Subversive Baby

6Dec/090

This weekend I've enjoyed my time with my dad and brother, in town to go to the Seahawks' game today. Although that was the main reason for the two of them making their way to Seattle, we also attended Black Nativity at Intiman Theater. My dad is a big fan of gospel music and it was a fun holiday festivity.

Although there were many facets of the performance that I enjoyed, the key message that resonated with me was the unique way in which God chose to insert himself into humanity. You know the story: a virgin mother, a census to force a return to Bethlehem, the manger, etc. But, what was presented was the shunning and rejection that Joseph and Mary experienced in looking for a place to stay overnight -- in Joesph's hometown nonetheless. According to Christian belief, it was in a manger that the King was born. A king born in a manger? Now, that's subversive! In one of the most critical moments in history, God chose to upend logic and to upset the way of royalty.

Another story presented later in the performance was a song about the woman who came to Jesus with her alabaster box in the New Testament. Simon was having a gathering of Pharisees (men of means) at his home to meet with Jesus. These were people of influence and prestige, so it was with displeasure that they responded to the entrance of a woman from the city (a woman with a sinful past) who sacrificed everything she had in order to wash Jesus' feet with her tears and to anoint them with expensive perfume from her alabaster box. The Pharisees (the religious leaders of the time) pushed back on Jesus, noting that this disreputable woman had interrupted the gathering of people who lived holy lives. But, Jesus noted that she was forgiven and that he did not see her as an annoyance in the least. She subverted the concept of the party in a way that Jesus must have loved!

You see, God has never done anything in a logical way. He's always been -- and always will be -- subversive. I think we (especially Americans) have lost sight of the true message of the Gospel. The false vision that we have of Jesus being a white baby is just the beginning of our folly! We want an organized, safe life where God does things our way. We seek wealth and power, while God entered into our world in the most humble way possible. And, there are churches out there that tell parishioners that God will bless them only if they give generously to the church.

This brings to mind this famous quote from Annie Dillard --

"On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake some day and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return."

God should scare the hell out of us! As a friend of mine says, "God is insane. It's just that his insanity is more sane than man's knowledge." But, we don't want him to be so scary and mysterious. So, we domesticate him and put him in box where we can place him on a shelf where we can retrieve him when we most desperately need him.

Jesus was born a subversive baby and loved to subvert the religious leaders in the New Testament -- and I'll bet that he continues to work in ways that upset us and topple our world.