What Would Jesus Do?
The Rev. Donald Fox
Night Minister
San Francisco Night Ministry
March 16, 2003
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, San Rafael, CA
[Ed. Note: Fr. Don Fox is Night Minister of the San Francisco Night Ministry, an organization dedicted to helping those in crisis during the hours of the night in San Francisco. This sermon, to acqaint St. Paul's parishioners with his ministry, took place one day after major antiwar demonstrations in the City and Marin, and three days before the start of the War On Iraq.]
Readings:
Genesis 22:1-14, Ps. 16 or 16:5-11
Romans 8:31-39
Mark 8:31-38
O, Lord, be upon my lips,
Be in our hearing,
Be in our understanding.
You might remember that there was a question appearing repeatedly in the media some weeks ago: "What would Jesus drive?"
At first I wondered, "Who would be so crudely tasteless, so crassly irreverent, to use the name of Jesus to try to sell us a car we don't need and probably can't afford?
Then I learned that the "What would Jesus drive?" campaign actually had a worthy goal.
It was an attempt to get people to be better stewards of the resources of the earth which God has provided. It was an effort to stop the use of gas-guzzling vehicles; reduce pollution, and reduce the waist of precious resources.
The assumption behind the "What would Jesus drive" campaign was that Jesus would drive a vehicle that would reduce pollution, minimize damage to the environment. And the message was: we should do likewise.
If Jesus were physically among us now, I don't know what he would drive. I don't know whether he would even drive any vehicle at all. Maybe he'd take a bus or taxi, or ride a bicycle; or just walk!
But, if Jesus were to drive, I suppose that he would, indeed, choose an environment-friendly vehicle - if he could afford it! That's because he would do the right thing with regard to any endeavor.
But what car is the most morally correct to buy, or rent, and drive, is not really the question that I'd like to ask you to dwell on this morning - as important as that question is. I would like to ask you, though, to ponder a similar question: "What would Jesus do?"
The question "What would Jesus do?" is a very helpful tool to use in deciding how to behave. That's because, for Christians, Jesus is the model of how to behave. That's because Jesus was fully in tune with God's will and purpose. He knew completely what God created us for, and what God wanted us to be. And Jesus lived accordingly.
What Jesus thought and did was completely in harmony with God's will. So, if we can think and do like Jesus did, we, too, will be in harmony with God's will; we will be fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.
Prayerfully seeking an answer to the question "What would Jesus do?" can help guide us to do the right thing in any situation.
Trying to do as I think Jesus would do is what guides me as I serve in the Night Ministry.
For those of you who are not familiar with the San Francisco Night Ministry, I should describe it briefly for you. The Night Ministry is a middle-of-the-night crisis counseling, referral, and intervention ministry. We're available every night of the year between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. to help anyone in any kind of distress or difficulty. There are two components to the ministry. Every night there is a priest or minister out among people in places where they gather: bars, all-night coffee shops, convenient stores. And we walk the streets in the neighborhoods of those places. I'm out usually five or six nights a week, and there are four other clergy who take turns serving on the other one or two nights. The Night Minister on duty can also be dispatched to go anywhere in the city to be with anyone in his/her apartment, house, hotel room, hospital room, or to meet on a street corner or any other place of the caller's choosing.
I'm connected by a pager and cell phone to the other component of the Ministry: the volunteer telephone crisis line counselors who serve on our crisis line. We have 23 trained volunteers who serve regularly, and we try to have one, and preferably two, persons serve on the line each night.
Sometimes trying to do as Jesus would do is rather easy, such as when I encounter a homeless person who agrees to let me try to find a shelter space for him or her.
Sometimes trying to do as Jesus would do is more complicated, such as when I encounter a man on the street who is drunk, or high on drugs, and whose main goal is to get me to give him money. Especially when I tell him that the Night Ministry does not give out money, but that I'd like to help in any other way I could, and the man becomes angry and aggressive.
It's sometimes even harder to do as Jesus would do when counseling with someone who is suicidal. One night I counseled with a woman graduate student from Berkeley who had been referred to the Night Ministry by Suicide Prevention. Suicide Prevention talks with people only over the phone. People who need to be seen in person they sometimes refer to us. After going to the woman's apartment in the Mission neighborhood and listening to her string of horrible difficulties and great suffering, it was all I could do to keep from saying what I was thinking: "If I were you, I think I'd kill myself, too!"
Of course I didn't say that. I tried to do what I think Jesus would do: I did everything I could to help her revive hope and avoid killing herself. And she did get through that night staying alive.
It was really hard to do as Jesus would do when I listened over and over again to a man whose friend died. He was convinced that she'd killed herself, although I saw no concrete evidence that she had. And he thought that he was responsible for her suicide. We went through what I would consider to be sacramental confessions -- three times.
Even though I counseled extensively with him, assigned him restorative penance, and assured him of God's forgiveness, it didn't "take." In at least a dozen conversations, almost nightly over several weeks, the man reiterated the same guilt and anxiety over and over and retold his dilemma of not knowing what to do in light of conflicting advice he was receiving. His childhood Roman Catholic experience led him to think that his friend was suffering in hell because she committed the sin of killing herself. His fundamentalist pastor had upset him by refusing to pray for her, dismissing the practice of praying for the dead as "Catholic" and therefore bad. A spiritualist had worried him by telling him that his friend's spirit was trapped in the tunnel where she was hit by a train, and couldn't be released until someone went into the tunnel and sprinkled holy water. When I enquired whether his time with his psychiatrist was helping he said that he got no understanding from the doctor or any of the nursing staff in the residential hospital where he lived.
