What Would Jesus Have Us Do?

Picture by Scott Marchant, taken at Rodel Church, Isle of Harris

Remember back in the late 1990's when those WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets and T-shirts and bumper stickers were all the rage?  It seemed like everybody was sporting something with that slogan on it, and I remember preaching a sermon that I entitled "What Would Jesus Have Us Do?" as a way of pushing folks into not just thinking but also into acting like Jesus out there in the world with all its complexity and confusion.  I can't say that I've given that sermon much thought in the 20 or so years since I preached it, but it came back to me today as I was reading Luke 18: 35-43.

In this passage, a blind man is yelling for Jesus to pay attention to him.  Everyone around him tries to keep him quiet, dismissively telling him to pipe down, but he persists in crying out for Jesus to have mercy on him.  As I sat with those verses, I imagined myself as a woman standing near the man, as someone who also tried to make him stop shouting albeit in a gentler way.  I then pictured Jesus calling for someone to help the man come to him, and I and another person flank the man and walk him towards Jesus.  In this meditation, I could not lift my eyes to meet Jesus' gaze.  I was ashamed of having been part of that crowd that tried to silence this man in his need.  I felt the guilt of having spoken harsh and hurtful words when healing and humility were needed.  I barely heard Jesus telling the man that his sight was restored and that his faith had healed him, but as the newly sighted man excitedly leapt into the crowd and was absorbed by people marveling and praising God, I find myself alone with Jesus. 

He looked at me, full in the face, and softly spoke.  "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.  Look at the world through my eyes, the eyes of love and compassion, and don't be afraid to speak the truth in love.  Go now, in holy boldness, to serve God and neighbor!"  I sat with those words for a few minutes, feeling strangely as if I'd just been handed a mandate, which of course, I have.  All of us who are baptized into the Body of Christ are commissioned to be channels of grace and mercy, to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth, so this is nothing new.  Rather, it was a reminder to me that Jesus would have me and you walk as he walked on earth, as one whose life was one of prayer and love for all people, in every time and place.  This was the vision and call to action that fired and energized the Methodist revival in the Wesleys' day, and this is the vision  and call to action that should keep us grounded and rooted in the midst of division and disunity in the Church and in the world today.  Resisting evil, protesting injustice, and speaking for the voiceless is part of the Christian's job description, but we cannot let ourselves be consumed by anger or bitterness.  We must speak and act and see in love.

My devotional for today included these words from a hymn written by Charles Wesley, part of which I paraphrased above:

Holy Lamb, who thee confess,
Follower of thy holiness,
Thee they ever keep in view,
Ever ask, "What shall we do?"

Governed by thy only will,
All thy words we would fulfill,
would in all thy footsteps go,
Walk as Jesus walked below.

While thou didst on earth appear,
Servant to thy servants here,
Mindful of thy place above,
All thy life was prayer and love.

So, what would Jesus have you do?  Maybe it's time to reflect on that and then do it.  I'm pretty sure it includes prayer and love and following him in holiness as you seek to live in peace with others.