From our ongoing chat with Jesus.
I: Welcome back, Jesus. We’re glad to have you.
J: Good to be here.
I: Hey, Jesus, I wanted to ask you about Obedience. It seems to be all the rage now. “Be obedient” be Christ-like. Submit to authority, go with the flow. etc. It’s seemingly in vogue these days, and I’d like to get your take on it.
J: That’s cool, man. Let me just begin by saying. I wasn’t obedient. Oh, sure to the Father, but here in meatspace? Absolutely not. Obedience is a precious thing. You don’t give it out to just anyone. It’s yours and yours alone. I mean, that’s one of the cornerstones of the universe – free will – you own it, it’s yours, but don’t try to get out of it either. ‘I was just following orders’ didn’t work for the Nazi’s. It won’t work for you.
Frankly I don’t want you to be obedient. I want you to rouse the rabble, shake the dust off of institutions, kick hypocrisy in the gut, make those in authority answer to justice. Keep it real. Make the world a better place.
I really don’t know where you people got this *^$&…. pardon me, can I say that?
I: Um, no. Don’t worry, you don’t mind if we bleep you, right?
J: Sure no problem, I thought we were on cable.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, I don’t know where a good many followers got the idea that being Christian means just going with the flow, being obedient, passive, and peaceful. What part of the Passion seemed peaceful to you?
I: Um, none of it?
J: Absolutely right, but I had an agenda and that agenda was to break down, or at least show how confining the old social religious structures were. I tore down the temple and fed it to the people who were starving. And they were starving, starving for inclusion, love, acceptance. They were subjugated by an authority that didn’t serve them, and worse yet, devalued them. I got waxed because I was dangerous, not obedient.
Actually, it’s kinda funny, Mom always said my mouth would get me in trouble. I understood her preoccupation, but it’s weird how she was right, isn’t it?
Well, there you go. Obedience is wack, man. Are the kids still saying ‘wack’?
I: I think so, perhaps it’s faded a bit from the popular lexicon.
J: Now, since I am trying to be less obtuse these days, I’ll just leave you with this caveat: Obedience is truly a hugely important trait/gift/virtue. Be very careful to whom you give it. I gave it to a higher calling, my vocation, my mission. I did not rest my obedience in the hands of men, although I am perhaps a special case. You know, you all have to place at least some measure of obedience in the hands of those that guide governments, churches, etc. but, all I can say is this:
Give it begrudgingly – very begrudgingly
Peace out.