Why do I adore Jesus?

[T grew up in the slums of India with his parents and younger brother. After attending a local, Muslim run primary school he did his high school via correspondence before starting a university degree in science and education. Now living in Australia with his family, he hopes to return to India later this year to live in a slum once more and gain some clarity on his cross-cultural identity! He has a passion for reading, playing games and doing maths.]

I wrote this about a year ago: I was about to finish grade 12, and was on my first ever silent retreat, thinking about what next in life. It was a Catholic retreat centre, and every day we had a mass, which included a time of ‘adoration’ of Jesus. I began to wonder: Why do I adore Jesus? I reflected a bit on the different roles that Jesus played through his life, and what that reveals about his character.  Though still confused about some of the things Jesus says & does and what that means for us now, I found this framework helpful in thinking about the gospels as a whole.

 

Baby

Jesus entered the world in the same way that everyone does- birth. The circumstances surrounding his conception, birth, and babyhood were ridiculous, scandalous and miraculous. I adore the vulnerability and the humility of baby Jesus, in being conceived in an unwed peasant woman’s womb, being born among animals, and being protected from Herod’s henchmen not by worldly wealth and power, but by timely dreams and secret journeys.

 

Boy and young man

We know practically nothing about the vast majority of Jesus’ life. But we get beautiful hints. As a boy he was probably inquisitive and lively, respectful of learning. His surprise at his parents’ angst after the Temple incident is quite touching. As he grew in body, mind and spirit, he probably gradually became more aware of his identity and his calling. Yet he was patient, not achieving much ‘significant’ (at least that was recorded in the Gospels) till he was 30. He took a 40 day time of prayer and fasting, where he was able to reject Satan’s temptation to conform to conventional ideas of power and appearance. I adore Jesus’ humble patience in his gradual learning and acceptance of himself and his role in the world.

 

Teacher

Jesus taught people about themselves, about the world, about life, about God. He talked to Pharisees and to prostitutes, he preached on mountains and in boats, he taught in houses and in crowds. His style was simple and his message profound. He delighted in telling stories that assured the confused and confused the self-assured. His message was grasped by the underclass but it was foolishness to the ‘wise’. I adore Jesus’ authority of speech, his ambitiousness in calling us to perfect compassion, and his authenticity in living a life of wandering simplicity that resonated with his teachings of love and justice.

 

Healer

Jesus drove out demons and healed many different sicknesses. He did this all over the place and for all sorts of people. His healing tends to follow particular patterns: asking a question of the person or the crowd around them, listening to the response, doing the actual healing (often touching the person, including lepers, in some way), and finally sending them off with a message of peace. He didn’t mind offending the self-righteous by healing people on the Sabbath and curing non-Jews: he put the patient over his PR. I adore Jesus’ deep compassion for everyone in need, and his willingness to put in some very hard and long days to be with and heal the people he loved.

 

Friend

Jesus hung out with the ‘sinners’, ate with the tax collectors, associated with prostitutes, and entrusted his mission to his ex-fishermen friends. He was very inclusive and indiscriminate, accepting people as they were. Being surrounded by crowds all the time is definitely not my thing, but Jesus does it with grace; he’s concerned for every person making up the masses. He liked to have a good time with his friends, enjoyed his food and drink and banter. At the same time, he was very honest, to the point of harshness, with his disciples; always challenging their mindsets and calling them to become better people. I adore Jesus’ emphasis on relationships with normal people at the expense of his own reputation among Pharisees, Sadducees and Experts in the Law.

 

Prophet

Jesus was a rebel. He fearlessly criticised social, religious and economic leaders for their self-righteous pride and their complicity in (and benefit from) systems of marginalisation and oppression. His opposition to our narrow-mindedness cost him his life. When they set traps for him, he walked right into them and took them on with question for question. When they tried to avoid him or ignore him, criticising him within their minds, he did things to press their buttons and draw them out. But at the same time, he keeps eating with them, talking with them, making friends with them, loving them. I adore Jesus’ courageous clarity of prophetic insight, his jihad against hypocrisy juxtaposed with his love for all us hypocrites.

 

Savior/ martyr

Jesus was killed by the Judeo-Roman ‘justice’ system to appease the many powerful people he had upset by his teaching, healing, friendship and prophecy. Many Christians believe that, in some sense of the term, Jesus’ death was a sacrifice that atones for the sins of the world. I don’t know exactly what I believe about this, but for me, a very powerful aspect of Jesus’ death was his non-violent acceptance of it. He didn’t even defend himself before the Sanhedrin’s accusations and Pilate’s questions. Even in terrible pain, he considers others: telling John “She is your mother” and his mother “He is your son”. He forgives those who are killing him even while he dies. For me, this self-sacrificial love of the cross is the saving power of what is otherwise a terrible calamity. I adore Jesus’ absorption of violence, his acceptance of death: by doing so, he overcomes them and saves us from their power.

 

Resurrected lord

Jesus’ resurrection is a reminder of God’s power of love. It is a beacon of hope, that violent death is trumped by something greater, something mysterious; that no ear has heard, no eye has seen and no mind has conceived since the beginning of time. For if the rulers of the world had understood it, could we have crucified him? It is an encouragement for the present and a reminder of what is yet to come. There’s not much more to say.

 

Jesus’ birth, multifaceted life, death and resurrection sit together and give us an image of God’s love. This is why I adore you, Jesus.