We who were born and raised in this wonderful country have created our own version of Jesus.  I do not think that we have done this with any kind of malicious intent; in fact, I think that our Jesus has just emerged over time and with compromise so that most of us have no clue that the Jesus we know is no Jesus but our understanding of Jesus as filtered through our culture.  I met this Jesus again last night at church.  He is very real to us.  We really do not want anybody messin’ with our Jesus, particularly the preacher or the prophet.  I met this American Jesus as I was teaching Jonah and was enthralled at how real he is to people and how much we will fight for him.  So, let me introduce you to this Jesus who is so very real to so many of us but so very unreal as the real Jesus is defined by Scripture.

Jonah as you know was the reluctant prophet.  He rebelled against the call of God to proclaim the Truth of God to a pagan people even trying to escape God.  God knew where he was, found him, and showed this preacher His great power which resulted in the preacher’s repentance and desire to please God.  He still did not want to go where God was calling him or do what God desired but neither did he want to return to the depths of the sea.  So he went to Nineveh and when the people responded with repentance, the preacher was angry.  He wanted God to punish them, to treat them as their sins deserved.  He did not want them forgiven because in his eyes they did not deserve it.  Nor did he.  But that he did not see.  And right there in chapter four is where we meet the American Jesus.  Jonah was mad with God for forgiving the Ninehvites who lived then in what is now modern day Mosul, Iraq.  The truth is that there are those in our world whom we believe deserve forgiveness and we pray that for them; they are in our family, among our friends or ethnic group, and they live in our town and move in our social circles.  But there are those who are clearly military and political enemies of our land and not only do we want them defeated, we want them destroyed; we surely don’t think they deserve forgiveness so that they would go to heaven where we are so sure that we are going to be.  It is hard to understand Jonah’s hard-hearted attitude toward the grace of God when we keep it at the level of our family and friends but it is not hard to see what he saw and feel what he felt when the name is Osama or Hitler or the child molester living down the street in your neighborhood.  But the biblical truth is that none deserves grace and it is the desire of our gracious God to give grace to all who come in faith and repentance confessing their sin and committming themselves to Jesus as Lord.  There is no other God than this nor is there another Jesus.  But start talking about this kind of God and this kind of grace out loud in the churches or our land and you will discover that there is another “god” and for sure another “Jesus.”

This Jesus is a capitalist.  He is on the side of those who are doing right.  Now doing right is defined by the value system of middle class anglos who are multi-generational Americans.  It means to work hard and to play fair. It means that we don’t do those things that we are supposed not to do, at least in public; and we do those things publicly that present to others the proper personna.  Now we may gossip so as to destroy people in private conversation.  We may use profoundly profane speech among our friends and we may be so deeply prejudiced against other ethnic groups that we use the “n” word for blacks and who knows what for others who are not like us.  But we are morally clean.  We are by public legal definitions good citizens and we live in decent homes, wear nice clothes and drive good cars and trucks.  We see this as  a sign both of belonging to God and being blessed by God.  When suffering comes we see it as evil and pray to our version of “god” and even in the name of our “Jesus” that we would get better soon.  Physical healing is seen as our right while sickness is both an interruption and an invasion.  The captialist Jesus takes care of us because we are good and we do what is right.

This Jesus is a consumer.  He wants us to have stuff, as much of it as we need and want.  He wants us to work hard, earn a lot, give legalistically to the church and then spend the rest on ourselves and those closest to us.  Our good works in the world are defined by the bracelet around our wrist, “what would Jesus do,” although we never even consider that a real relationship with the real Jesus rests on what He has done because we are so sinful that we cannot do what He did.  Even our very best works are tainted by sin.  At least, mine are.  Do you ever do good for others and then wonder why nobody really ever says, “thank you.”  Or do you ever do that which is good because of how it makes you feel about yourself.  Those whose Jesus is American see nothing wrong at all in the two sentences above.  But the real Jesus calls us to do what we do in gratitude for grace not wanting anything in return and doing what we are called to do even if it kills us for in killing us we will be brought the everlasting life that we are anticipating.

I could go on and on with this but let me just give one more.  This Jesus is caring at the level of taking care of us.  That is how we see Him.  Those who serve the American Jesus love to talk about praying “in Jesus’ Name” in the context of Psalm 37 [+/-]Psalm 37 [37:1]Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! [2]For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. [3]Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. [4]Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. [5]Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. [6]He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. [7]Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! [8]Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. [9]For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. [10]In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. [11]But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. [12]The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, [13]but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. [14]The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; [15]their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. [16]Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. [17]For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. [18]The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; [19]they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. [20]But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish--like smoke they vanish away. [21]The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; [22]for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. [23]The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; [24]though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. [25]I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. [26]He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. [27]Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. [28]For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. [29]The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. [30]The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. [31]The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. [32]The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. [33]The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. [34]Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. [35]I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. [36]But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. [37]Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. [38]But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. [39]The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. [40]The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
where we love to read that he will give us the desires of our heart.  And we know what those are and we can pray for them; most of them have to do with us and those closest to us.  We seldom even think about Chile or Haiti or Mauritania or Seoul or Paris (except to pray to go there).  We organize our lives around what we want to make us happy and pray in the name of our Jesus to get what we want to make us happy.  And sometimes we get it and are glad to come to church to praise this Jesus and sometimes we don’t so we pray more and make it point then perhaps to show up on a Sunday night or two (extra credit) so as to show God not how much we love Him but how much we want what it is that we are praying for.

I met the American Jesus again last night.  It scared me.  Not because I saw Him in others but because I saw him in myself.  Do you see this foreign god anywhere around you?

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed