A Choice to Make

“Jesus went to Jerusalem to announce the good news to the people of that city. And Jesus knew that he was going to put a choice before them: Will you be my disciple, or will you be my executioner? There is no middle ground here. Jesus went to Jerusalem to put people in a situation where they had to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ That is the great drama of Jesus' Passion: he had to wait upon how people were going to respond. How would they come? To betray him or to follow him? In a way, his agony is not simply the agony of approaching death. It is also the agony of having to wait.” – Henri Nouwen

I’m not sure I can add much to Nouwen’s quote. He is certainly challenging. Of course, the events of Jesus’ last week prior to his resurrection were challenging. For that matter, the weeks that followed Jesus’ resurrection were challenging. Jesus is challenging.

Betray or follow. The choice really is ours. It’s the beauty of being created in the image of God: freedom of choice. It’s also the bane. And we make the choice every day. Will I follow Jesus today or will I follow my perceived self-interests? I say perceived because my true self-interests are served by following Jesus. That is the way of joy, hope, fulfillment, and happiness. The way of love is the way of life.

Yet, we, like the crowds, can be a fickle bunch. When following Jesus looks fun and popular and acceptable, well we jump on the bandwagon. When following Jesus means giving up long held prejudices and false beliefs, then things get dicey. When following Jesus means giving up comforting religion and taking up paradigm-altering revolution, well, I think I might just hold on to religion, thank you very much. Everyone else is.

Jesus forces a choice. Betray or follow. Self-preservation or crucifixion. Limited life or resurrection life.

How will you respond? Jesus is patiently waiting.