Jesus rules

Recently a program took us into the streets asking, “Who is Jesus?” There were some interesting responses but the most troubling was, “He has a lot of rules!” Really?

If people in our streets see Jesus as “the rules man,” no wonder there is disenchantment with him! That is the antithesis of Jesus. If Jesus had come to inflict rules, there were already plenty to inflict without inventing a bunch of new ones. He came with good news liberating us from harsh, arbitrary, man-made rules and focussing on what God really wants for us. Spanish priest, theologian and scripture scholar, Jose Pagola writes: 

“What God cares about is not religion but a more human and friendly world. What he seeks is a more abundant, healthy, and happy life for all. If our religion goes against life, either it is false religion, or we have misunderstood it. What makes God happy is to see us happy, now, and forever. That is the Good News revealed to us in Jesus Christ: God gives himself to us just as he is, as Love.” (Jose Pagola, Jesus: An Historical Approximation p446).

Jesus asks us, as he asks the disciples in the gospel (Mk 8:27-35), “Who do you say I am?” Christians affirm our belief that, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, the redeemer.” We have come to understand Jesus as the second person of God in the mystery of Trinity and our eternal happiness depends on listening to Him. But, rather than the harsh, distant, impersonal notion of God we have created out of our own fears, ambitions and illusions, Jesus communicates a very different God who cares for us, seeks us out and wants the best for us as human beings. However lofty and awesome his titles, we fully experience Jesus, not as the “rules man”, but in personal relationship with him as brother, friend, mentor, companion on the journey. 

Deacon Mark Kelly