Don't tell me not to worship Jesus.

Against Heresies (in memes)

Of the making of many memes there is no end, and much meming is a weariness to the flesh.

This one made me particularly weary.

Having been afflicted with bad theology on Facebook for many years now, I’ve developed a bit of an unconscious routine. I take off my glasses and rub my temples. I put my glasses back on and read the offending passage once more. I stare off into the middle distance and contemplate my life. I think about responding on Facebook, but why would I do that? I wouldn’t bang my foot with a hammer. I wouldn’t shove a carrot peeler up my nose. I wouldn’t listen to Florida Georgia Line. Why, then, would I engage in theological debate on Facebook? The sheer volume of angry-face emojis would be overwhelming. It would be like that Star Trek episode with the tribbles. That way lies madness.

So, I’ll make a few remarks here, and then, having unburdened myself, hopefully never think about this sad collection of vapid platitudes again.

I admit being put off by the very title of the meme, “If the Church Were Christian.” It assumes that the church isn’t Christian. We’ve missed the boat across these two millennia, you see, but now, through some miracle of prophetic insight, we have this meme to tell us what we have missed since the days of Jesus himself. It is a claim that is unserious at best. Are you telling me that churches don’t care for the poor, provide counseling services, support women’s shelters, or advocate for the unborn (that counts, right?)? Christians do not visit the sick in hospitals, engage in prison chaplaincy, comfort the bereaved, or visit shut-ins? That’s news to me, and I’ve been a Christian for a long time. The many seminary students I’ve had over the years must be lying to me about the ministries in which their churches are involved. The churches I’ve been a part of must be aberrations.

And yes, I am well aware that Christians and churches do bad things. Does that mean that the church is not Christian, though? Do we have to achieve collective moral perfection before we can consider ourselves Christians? I like the image of the church as a hospital. We can trace this image at least as far back as John Chrysostom (4th cen.), who wrote,

For indeed the school of the Church is an admirable surgery — a surgery, not for bodies, but for souls. For it is spiritual, and sets right, not fleshly wounds, but errors of the mind, and of these errors and wounds the medicine is the word. This medicine is compounded, not from the herbs growing on the earth, but from the words proceeding from heaven — this no hands of physicians, but tongues of preachers have dispensed (“Homily Against Publishing the Errors of the Brethren”).

John Chrysostom, public domain

We in the church are in the process of being healed of our sin. Hence we stumble toward the imitation of Christ, with missteps along the way. I say this not to excuse wrongdoing in the church, but to present a realistic picture of its nature. The church is “Christian” because Christ called her into being and is her head. And as the head of the church, Christ is healing those who make up the body.

Another problem with this meme is that it creates a false dichotomy, as if we can either worship Jesus or model our lives upon his. One of the reasons we try to model our lives on Jesus is that we believe he is God-made-flesh. And if he is God-made-flesh, it is not just negligent but sinful for us to forgo worship of him.

This brings us to still another issue—the implication that Jesus is not divine. If Jesus is not God-made-flesh, then he is simply one of many teachers in the crowded marketplace of ideas. So I might follow his example if his ideas make sense to me, if they appear more compelling than other ideas, if I see some benefit in them. That might be a problem, however, because Jesus’ teaching is so radical. It’s not all cuddles and hot chocolate. Consider the following:

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell (Matt 5:29-30).

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).

Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me (John 6:53-37).

If Jesus isn’t divine, then the proper response to each of these statements, and many more like them in the gospels, is, Are you crazy?!?! These statements, if we take them seriously, are unreasonably demanding, even frightening. We would only follow such a radical teacher if we believed he was different than all other teachers. He teaches not simply through human precepts, or even prophetic utterances, but by demanding our very lives as living sacrifices to him. He is not simply teaching us to be wise, kind, or thoughtful, but to be fully given over to him and the new life he offers. Vague celebrations of “mercy” and “love” don’t touch the heart of his message.

The memer (which I believe is the proper term for one who makes memes) also suggests that worshiping Jesus is unchristian. That would be news to the disciples… and to Paul… and to literally every other New Testament writer. Were all of these unchristian? I recognize the historical concerns with calling Jesus’ earliest followers “Christian,” but were they wrong to worship him? The earliest Christian confession is “Jesus is Lord.” What do we think this means? In this earliest confession, Jesus’ followers explicitly linked him to the God of their Scriptures (the Old Testament). Did the first Christians get it wrong about Jesus? Are we so well informed now that we can set aside their witness?

This part made me lol, as the kids like to say these days: “the joy of Christian faith is not to be found in the worship of Jesus.” Gosh… to think about all those misguided souls who found the peace that passes all understanding in the worship of their Lord (whom they apparently should not have been worshiping). Worship involves entry into a liminal space, an engagement with God, a conscious acknowledgment of God’s presence, and an openness to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. It reminds us who we are before an eternal God who gave himself for us so that we might have eternal life. But let’s not get too joyful about this. If we do, we might not act like Jesus, so I’m told.

The memer counsels us to follow this non-divine Jesus’ example of mercy and love. If we in the church will just get our act together and act like Jesus, the world will be different. There is one small problem, though: sin. Sin is not just something we do. It is our universal tendency to rebel against God. If you don’t believe in this tendency, I don’t know what to tell you. It appears undeniable from where I sit.

We can’t overcome sin on our own, though. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we do so. Jesus sent his Spirit so that we might have new life. But if Jesus is not divine, as the memer seems to imply, then the Spirit is not his to send. And if Jesus did not send his Spirit, we are left to our own failing and paltry devices in the pursuit of a Christlike life. In other words, we are doomed, and, for that matter, damned.

Many have died for the great privilege of worshiping Jesus. Many continue to die for him today. To suggest with such casual high-handedness that the worship of Jesus is somehow unchristian shows contempt for the blood of the martyrs. And whether you call yourself a Christian or not, if you don’t worship Jesus, we don’t practice the same faith.