Holy Anomalies: the Kingdom Significance of the Unexpected

Whenever Jesus does something unexpected, unsettling, or oddly perplexing, we have an opportunity to bring the assault of truth against the deeply entrenched breach work of our modes of thought and action. We recognize a cognitive dissonance between our long-cherished beliefs and the teachings of the Kingdom, as exemplified by the startling and often disturbing life of Christ. And it makes us uncomfortable.

But we ought to rejoice instead. Truth is about to break in with the power of the Kingdom, if we will only read and pray with humility. The secret is to reverse the order by letting the text read us instead of the other way around: Scripture is the standard, and we are the ones who are outside of standard deviation.

Last week during small group I had an opportunity to reverse the order while reading through Luke 8. Jesus is traveling around Israel, healing people and preaching the Gospel. We discussed the fascinating dichotomy between the story of the demon-possessed man and Jairus' daughter, and I felt myself becoming more and more agitated as the discussion went on.

In the Gerasenes, where Jesus is not well accepted, He commands the man to tell the great things that God has done. Yet when returns to Galilee, He commands Jairus to keep quiet, despite the fact that the townspeople mob Him and greet Him with accolades and admiration. This seems to run so counter-intuitive! If we look at modern media, principles of marketing and advertising, social networking strategies, and other related fields, we will find that we ought to capitalize on positive perception in order to most effectively spread our message or extend our sphere of influence.

Jesus has no such intentions, however: He never does what we expect. In fact, He does just the opposite. After wresting with the text and praying for understanding, I've slowly come to the realization that the point of the Gospel is never efficiency, but rather intimacy. Jesus does not spread the message by taking advantage of good will, but instead chooses to personally, physically invest in people's lives. And notice that on His way to heal Jairus's daughter--surely an important even that ought not be delayed--He takes the time to stop and touch an impure woman. He touches the untouchable, and makes Himself unclean in the process, in order to bring healing and wholeness.

Throughout it all He's not looking for accolades. Rather, He seeks to bring the very heart of the Kingdom and His Gospel--redemption, forgiveness, shalom, healing, justice--to the people around Him precisely because He loves them. Maybe that's basic; I don't know. I no longer care. I feel as though the blinders have come off my eyes, and I'm now responsible to operate in response to that truth. Sure, blogs are pretty neat. Sure, writing and theorizing is awesome. Sure, forming a collaborative network is a fantastic way to connect with fellow believers and to invest in their lives. But loving people up close, in the midst of the daily grind, is where the Gospel literally comes to life.

Read the Word with this in mind. Anytime Jesus does something out of the norm, ask yourself if you would have done the same. And if the answer is no, then find out why He did what He did. Ask the Spirit for understanding of the truth within. Take this one step further and ask that He open your eyes to the world around you, teaming with opportunities and possibilities to love people as Jesus did. And then have the courage to step out, to act, to serve without expectation of inflating your reputation, but rather for the purpose of loving people.

Because God is love.


- Andrew