JESUS IN OUR WORLD TODAY

The letter to the Hebrews gives a wonderful description of Jesus, ‘Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and for ever’(Hebrews 13.8). Today let us think about Jesus in our contemporary world.

What would Jesus think if he were here today? He would see the widening gap between rich and poor and realize that people were still being ill-treated.

He would witness with anger the starving people around the world. Jesus would watch the films, plays, Play Stations and social media, and probably consider the images he saw to be grotesque.

Jesus would count the many war scenes and conclude,‘Their weapons are different from the Roman Army but the pain and suffering caused by wars are the same’.

Jesus would be absolutely furious with his church.‘They have not listened to what I told them,‘Take no gold and silver or copper in your belts, no bags for your journey nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff’ (Matthew 10. 9-10)‘Look at them now’, Jesus would ponder,‘Their churches are rich, and powerful and utterly different from my kingdom’. Then he would shudder,‘They have not learned anything from my Calvary Cross’.‘They need to go to Calvary all over again’.

Let’s face it, today’s world needs Jesus and Calvary.

One thing would remain unchanged. In our contemporary society Jesus’outlook and attitude, mind and determination, would remain the same. Jesus would see the patients in A&E and feel deeply for them as he did in Nazareth.

Jesus would see families struggling to make ends meet and want to feed them.

Jesus would see the uncaring ways people were treating one another and would want to teach them,‘You are supposed to be lights and carers for one another’ (Matthew 5.14).

Jesus would see people fighting and stabbing one another, and would want to say,‘You are supposed to be peacemakers with one another’(Matthew 5.9).

Jesus would weep for people now as he did in Galilee because people are still helpless and lost (Matthew 9.36). Jesus would see the way people were living and would realize how they needed Easter’s basic lesson.

Today Jesus would continually drive home one essential lesson. Jesus would thrust into every human situation the divine power, the decisive judgment, and intimate presence of his Father God.

Jesus would bring God’s decency into the scenes of child exploitation and female abuse.

Jesus would bring God’s judgment into the rich-poor greedy divide in human conduct. Jesus would repeat to this generation what he said in Galilee‘Woe to you who are rich now for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now for you shall hunger’(Luke 6.24-25).

But there is one thing more...Jesus is alive and active in our time as surely and decisively as when he lived in Galilee. So in our times Jesus is acting and caring, Jesus is seeing and judging, Jesus is assessing and condemning everything that mocks his Calvary and denies his emptied tomb. Jesus is doing these things through your faith, witness and worship.

Perhaps now is the time to speak with conviction and declare with passion Christianity’s wholesome truth. Our contemporary generation considers itself a mature secular society that has‘come of age’. It no longer needs Christianity.

Let the church and the Christian community assert,‘think again’.

Surely there is a better way to live than what we now endure. Scotland need not be the sick man of Europe, knife crime can be eradicated and violent deaths and fatalities erased.

Poverty can be resolved and families enabled to live with sufficient for their needs.

The utterly demoralizing experiences suffered in and through social media can be prevented from harming people, especially young people.

Christianity is the way of life that Jesus himself lived for and died for. It can heal our wounded society, and transform our soiled communities.

Jesus’Christianity gives people something worthwhile to live for. Jesus’Christianity takes people to his Father God and shows people what life is all about.

Jesus’Christianity gives individuals, religious-minded or not, a real value and importance, showing people what they can become. Jesus’Christianity is desperately needed today.

Jesus’Christianity is God’s way.