Saved

Some Christians have come to the conclusion that the only way to “be saved” is through Jesus Christ. The point is that Jesus came to Earth and preached his message. He didn’t write down his message, but those who heard his message wrote it down, and we have multiple versions of Jesus’ time on Earth and the message that he preached. The question is: How do we address the message that Jesus left behind for us to follow? What better way to explain what Jesus meant than through a parable. I hope that this parable will lend some insight into what Jesus taught us.

There were two twins from a military family. Their mother had been called up a couple of months ago and their father had just been called up to report on November 1. The two young men were seniors in High School and they really wanted to finish their school year and graduate with their High School classmates. Their father thought that these young men were certainly responsible for their age and capable of living at home for the time that they would be away. They were both 18, which meant that they were legally adults, but they had not been away from home to live on their own. The father created an extensive list of instructions for them to follow. He gave them his e-mail address so that they could communicate with him while he was away. On Halloween the three of them dressed up as ghosts to celebrate the new responsibility that they would all face over the next few months. They all hoped that they would be reunited in June for their graduation. One of the instructions that he gave his sons was that they should eat three meals a day without snacks and exercise at least an hour a day.

The one son followed his father’s advice legalistically. He ate breakfast at 7:00 am everyday. For breakfast he usually ate pancakes or waffles with lots of syrup. He was careful to eat as much as he could, because he feared that he would get hungry before lunch. He ate Lunch at noon every day. He ate grilled ham and cheese, a bag of potato chips and a milk shake. He wanted to pack as many calories as he could so that he wouldn’t get hungry before dinner. He ate dinner at 6:00 pm every day. For dinner he liked to go to Joe’s diner where he spent two hours at the “all you can eat buffet.” He went to the tennis or golf club every day for an hour. Most of the time he stood around and talked with the guys at the club.

The other son believed that it was more important to understand how his body was using its food. This son didn’t worry so much about when he ate. Instead he ate a good mix of food over the entire day. He began to understand how many calories he ate everyday and how many calories he burned in his exercise. When he ran hard for an hour he realized that he could eat a few more calories than when he worked out less strenuously.

The father and mother came home for graduation and there was much rejoicing. The first son was about eighty pounds over weight, while the second son was fit and trim. The father accused the first son of not following his advice, although we all know that he technically did everything that the father had told him. The second son was assumed to have followed the father’s advice although he had not. His father praised him.

This is like the Christians who are getting the message from Jesus. They are told to follow the teachings of Jesus and then they will be saved. But, the Christians are focused on the legalistic implications of what Jesus taught and not the life Jesus wants you to lead. Jesus preached for us to love each other and form a Christian community. Jesus preached the importance of feeding, clothing and housing the poor. Jesus taught us to be peacemakers and to heal disagreements among us. However, the Christians that quote that we need to legalistically be saved through Jesus don’t think about the people that God has inspired in other ways.

The so-called Christians of the religious right create legalistic arguments for why they can cut programs meant to help the poor. They tell us that the government shouldn't be aiding the poor, but other private organizations should be used to help the poor. The argument is a legalistic argument used to defend the selfish that would rather not spend their money on the poor. So, yesterday they cut 40 billion dollars in assistance to the poor so they could give tax breaks to the wealthy. The point is not how we can legalistically save ourselves money, but how Jesus would want us to have a healthy spiritual life.

But the true Christians know what Jesus meant by his teachings. True Christians know that Jesus wanted us to comfort the lonely, clothe the poor, feed the hungry, care for the sick and love thy neighbor. So, Merry Christmas to the Christians! And, remember what Christmas means, Peace on Earth Good Will to Men. And, Happy Holiday to everyone else...

Religion, Christianity, Jesus