Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. William Shakespeare
September 29 is World Heart Day. The focus is on that thumper hiding behind one’s ribcage. I am told (via the media) that some 17 million people die from heart disease each year. A friend of mine wasn’t feeling too well a few months back, went to his doctor and from there was rushed to an emergency department for something much more serious than “not feeling well.” Five bypasses later, he’s doing much better.
Although hospital resources around here are being stressed, stretched, and strained to address the climbing number of patients with Covid-19 related issues, they are still able to eke out emergency treatments for people with other needs. One reason I signed up for (and received) my Covid vaccinations was to help keep at least one more hospital bed open for people who might really need it.
I don’t make that statement out of arrogance or ego gratification. It’s just a boring fact. I don’t want to see the inside of a hospital for any reason, but if I can do something that helps keep those facilities open for those who need them, then I believe that’s what Jesus would have me do. As he said on a number of occasions and in a variety of ways, “Do what the law requires” (“render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's''), and “do what God requires” (“and to God that which is God’s”).
Jesus didn’t seem too heck-bent on rights, freedoms and privileges. Love was his North Star, his Guiding Light. Back in the 1990s there was a bunch of “WWJD” paraphernalia sold or distributed everywhere you went. It stood for “What Would Jesus Do.” That sounded good on the face of it, but it always made me uncomfortable because, well, frankly, I can’t imagine Jesus doing anything different from what I would want to do in a given situation. Too many people rationalize their behavior, and then simply add, “I’m sure that’s what Jesus would have done.”
I prefer to change the question slightly, asking: What Did Jesus Do? It is more difficult to rationalize bad behavior if we set it up alongside what Jesus actually did. I know the government didn’t mandate masks or vaccinations in Jesus’ day, but what they did mandate, Jesus said, “Do it.”
In one story we find Jesus paid taxes that were required (Matthew 17). He didn’t argue about it. He didn’t whine about it. He didn’t grab a sword and threaten to kill over it. He had the disciples go fishing, and from the mouth of the fish, discovered money needed to pay the tax.
The tale derives from a question about freedom. “Must we pay?” he asks. “We’re free to pay,” he answers.
Some people rise up in the morning and say, “I have to go to work.” Others rise and say, “I get to go to work.” The result of their labor is the same: income. But their attitudes make all the difference.
Jesus worked the field. Jesus kept busy. He took time off to recharge, refill, and reconnect with God. He also got grumpy from time to time. I have no doubt there were times Jesus took his disciples aside and said, “Friends, I am down to my last nerve and you’re getting mighty close to stepping on it.” To the best of my knowledge, he never took a two by four to them, but he spoke directly, clearly and plainly to them. He gave Peter what must have felt like a gut-punch one day when he said, “Get behind me Satan, for you’re not looking at things through God’s eyes, but your own” (Mark 8).
I suspect many of the world’s problems are caused by looking through lenses made of green-eyed envy, or huddled behind walls of fear and loathing (and calling it “being realistic”). That’s fine. I just ask that we be honest about it and stop trying to pretend our words or actions are either godly or Christian. Perhaps the world is in desperate need of heart bypass surgery.
I only know of One Surgeon who can do it. Love is how God heals and bypasses hearts of stone in this, our valley.
Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of newly released: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)
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