Jesus untamed

The arts have a magical ability to get us to see truth. That’s one of the reasons I studied literature in college and still love it today - good literature holds life up in front of us in a way that makes us understand it differently.

I’m thinking these thoughts this morning because scripture seems today to echo a lesson I learned from C.S. Lewis when I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In this first of the Narnia chronicles we’re introduced to Aslan, the lion who is an allegory for Jesus, and of whom one character said, “He isn’t a tame lion. But he is good.”

This morning I read the story of Jesus sending demons from two possessed men into a herd of pigs, which then plunged into the sea and drowned. After this amazing display of authority, here’s what happened, from Matthew 8:34: “Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.”

Jesus untamed frightened them. Jesus displaying a small fraction of his raw power seemed like he could wreck their town. Far from welcoming the Lord of the universe, they wanted him gone even as they recognized his supremacy.

It makes me wonder whether we too are more comfortable with Jesus at a distance. Would Jesus up close terrify us?

I think the nub of this issue is this: the people of that region didn’t know Jesus, didn’t understand what he was trying to do, and had as a result different priorities. This man, the most powerful they’d encountered in their lives, threatened to disrupt their peace and prosperity. For that reason, albeit unknowingly, they forfeited a chance to be with the Lord of the universe.

It’s a cautionary tale, because I think sometimes I do that. Sometimes when Jesus is moving in my church or changing my community, I sit it out on the sidelines. I prefer my own pursuits and my own goals, and I miss the chance to be where Jesus is working. I’m reluctant to give up being part of this world in order to live more fully in the kingdom of God.

Am I afraid of Jesus? More than I should be and yet not as much as he deserves. Jesus will not be conformed to what I think is comfortable: he’s not a tame God. But oh, is he good.