As someone who has spent most of my adult life in paid church work, I have come to suspect that Jesus might not be as demanding that His name be promoted as many of his followers might be. It is true that some Christian institutions seem almost embarrassed to mention the name Jesus, but some others seem to lean towards slogans and advertising. It can feel as if Jesus himself was just terrible at public relations, and they are eager to fill the void for him. I have also realized that I can be moved emotionally when I see Christlikeness with no mention of faith or the church. I ask myself if part of bearing witness to the love of God for all people is being able to see God’s love reflected by all people, both the religious and the non-religious.
British Columbia has made international news for a number of reasons recently. They include:
the heat wave of a couple of weeks ago
the fire that destroyed the town of Lytton
the discovery of the unmarked graves of children who were forced into residential schools
In the Washington Post this week I came across another story that took place in British Columbia. It concerned a man, his dog, a crime, and a person in need of help. There was no mention in the story of the religious background of any of the key people or of the dog, but the actions described in the story deeply demonstrate a Christ-like compassion, understanding, sacrifice and humanity.
I tend to have an averse reaction to flannel-graphish, santitized depictions of Jesus that are all too common. I like the image of Brayden Morton as a kind of Christ figure holding his dog. Morton is a Jesus with tattoos and killer sunglasses.
Read the story and you will see that Morton was willing to give up his own comfort, to forgive a person who had wronged him, to sacrifice in order to help bring someone to fullness of life. His actions humanized another person who was suffering and who did him wrong. In these actions Brayden Morton is a kind of Christ figure, the woman in the story is humanity redeemed, and the dog is, let’s say, the lost sheep or an inadvertent prodigal daughter.
Photo: Brayden Morton with Darla, Cranbrook BC, Washington Post, July 12, 2021, Kyle Sanguin
The group with which I work goes by the name “Reflector Project”. The name aims to point to a theological concept of Karl Barth’s. The idea that Barth presents is that Christian faith says that Jesus is the “One True Light”. Jesus demonstrates the fullness of the love of God. Jesus welcomes all, gives himself for all, loves all. In Jesus all pain and sin is overcome.
We, Barth says, are to be reflectors of that kind of love. Barth argues that this is the call of the Christian Church, to bear witness to this love, to reflect it. All we can do however, is to reflect. We are never the Light itself. Further, everyone, whether Christian or not, is most fully human when they are reflecting this love. All of us are called to be reflectors. Reading the story of the man and his dog and the woman who he saw as a person rather than as a criminal, I saw the reflection of Hope and Life and the One True Light.
Amen.