Jesus Christ, the reason for the season (1)

In celebrating Christmas, we must always remember the reason for the season—Jesus Christ, our Lord, King, and Leader. Let me summarize today and next Monday a sharing I delivered before a Catholic charismatic community on why Jesus Christ is relevant to us today, as He was over two centuries ago when He visited our world.

JESUS IS HAILED NOT ONLY AS A KING but as the King of all kings, the Ruler of all rulers, the Lord of all lords—on earth, in the universe, in the heavens, in all of creation. For He indeed is the Sovereign and Master of everything, seen and unseen.

And yet contrary to this mighty and glorious portrayal of Him as King and Lord, the gospels present Jesus as a humble person, accused before Pontius Pilate—a relatively minor official, a Roman procurator, the rough equivalent of the governor general during the Spanish regime in the Philippines. He stood alone in a kangaroo trial, abandoned even by His closest disciples.And when asked by Pilate, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered with another question, “Are you asking this on your own or have others been telling you about me?” In current trials in our courts, an alert Filipino lawyer would surely jump to his feet and would say to the judge, “Objection, your honor, the answer is both argumentative and unresponsive. I move to strike it off the record.” And even a half-asleep judge would probably rule, “Granted. Strike it off the record.”Truly, Jesus is an unusual King. His throne is a wooden cross, His crown a bouquet of thorns, His scepter a lowly reed, and His ring a rusty nail driven on His wrists. His constituents betrayed Him, chanting, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” And yet He is the only King who resurrected from the dead and by such resurrection conquered sin not just in His own time but in all eternity. Since He is our leader, let us reflect on what kind of a leader Jesus was and is in FIVE ways.FIRST, JESUS IS A LEADER WITH A VISION AND A MISSION. He made it absolutely clear who He was, what His objectives were, and how He intended to accomplish them.

To His disciples, He spoke loftily, assertively, and authoritatively. His mighty sermon on the mount is the greatest teaching of all time and for all time. He leaned heavily in favor of the poor, the sorrowing, the simple-hearted, and the peacemakers. He opposed the hypocrite, the arrogant, the proud, and the self-righteous. He forgave the repentant and lauded the simple-hearted.

To those who were not disciples, to the Jews and the Gentiles, to His opponents, He taught mainly through parables. The parables were intended “to enable the listener to discover something for himself.” They awakened faith and made the listeners discover the truth for themselves. That is why most of His parables ended with questions. “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the man who fell in with the robbers?” was the question He asked in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:36); “which of them was more grateful to him” in the parable of the forgiven debtors (Luke 7:42); or “what fate do you suppose the owner of the vineyard has in store for them?” in the parable of the tenants (Luke 20:16).

Indeed, Jesus knew who He was, what He was supposed to do, and how He was to achieve His mission. He knew He would suffer and die but He also knew He would be victorious! And as a great teacher, He proclaimed His salvific mission in different ways to different listeners.

SECOND, JESUS IS A LEADER OF ENORMOUS COURAGE AND UNBREAKABLE CONVICTION. When He walked the earth 2,000 years ago, there was no freedom of speech, no freedom to dissent. Group conformity—particularly with the religious leaders of the time—was the only measure of truth and virtue. But Jesus did not conform. Albert Nolan in his book, “Jesus Before Christianity,” describes Him as “a man who has the courage of His convictions … No tradition was too sacred to be questioned. No authority was too great to be contradicted … No assumption was too fundamental to be changed.”

He mixed with sinners, tax collectors, a Samaritan woman, a prostitute, and an adulteress. He soon acquired a “bad” reputation of being “a glutton and a drunkard.” No matter. He did not seek anyone’s approval but avowedly denounced sin, repeatedly called for repentance, and boldly proclaimed the kingdom of God, a kingdom which is the opposite of that preached by the Jews and the Romans; a kingdom where the weak is strong; and the strong is just; and the just is compassionate.

He did not mince words in identifying His opponents and denouncing their sins. He exclaimed (Matthew 23:25-27): “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful to look at on the outside but inside full of filth and dead men’s bones.”

Next Monday, Jesus (3) as a servant leader, (4) as a leader of prayer and faith, and (5) as a leader of justice and love.