| Sometimes the seeming randomness of the modern world proves a good thing: it allows us to make connections we might never have made in more controlled circumstances. Just a few minutes ago, I stumbled across “West Side Story” on the television, just in time for the rumble. There were the Jets and Sharks, fists up, trying to settle their differences, when Tony arrives, trying to stop the fight. He physically interrupts Ice and Bernardo, pleading that there is nothing to fight about: Jets and Sharks have no quarrel. But they cannot understand him. They cannot fathom what he is trying to tell them. They think he’s here to fight and are confused when he doesn’t. They can only interpret his behavior one way: He’s chicken. It’s a horrifying scene, even for those of us numbed to violence in movies. But watching it this time, I made a connection I hadn’t made before: Tony, pleading for a plan of action that makes no sense to his audience, is like us. He is like the Christian in the world, arguing a truth no one is ready to hear. His methods are not those of the world: he calls for peace, and is called chicken in return. This is our situation. We call for peace, but the world is unable to understand what we mean. It is not simply that the world doesn’t understand us—it cannot understand us. Peace makes no sense. It doesn’t settle things. It doesn’t get anything done. It refuses to acknowledge the real differences between sides. In the world’s eyes, it can only be explained as weakness. Christians, by calling for peace, must be chicken. We all know how badly things work out for Tony: he ends up killing Bernardo in retaliation for Rif’s death. Despite his pleas for peace, the concept is too new to him; he is too newly converted to shake off the habits of world, especially when he is standing alone. At the same time, Rif and Bernardo prove the ineffectiveness of the world’s ways: they both end up dead, their bodies abandoned by their pals at the first sound of sirens. Left to itself, the world will commit suicide; it is still under the power of death. The good news is that we are not trapped in Tony’s tragic position. The world may not be able to understand our pleas for peace, but we are not alone. We have the living community of the church, the examples of centuries of believers, and the power of God working with us. It is not easy by any means, but unlike Tony, we are not left bereft of aid. No matter how new we are to the ways of God, no matter how strong the habits of the world remain in our lives, we can truly do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Jesus promises he will be with us, even to the end of the age. There is a Jewish proverb: When the world offers two options, take the third. This is our call as Christians, to offer a third option to a world that only sees two. Instead of either/or, we must say, “Neither.” The world will not be able to comprehend our crazy notions. But then, we are not responsible for persuading the world—the power to do that lies with God alone. Our responsibility is simply to faithfully announce a third way. That is the only way we can prevent the world’s tragic end. |
| Christians and the World: Stopping the Rumble |