The Lion Spoke And It Hurt

"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt." Eustace Scrubb

Jesus hurts. Let me rephrase that, "Knowing Jesus hurts." No, let me rephrase again, "Following Jesus hurts." One more time, "Loving Jesus hurts." There. Much better. Or is it much worse?

I read an article the other day at ethicsdaily.com about the recent tax bill to not let the Bush Era tax cuts expire and to keep jobless benefits, as well as the tax cut for the middle class. Wendall Griffen writes, "We are warned in Psalm 146:3 not to place ultimate trust in rulers – no matter what their political party or philosophy may be – but in God. The drama being played out in Washington over extending unemployment benefits for laid-off workers shows that politicians are dealmakers. Their primary concern is not justice for the poor, weak and vulnerable, but the campaign contributions and support they can garner from the wealthy and powerful. So why aren't religious leaders talking about this issue? Could it be that we, like the politicians, are more concerned about money, church pledges to capital campaigns, and budgets than to how our vulnerable neighbors are treated?"

The quote made me wonder, who is  responsible for the protection and care for the poor? Government or the Church? So, who is responsible to care for the poor? I posted the question on Facebook and garnered three responses. All three agreed that it was the Church, not the government, whose primary concern should be for the poor. All three differed as to what the role of the government should play when it comes to dealing with the poor. One quoted Ben Franklin, "he best way to encourage the poor to get out of poverty, is to make them as uncomfortable as possible. That way they try to better themselves." Another stated that it is both the Church's and government's responsibility to create a fair and just government.

For awhile I was at a lost of where I stood on this matter until I read John the Baptist's question to Jesus. John is in Herod's prison and sends his followers to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one or should we wait for another." It's a good question, especially if you know your life is at stake. Jesus responds, "Go back and tell John what you see and here, 'The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed are those who do not stumble on account of me." Is Jesus the one or should we wait for another?

Do not be too quick to answer that question because your answer is going to cost you something. Jesus doesn't rescue John. He doesn't reattach his head after he is beheaded by Herod. If you answer, yes Jesus is the one, it will cost you. It hurts to follow Jesus. Stephen Colbert recently stated, "because if this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we need to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are or we need to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't wanna do it." The point is, as my friend Christina said, that we are commanded to take care of others. In fact, we are told to give sacrificially the gains of our labor to those who have none. Following, knowing, loving Christ hurts.

The government should be held responsible for caring for the poor; however, eradicating poverty will never come through government policies. Therefore, it is the responsibility of God's people, the Church, to care for the poor. If Ben Franklin believed the key to end poverty was to make the poor so uncomfortable that they try to better themselves, then the Church should make the rich as uncomfortable as possible so that they try to better themselves by giving up what we believe is ours. We are quick to thank God for our blessings in life; yet we are just as quick to say, "You cannot have what is mine."

The minute I wrote that and chose to step away from this post, I was met with an opportunity to practice what I preached. One of the janitors needed a few dollars for gas. He was there asking for an advance on his check (something our church doesn't do without an advance on the advance) and desperately needed $20 for gas. He said he would pay me back on Monday. I gave him $8 and he was very grateful for those measly eight dollars; but if God was going to give me a grade, it would be C- and that's being generous. I could have driven him to the gas station and filled his car up. I could have given him more but all I thought about was how much it was going to cost me and wondering if I was going to get any of it back. So I gave little.

It hurts following Jesus. It hurts to do what Jesus commanded us to do. It hurts so we come up with ways not let it hurt. We look at the motives and reasons of those in need before we decide to give. Yet, we are told not too. We are told to give up more when asked for little. We are told to help provide when others are unable. We are commanded to care for one another, a commandment that was followed to the letter in Acts as each follower of Christ brought all that they had and laid it the apostles feet and none went without.

In his transformation from a dragon back to a little boy, Eustace tried to 'undress' himself before he entered the pool Aslan pointed too. Each time he did, he only removed a layer. After the third time, Aslan spoke, "I'm going to have to undress you." Eustace described the pain of being undressed by the lion as a pain that you feel when you take a scab off. It hurts when you do it but you are glad that you did.

It is not easy changing our desires. It hurts. It hurts even more when we allow Christ to change them for us. We are being asked this Christmas to change. God is calling us to wade into the pool but first we need to be undressed and that is going to hurt a lot more.