Jesus Christ came into the world and lived against the world and the world’s way of doing things all the days of His life. Jesus came and touched and healed those who were considered untouchable and unclean—He placed His physical hands on their seeping wounds, or twisted bodies. Jesus was never disgusted, He never says that anything, anyone, is too dirty to be touched, that anyone is too broken to be healed—to lost to be found. Jesus said the eye for an eye, the tooth for a tooth way of justice should be more like when hit in the face turn to them and give them the other cheek. Essentially saying no one is beyond hope, and let violence end with you. Jesus offered forgiveness and love to harlots, to outcasts, to foreigners, to all. And Jesus hung on a cross, the man that we all follow and worship as our God each and every week, was tortured and hung to die by sinning humanity, and looked down at His tortures, at all of the sinners in the world… and said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” There was nothing safe about Jesus.
A couple of weeks ago in our church we celebrated Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the day in which Jesus enters triumphantly into the city of Jerusalem for the last time. By Friday of that week, because of the way in which Jesus lived, because of His radical claims, the shouts of Hosanna become the shouts of Crucify Him. But let us not forget that Easter Sunday would follow, which made Palm Sunday not the end of the triumph, but the begin of Jesus’ triumphal entry into each and every soul through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Yeshua was given to the church, and through it has spoken to generation after generation that the Spirit of God…the Spirit of Christ…is with us and in us. The same Christ who came into the world and lived against the world and the world’s way of doing things—the radical unsafe Spirit of Christ, that said we are all in the same boat of sin without Him as our savior, we are all in need of forgiveness, we are all in need of fixing, and we are all to live our lives in generosity, humility, and love. With the only virtue we are to seek is taking the risk to find the lost and give our efforts help fix the broken places in their lives, as well as in ours. This same Christ is with us, and lives through us and it is triumphant. And because Yeshua, Jesus, Christos is with us, we live our lives differently. We live without fear and stress and worry on the temporary, but with a full reliance upon Him. Things that seem normal, like eye for an eye justice, end up being swept away, like the rushing wind from a waving palm branch, replaced with forgiveness and grace and love. It sounds irrational, it sounds crazy…it sounds dangerous…and maybe instead of being careful, a little careless…to the world. Glory be to the Lord our God, Yeshua, Jesus, Christos, Our Christ.