official, the blind, the hungry, the lepers, the demon-possessed, and the mentally disturbed. You don’t have to read far into the gospels to see that Jesus did indeed free the oppressed time and time again.

Jeff Howard

If we take Jesus’ ministry seriously, we will remember the words he quoted at the beginning of his earthly ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.” He has sent me to proclaim the release of the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” This summary of Jesus’ work should also be the Be a reflection of Christ that we offer to the world.

The convincing part of the statement This does not mean that Jesus came to serve the poor and oppressed, but rather that Jesus did not come to be a mascot for the powerful. Ask yourself, “How have we oppressed Jesus by making him our mascot to further increase our privilege and status?” How can we claim that Jesus simply helps us get what we want from life want?”

“Jesus did not come to be a mascot for the powerful.”

It’s easy for me to say that the use of Jesus as a mascot has become an epidemic in our country. I find it even easier to point fingers at others and tell them they need to do better. But using Jesus as a mascot is nothing new.

Perhaps one of the earliest and most infamous examples was when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in the late fourth century. At this point, and for the first time in 300 years of its existence, Christians turned their backs on the nonviolence that had been a defining characteristic of the Christian movement and took up arms to kill in the name of Christ.

They literally wrote “XP”, the Greek abbreviation for Christ, on shield and sword, to march into the battlefield to kill for Jesus. The strategic decision was tactical and ingenious for the emperor; But it was a crucial loss for Christianity – as it is every time we make Jesus our mascot.

If our theology effectively prevents us from identifying with, or at least seeing, the poor and oppressed, then our theology has systematically prevented Jesus from transforming our lives. We are the powerful and Jesus has become our mascot.

A few decades ago there were all sorts of discussions about how our society would become post-confessional. I pray that we do not evolve into a post-Jesus society where loving one’s enemy is seen as weakness and loving one’s neighbor is ridiculed as part of a “woke” agenda.

“The simple antidote to claiming Jesus as our personal mascot is to return to the values ​​that Jesus demonstrated.”

The simple antidote to claiming Jesus As our personal mascot, it is a return to the values ​​that Jesus demonstrated. We hear about the love and grace of God, but the most underrated value of Jesus is his compassion.

Compassion changes us, moves us, forces us to look beyond ourselves – to look beyond our power and privilege and see the hurts and needs of others, to see people. Seeing others is exactly what Jesus calls us to do.

Compassion literally means being willing to suffer with another person. When Jesus was faced with adversity, we learn from our scriptures that Jesus was moved by compassion. Jesus did not want to allow another person to suffer alone. He did not require identification or proof of correct doctrines, and he certainly did not require them to demonstrate their worth. He simply joined in their suffering and through his compassion people found healing.

The love of God urges that we may be moved by the same mercy of Christ. If we are actually faced with a need and our response is anything other than compassion, then Jesus is not in us. It is compassion that transforms the great needs of people in our world into moments of healing. (And isn’t it healing that brings deliverance?)

We stand on the threshold of Advent, the time of year when we await and celebrate the coming of the Christ child into our world, God with us and even with us in our suffering. Maybe I can’t change all the pain in the world, but through Christ’s compassion I can change a world of pain for someone.

As we focus our attention on the birth of our Christ the King, may we find renewal in this time. May we find comfort in our Emmanuel. May we be moved to change the world by imitating the compassion of Christ. May we find hope in the birth of a baby.

My hope is not in that Jesus was a liberator of the oppressed. My hope is that Jesus is still there Is a liberator of the oppressed. May our hearts be so full of compassion that we cannot help but be the hands and feet of Jesus, bringing healing into this world.

To paraphrase a line from my favorite musical: “If we do this right, the world will never be the same.” Yes, even though some of these days seem bleak, there is hope. A baby born from the humblest of beginnings changed the world. May his healing work continue in us.

Jeffrey Howard is senior pastor of Woodland Forest Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He and his family live in the Birmingham area.

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