He is Dangerous

I love Jesus Christ Superstar. Sometimes the message of Jesus comes across so clear to me in those lyrics. One of my favorite cuts from it is the "This Jesus Must Die" chorus of voices. As I was listening to it this morning while cleaning, one phrase kept jumping out at me...."He is dangerous, He is dangerous". As the crew of Caiaphas, Annas, and the priests are discussing their options, they keep repeating it over and over as a feverish mantra as they design the murder to make their lives safe once again..."He is dangerous".

And He is. One of the things that draws me so to Him is that very quality. He is radical. He does and says things no on expects. As C.S. Lewis says, "He's not a tame lion." It may be why I have a problem with syrupy christian books, and classes that seem to water everything down to where all you are allowed to see and hear are cliches and platitudes that don't do a thing to help us be dangerous too. Dangerous in the right way, I mean. Dangerous to Satan. Dangerous in a world that is fallen...a world that so desperately needs Christians to be radical and to show how life can be lived with God. That there's hope and a better way to live.

I don't feel much like a dangerous Christian these days. In fact, I feel downright insipid. I feel like I'm twiddling my thumbs and waiting for someone to do something about hunger and war and injustice. I shake my head and say, "That's really bad", but not much else. I don't feel very radical...and I hate that feeling. I don't think in the end it will be Christians turning away from faith that keeps the world from knowing God. I think it will be Christians slipping into a coma...a coma of ordinary living and not the dangerous, holy living we were designed for.