Accept who?

What if it IS True? Blog

Discovering, wrestling with, and trying like crazy to live Gospel virtue.

04/03/14

John 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews: 
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.

“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me. 
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”

Who do we accept? Celebrities? Talk show hosts? Politicians? There are a lot of authorities out there. And certainly the same was true for the first century. Christ's message was radical. His was an outsider's perspective. He was anti-establishment and controversial. There seems to be a bend toward this type of fascination. Just look back to a year ago when we saw the Boston Marathon bomber on the cover of Rolling Stone. So why is Christ's message rejected these days?

Ninety percent of the population are literally hard wired to be followers. A popular and reliable personality profiler known as the DISC test reveals this vividly. Unfortunately, the followers need others to follow before they'll begin following. This is a phenomenon known as social proofing. The challenge with following Christ is that his message is difficult. While radical, this isn't rebellion. It's a radical conformation to the will of God. That means dying a death to your needs and putting everyone else ahead of you. Not a popular notion and one that is far too often not lived out among professed Christians. What did Gandhi supposedly say? “I like this Christ, but I'm not fond of his Christians.”

How do we turn this tide? How can we become a follower who in turn becomes a leader? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines faith as surrendering your will and your intellect to that of God. Easily said, not easily done. Christ says that we must come to him. HE says that all roads lead to him. Moses, the Hebrew scriptures, everything that has been and will be. So why don't we start there? Let's find the virtue of trust and begin by simply opening our hearts enough to let God in. From there we can begin to accept him and the one who sent him.

Good luck and God Bless,

Leo Brown