Little Red Wesley Hood

by

When Jesus first commissioned the 12 disciples, he gave them some pretty clear instructions on what it meant to follow him.  But it’s the warning he gave with these instructions that I’m interested in today.

“Look, I’m sending you as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as snakes and innocent as doves. Watch out for people–because they will hand you over to councils and they will beat you in their synagogues. They will haul you in front of governors and even kings because of me…” – Matt. 10:16ff

In this context, Jesus was clearly referring to the present religious leaders who rejected his authority when he spoke of wolves.  We can assume that Jesus himself set the example of what it looks like to navigate the wisdom of a snake and the innocence of a dove.  He spoke with boldness at times, and at other times he spoke with paradox, parable, or posing questions. Even in innocence, the dove is a sacrificial animal, and Jesus’ disciples seem to stand little chance in the face of predatory power.

Between Abandoned and Empowered

In this week between the Ascension and the Pentecost, I’m curious about what it looks like to be sent by Christ as a sheep among wolves.  All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ, and Christ has breathed the Holy Spirit into the church.  We are commissioned  ambassadors, reconciling the world to God through this Gospel proclamation, “The kingdom of heaven has come near!”  The work of the ascended Christ is now our work.  The work of the Holy Spirit of God alive in us is now our work. And we are sent as sheep among wolves.

But those of us in nations where Christianity is normalized are not in much  jeopardy of  being beaten by religious leaders and taken to court for proclaiming the Gospel.

So I began to wonder how this teaching plays out among us when we choose the way of the serpent or the way of the dove without a willingness to hold the tension between the two.  Can a person faithfully proclaim the good news among wolves while being cunning, shrewd, wise as a snake, without concern of maintaining innocence?  And how far can a person proclaim the Gospel with only an innocent naivety about one’s enemies?

A Tale of Christian Archetypes

It feels like The United Methodist Church is playing right into these archetypes.  There have never really been “sides” on the conversations around non-traditional sexuality in the church.  There’s not actually a “wolf” side and a “sheep” side here.  There are some who believe LGBTQ+ is a cultural phenomenon, and are uncompromising on their understanding of traditional values.  Some of these have begun to accept that a person may be genetically predisposed, yet continue to hold that they must choose a lifetime of celibacy or go against their own chemistry and engage only in heterosexual relationships.

On the other hand are folk who believe God has intentionally created LGBTQ+ people they way they are.  That their sexual preference or identity is not broken just because it is not heteronormative.  Their desires are not disgusting or abominations just because they cannot naturally lead to procreation.  If God made them this way, God has a purpose for them, and we want the church to foster a sexual theology and practice wide enough to celebrate the kingdom work God is already up to in our faithful LGBTQ+ siblings.

Then there’s a great big mass of Christians that are mostly confused about why all this is such a big deal.  They are slightly right or left of center, they’d rather live and let live, and they’d rather just be at peace and not stir the pot.

These aren’t sides, they’re more like core values.  Here’s where I see sides, feel free to disagree with me.

First Archetype: Faithful Christians Who Have Become Wolves.

There’s no way YOU’RE a wolf.  You LOVE God.  You are a chief defender of Jesus Justice!  If people like you didn’t exist, the truth would disappear or be destroyed by this adulterous generation!  THEY are the wolves, not you.  And they’re EVERYWHERE! Those wolves don’t understand you and they wish you would stop being so full of Gospel Truth!  You can’t be a wolf because you are adamantly defending traditional American values of one man, one woman, lots of babies!  Just how God intended.  OR….(wait for it)…You can’t be a wolf because you are adamantly defending traditional American values of freedom at all costs, and anyone who doesn’t bend to your will immediately and accept marriage equality is a fascist Nazi wolf!  OR….(wait for it)…You can’t be a wolf because you are just trying to keep the peace, and you’ll create as much red tape as possible to make it impossible for those extremists to get their way… Bureaucracy…now THAT’S a traditional American value we can ALL appreciate!

There’s No. Way. You’re a wolf.

United Methodism has its fair share of both Conservative and Liberal extremists who see wolves in everyone that does not immediately and wholeheartedly side with them.  And there may be some middle-wayers with a wolf-like appetite to protect the institution at the expense of individuals.

Second Archetype: Faithful Christians Seeking a Middle Way

It’s a shame Jesus didn’t talk about sloths in this metaphor, because that’s what these folks really are.  Slow as Methuselah.  They long for Holy Conversations.  They don’t want to force agreement, they don’t want to JUST get along.  They want people to hear each other. To see Christ at work in each other.  They want people to believe that if Christ is truly our Lord, then there is value to our siblings in Christ though we strongly disagree.  They take forever to reach a consensus and it is infuriating.  Many of them have made up their mind and have a clear belief on the issue at hand, but recognize that it took time for them to come to that conclusion, and that it would be unjust to force others to quickly come to a conclusion or be force-fed belief.  This group includes folks from every core commitment, whether they are for or against or somewhere in between.

I believe our UM bishops have tried to lead us this way.  I believe the extremists on the right and on the left rejected this model and have rendered our bishops impotent.  I think that those left in the wake of GC2019 who want to do something to prevent a WCA hostile takeover have no clear vision, no clear goals, and are too busy pandering to the Left extremists to build any momentum that would propel our denomination forward in a Christ-like manner.  I do not want to belong to an Angry Leftist denomination anymore than I want to belong to an Angry Right-wing denomination.

Everyone Loses in the Kingdom of God

In the fight to protect the true gospel, the church hemorrhages the innocent who don’t see the need for shrewdness in the kingdom of God.  The church loses the wolves who have seen the light and want to be sheep again, but our gospel has become too small to include them.  The church loses the masses who want instant wholeness without the work it takes to grow there.  The church loses.

Even if you were to do everything right, you proclaimed the Gospel not to protect it, but because you genuinely believe God’s love can transform the world…you will lose.  You will be rejected. You will have to shake the dust off your feet and protect yourself from the people who don’t want your message.  You can do everything the way Jesus did and you will be crucified.

No one gets to keep the denomination.

No one gets the pensions.

No one gets the buildings.

No one gets out alive. The kingdom of God is designed for losers.

24 “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. 25 It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names. 26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open.  Matt 10:24-26

The “they” in this passage is not totally obscure, but religious children of God who reject what Christ is up to in others.  My hope is not that we get out alive, because there is no resurrection without cross.  My hope is that each of us seek to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel, not by being great defenders of the Good News, but by allowing it to work slowly through us and all of us, day after ordinary day.

And speaking of Ordinary: here’s my Wesley Bros Playlist for Ordinary Time! May the songs put some pep in your step as you face the long road ahead of us all.

When not drawing the Wesley Bros cartoon, the Rev. Charlie Baber, a United Methodist deacon, serves as youth minister at University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C. His cartoon appears on United Methodist Insight by special arrangement.