a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of their country.

Except in Jesus’ case, it was adamantly an insurrection without arms. The weapons he used that so threatened those in power and of privilege were — care for those who were the most vulnerable to oppression and exploitation, the insistence on justice, the call for inclusion, and the message of peace. The way was that of standing with the least of these and exhibiting radical love that lies at the heart of the Reign of God that Jesus was born to announce and embody.

Our great honor and responsibility today is to put some skin on these same values and principles.

How telling and tragic that this infant scared the bejesus out of Herod, and threatened his authority and need for power. How intriguing that the new vision of how people were meant to live together in mutual care and love taught, preached, and modeled by this child when he was a grown man would call into question the ways and means of those advantaged by the status quo who were and are entrapped by the allure of power, greed, prestige, material possessions, security, comfort, and self-interest.

Among the various implications for those of us crazy or courageous enough to call ourselves Christians, is the assent to be a rebel, too. Not rebels without a cause, nor rebels for rebellion’s sake or to draw attention to ourselves, but Jesus Rebels. That is, people ready and willing to step up, speak out, and rebel against the same harmful societal structures, misguided religious beliefs, systemic violence and personal violations, faulty assumptions, destructive prejudices, authoritarian tendencies, disgraceful power moves, dehumanizing cruelties, accepted daily injustices, merciless interactions, and desecrating treatment of others that Jesus rebelled against.

To welcome this child into the world and into our lives is not something quaint or cute but daring, dangerous, and demanding because it calls us to rebel—like Jesus—against anyone who thumbs their noses at or anything that threatens common decency, kindness, hospitality, truthfulness, integrity, dignity, peace, justice, compassion, hope, love, and joy. To self-identify as a Christian is to follow the rebel Jesus whose birth we prepare to celebrate.

THE REBEL JESUS

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants’ windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around their hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God’s graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

And they call Him by the “Prince Of Peace”
And they call Him by “The Saviour”
And they pray to Him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavour
And they fill His churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in Him increases
But they’ve turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber’s den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if anyone of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I’ve no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
There’s a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure and I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

Songwriter: Jackson Browne

Here’s a wonderful, lively performance of The Rebel Jesus with the famed Irish band The Chieftains.

♦    ♦     ♦    

♣ ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SPIRITUAL DIRECTION ONLINE? Would you benefit from having a trustworthy companion to listen with you to your hopes, struggles, yearnings, burning questions? Someone who will hold space for you and pay attention with you to your quiet desire to cultivate a life of spiritual depth and meaning, as well as to deepen your connection to the One from whom all wonder, joy, and blessings flow? I am offering spiritual direction online. If you, or someone you know, are interested in beginning or returning to spiritual guidance CLICK HERE where you will find both practical information and explanations of spiritual direction. I’d be honored to hear and hold your unfolding story.