After listening to this over and over again the temptation was strong to think, "Enough is enough!", and give up on this man. But I don't think that's what Jesus would do. After the manner of Jesus, I tried to be patient and be willing to listen over and over again to this man's lament, and continue praying with him over and over again as he requested, and assuring him over and over again that God loves him totally and unconditionally, and forgives him.
Thinking about "What would Jesus do?" is especially valuable when we're confronted with more than one point of view as to what is the right behavior. For example, conflicting voices are coming at us daily regarding a very weighty matter.
Voices appeal for, even demand, our approval and support for a massive, overwhelming attack on people in Iraq. Sometimes the voices ask us to avenge, or get revenge for the horrible attacks of September 11, 2001. Sometimes the voices appeal to our fear of being attacked, saying that we need to eliminate the threat.
Sometimes they appeal to our distrust and suspicion of people who differ from us in dress, facial features, and skin color, or who have different cultural, social customs, political ideas, and religions.
Sometimes the voices intimidate us, threatening us with the labels "unpatriotic" and "traitor" if we disagree with them.
I don't need to repeat the details; you hear the voices over and over again every day on television, over the radio, in newspapers and magazines.
Voices with an opposite point of view beg for your attention, too -- although they don't get as much coverage in the media. Some of these were represented at a peace rally yesterday in San Francisco.
The chorus of one of the songs being sung was, "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb the world into peace.
A hand-made sign read: "He who seeks happiness by hurting others will never achieve happiness."
A penetrating question was asked by another sign: "Why do people kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?"
Another sign declared: "Pre-emptive invasion is a job for Hitler or Stalin, not my President."
A photograph of a young girl on one sign was accompanied by the question, "Are you willing to kill her to get Saddam?"
That message was reminiscent of another by a U.S. Senator a few weeks ago who reported that if the U.S. attacks Iraq, it will inflict death and destruction on a population of which over half are children under 15 years of age.
Which of these opposing voices will you heed?
I hope that you're not tempted to think, "I don't want to deal with this nasty issue here in church; I come here for solace, for peace and quiet." Let me remind you that, for us Christians, to consider the issue is required of us by Christ's Gospel.
In our baptismal covenant with God we dedicated ourselves to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.
We Christians need to remember that Christ is Lord of every aspect of our lives, and that there is an ultimate voice we should be guided by as we face controversial issues: the voice of God.
Sometimes we don't listen to God's voice enough. Jesus's rebuke of Peter in today's Gospel lesson aptly applies to us: " . . . you think as men think, not as God thinks." (Mark 8:33b)
We need to heed God's voice in order to behave as he wants us to behave. Dwelling on the question, "What would Jesus do?", will help.
Jesus taught that God loves every person he has created equally and unconditionally. And that God expects you and me to do the same. Jesus, speaking God's will, taught that we should take care of one another - and not just people of our own family, our own church, our own city, our own nation. God expects us to be equally concerned and caring about all the people of the earth, regardless of where they live, regardless of their political, social ideas, regardless even of their religion. Even our enemies we should love.
What would Jesus do in our difficult situation?
God's voice calls us to rise above the fear, vengeance, and intimidation which are so prevalent in the voices around us.
I cannot imagine how anyone who listens to the voice of God can conclude that it is ok to bring terror and suffering to any of God's children. Even if a terrible dictator does acts of great evil, how can it be ok to kill hundreds, or thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of people to take out the dictator and his associates? Especially considering that the victims will include noncombatant women, children, and men who will just happen to be in the line of fire or near bombing targets. God cares deeply about these persons.
And who will answer for the increase of hatred and violence that will be unleashed, perhaps for decades to come?
War is no longer useful as a way to solve problems - if it ever was. It is not only impractical and horrible; it is also blasphemous. It defies God's will. Recent attempts to apply the Christian Church's "just war" standards of 700 years ago to justify the current proposed war are ludicrous, even obscene.
God cares very much whether his creatures kill or maim one another. You, as a Christian, need to care, too.
If there is great punishment to be meted out, scripture admonishes us to leave that to the creator and sustainer - and judge - of the cosmos, God himself. Recalling Jewish law, St. Paul wrote in another part of his letter to the Romans that we heard read from a few moments ago: " . . . never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' " (Romans 12:19).
In that same letter Paul wrote, "Repay no one evil for evil" (Romans 12:17), and "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21).
The voice of God is the voice of the One who, out of love, called us into being. God's voice calls us, in the words of Jesus, to "love one another as I have loved you."
As you hear the various voices coming at you daily through T.V., radio, newspapers, and magazines, be alert and beware. Ask God to help you discern which of the voices are in accord with God's will and purpose, and which are not.
As you hear the voices calling you to decide and act, ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" Ask God to give you the wisdom to know what Jesus would indeed do in your situation. And ask God to give you the courage to do as you think Jesus would do.
Let us pray:
O God of peace, who sent Jesus among us to show us how to act in accord with your loving will for our benefit and for the benefit of all humankind, give us wisdom to know what Jesus would do in our time and place. Give us the courage and power to do what is loving, good, and right. In Jesus' holy name we pray.
AMEN.
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