Christmas Song of the Day: A Strange Way to Save the World by 4Him

 


There are no shortage of Christmas songs that look at the Nativity from the perspective of Mary, the Magi, and even the shepherds, but its a rare thing for a song to look at the story from the perspective of Joseph. It’s a shame that we know so little about Joseph, because he was, no doubt, an exceptional person to be chosen for such an influential role. Perhaps that’s why I love this song so much. It uses imagination to fill in the blanks as it fills the shoes of the daddy chosen by the Father. 


In recent weeks the title line from this song has bounced around my head as I’ve tried to contemplate the complex simplicity of God’s plan to save the world; truly, it is a strange way to save the world, and yet, it’s obvious there is no other way. Love is the only way.


I'm sure he must have been surprised

At where this road had taken him

Cause never in a million lives

Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem

And standing at the manger

He saw with his own eyes

The message from the angel come to life

And Joseph said

Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade

Why Him with all the rulers in the world

Why here inside this stable filled with hay

Why her, she's just an ordinary girl

Now I'm not one to second guess

What angels have to say

But this is such a strange way to save the

World

To think of how it could have been

If Jesus had come as He deserved

There would have been no Bethlehem

No lowly shepherds at His birth

But Joseph knew the

Reason love had to reach so far

And as he held the Savior in his arms

He must have thought

Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade

Why Him with all the rulers in the world

Why here inside this stable filled with hay

Why her, she's just an ordinary girl

Now I'm not one to second guess

What angels have to say

But this is such a strange way to save the

World

Now, I'm not one to second guess

What angels have to say

But this is such a strange

Way to save the world

Such a strange way, this is

Such a strange way

A strange way to save the world

A strange way to save the world


Joseph can’t be blamed if he wondered why God would choose such a strange way to save the world; no one saw it coming. As long as men have roamed the earth they have sought to exert influence and control over the world by dominance and violence, as if it is possible to kill our way to peace. The Romans, under whom the Christ child entered the world, certainly believed this. He lived in an era deemed The Pax Romana (the peace of Rome), which was parodied by the ancient Roman historian and politician Tacitus when he wrote, “Faciunt solitudinem pacem appellant”, translated “They create a desert and call it peace.”


We live 2,000 years removed from God’s dramatic act of saving the world and we can barely grasp this way as THE way, what chance did Joseph have to understand it? Despite the paradoxical wisdom that entered, and ultimately transformed the world through the life, teachings, and death of this carpenter’s son, it seems we still struggle to believe it, embrace it, and practice it. Despite having the resources, infrastructures, finances and technology to elevate the world out of poverty and suffering, we largely don’t. As Richard Smith accurately said, “We have paleolithic brains, medieval institutions and godlike technology.”

 

Perhaps that’s why the way God saves the world seems so strange to us. “The heart of the Christian religion is the idea that the all-powerful God of the universe came to earth in human flesh and willingly died a humiliating, painful death to save people who did not deserve it. How can anyone who believes in that story conclude that the problem with Christianity today is that it is too "weak" and "effeminate"? It has always been seen as weak by those who do not understand it. The weakness of God is stronger than anything that men consider strength. (1 Cor. 1:23, 25). The teachings of Jesus repeatedly emphasize that in the kingdom of God the first shall be last and the last first. It is the meek, not the strong, who inherit the earth. It is the humble, not the proud, who are exalted. It is the poor, not the rich, who receive good news. If anything, the problem with American Christianity is that it is too strong. We have come to rely on our social, political, and economic strength and thus we have lost our spiritual power, power that comes from a God who serves rather than dominates. If Jesus walked the earth today we would not recognize Him. Many American Christians would reject Him for being too soft on sin, too focused on mercy, too weak, too emotional, not manly enough, not aggressive enough to fight for an earthly kingdom. Neither would He recognize us. Sadly the day will come when many Christians will say to Him, "Lord, did we not fight the culture wars in Your name, and in Your name cast out many liberals?" And Jesus will reply, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew Shallenberger). 


For the greater part of the 20th Century brilliant theological minds warned us of the dangers of rejecting the way of Jesus for the “wisdom of men”. Theological leaders like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr lost their lives refusing to waver from this strange way of saving the world. They paid with their lives, but they proved its truth as seen by the impact they had on the world. But, as Shane Claiborne declared, “Martin Luther King wanted a movement, not a monument.”


In more recent years there has been a revival of this anti-cultural message, but it is more often met by hostility within the Christian community than by hospitality. Brian Zahnd observed, “Ask a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim, an atheist what Jesus believed about violence and you’ll likely get a more accurate answer than if you ask an American Christian. Americans are deeply formed by the myth of redemptive violence. It is the American gospel.” He would go on to say, “Violent revolution fails because it is not revolutionary enough. It changes the rulers but not the rules, the ends but not the means….The ‘Sons of Thunder’ wanted to call fire down from heaven on a Samaritan village who refused to welcome Jesus. In their petition they were able to cite Scripture because Elijah had done this. But Jesus rebuked them, saying, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’ The question isn't can we find it in the Bible, but can we find it in Jesus. If we weaponize the Bible to hurt other people, we do not have the Spirit of the Lord….The cross heaps shame upon the principalities and powers that claim to be wise and just but in their alleged wisdom and justice they crucified the Lord of lords….You can build a justice movement around the energy of hate. This is easily understood and there’s nothing particular new about it. What Jesus does is build a justice movement (he called it the kingdom of God) around the energy of love—love for God, neighbor, and even enemy.”


Whether it is popular or not, whether it is accepted or not, whether it is strange or not, “The prophetic task of the church is to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.” (Walter Brueggemann). Again Zahnd says, “We want the war horse. Jesus rides a donkey. We want the eagle. The Holy Spirit descends as a dove. We want to take up swords. Jesus takes up a cross. We want the roaring lion. God comes as a slaughtered lamb. We keep trying to arm God. God keeps trying to disarm us.”


“Luke begins with Caesar making a declaration of his power (census, taxation) in the land where the son of David is to be born and he ends it with Paul right under Caesars nose in Rome declaring Jesus Christ is king (Acts 28:31). A true reversal of fortunes that explains how Jesus became the king of the world. Today billions proclaim Jesus as king while Caesar and his mighty Roman Empire are fallen.” (N.T. Wright). “Perhaps we overestimate the politics of Rome and underestimate the politics of grace.” (Eugene Peterson). What if our greatest problem with God is not that he’s too big and clever for us to comprehend, but that he’s humbler, gentler and closer than we ever imagined? Wouldn’t that be a strange way to save the world?

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