What Would Jesus Actually Do?
Christmas 2024 Thoughts
I am posting this essay on Christmas Day 2024.
I had a few thoughts and reflections today about what this day represents.
I am against the extensive consumerism and commodity fetishization during this time. At the same time, I am against the conservative narrative of the “attack on Christmas”.
I don’t think American Conservatives, American Evangelists, Christian Nationalists, or any other right-wing affiliated group who invoke Christianity for their political aims are doing so because they care about Jesus.
To be clear, I am not religious and would identify more as an agnostic. However, I think the life of Jesus is a great example for any leftist…
Jesus was against exploiting the poor and hoarding wealth (Luke 6:20-21; Matthew 6:25-34).
Jesus flipped over money tables at the temple (Matthew 21:12-13).
Jesus stood up for the downtrodden and marginalized (John 8: 1-11).
Jesus talked about taking care of one another even if we don’t know them (Luke 10:29-42).
Is this the Jesus who would blame people for being impoverished or turn away immigrants?
American Evangelicals, in particular, are notorious for anti-immigration and other right-wing talking points. There are also a growing number of Evangelicals hearing and preaching prosperity gospel.
The prosperity gospel focuses on material wealth and financial prosperity as reflecting God’s will. Many religious leaders see these ideas as a perversion of Christianity. How would a Jesus who told people to give up their material possessions to follow him think it’s okay to focus on material wealth?
Something I had to reflect more on is liberation theology, which focuses on the liberation of the oppressed.
“There is no authentic evangelization that is not accompanied by action in behalf of the poor.”
- Gustavo Gutiérrez, We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People
Liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutiérrez discuss the purpose of Christianity in changing society and understanding the world through societal struggle rather than idealism.
Love, hope, and change ultimately cannot come from hating one another but from caring for one another. The focus on hating outside groups of people and hoarding material wealth does not seem to represent the religion of Jesus.
I will leave off with one more quote from Gustavo…
“But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”
For a more just world to be built maybe Christians should be focused on building a different social order rather than being against immigrants or queer people.
Jesus and the like are used to justify behavior, structures and keep people in line. On the other hand Jesus and the like provide a preexisting stable seeming community that helps people feel like they belong. I grew up going to church twice a week with a mother who spoke in tongues. I'm an athetist now. I remember many single people in the anual church member book. The church gave them friends and meaning it seemed.
If only we could secularize the community part. Individualism again!