Once In Royal David's City

There is a line in the Carol 'Once in Royal David's City' which I refuse to sing every time.

Christian children all must be

Mild, obedient, good as he.

Mild.  Obedient.  Good.

I don't disagree with the idea of Jesus being good or obedient.  In fact, He is only worth worshipping because of how good He is and how perfectly obedient He was to God's will. 

But mild?

 

The Oxford online dictionary defines 'mild' as -

 

not severe, serious, or harsh; not intense or extreme; gentle and not easily provoked

Yes, Jesus is, at times, gentle.

 

But He was also wildly provocative.  He asked uncomfortable questions, He gave uncomfortable answers.  He didn't just follow the religious leaders of the day with their hundreds of rules and regulations.  In fact, He frequently opposed or flouted them. 

 

Many times in the Gospels, we read that the people plotted to kill Jesus, because of the things that He said or did.

 

That's not mild.

 

On one occasion, Jesus was provoked by the way people were abusing the Temple by selling animals for sacrifice at extortionate prices.

 

"Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice.  He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.  He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

 

[Matthew 21:12-13 NLT] 

 

There is something wild and passionate and furious in the heart of Jesus here.  Something provocative and provoked, something intense and serious. 

 

He is far from mild.

 

As C. S. Lewis wrote about Aslan,

 

"Safe?  Who said anything about safe?  'Course he isn't safe.  But he's good."

 

 

He is not safe and He is not mild.  But He's good.  And He's on our side.
 

I love these words in the chorus of Jeremy Riddle's song 'Furious'

 

          "His love is deep, His love is wide

          And it covers us

          His love is fierce, His love is strong

          It is furious

          His love is sweet, His love is wild

          And it's waking hearts to life."

 

 

Perhaps this year, I won't sing mild, obedient, good as he, but wild, obedient, good as He.

 

 

 

 

 

Do I Prefer James Bond to Jesus?

I am James Bond fan.

 

James Bond is daring and adventurous and brave.  He is confident and courageous.  He doesn't run from danger.  He confronts his enemies.  He kills the baddies and he always comes out on top. 

 

And, in contrast, Jesus is ... Meek?  Mild?  Gentle?  Polite?

 

If I'm honest, I probably do prefer James Bond to Jesus.  But that's because my perception of Jesus is limited and restricted.  It is shaped by a stereotype, not by the truth of who Jesus really is.

 

We seem to have a cultural stereotype of Jesus who is weak and timid and softly spoken.  Someone who is completely out of touch with the realities of the difficulties of life.  Someone who only wants to talk about the 'clean' and neat and tidy things.

 

There is definitely a gentle, vulnerable side to Jesus - the Bible says that He humbled Himself by dying for us on the cross.  But there is also a passionate, aggressive side.  There is a man who will stop at nothing until He sees His people restored and redeemed.

 

When Jesus revealed His purpose and mission, He quoted the prophet Isaiah:

 

"The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me

because God anointed me.

He sent me to preach good news to the poor,

heal the heartbroken,

Announce freedom to all captives,

pardon all prisoners.

God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”
planted by God to display his glory.
They’ll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They’ll start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it new."

[Isaiah 61:1-4 MSG]

 

This is a vision of someone who is passionate and proactive.  Someone who will free captives and pardon prisoners.  Someone who will heal our wounds and comfort those who mourn.  Someone who will care for our needs and will help us with the difficult task of rebuilding our ruined lives.

 

And Isaiah gives us another vision of this angry, passionate Jesus, whose heart is set on our redemption.  And it is a vision which could just as easily be describing one of James Bond's scenes -

 

       "I went ahead and did it myself,      
       I was set on vengeance.
       The time for redemption had arrived [...]

       Fed and fuelled by my rage.
       I trampled the people in my anger,
       crushed them under foot in my wrath,
       soaked the earth with their lifeblood."

 

       [Isaiah 63:4,6 MSG]

 

Do I prefer James Bond to Jesus?

 

Sometimes. 

 

But only until I look at who Jesus really is and what He has really done for me.