Signs, Slogans, and Sermons
1) From a bumper sticker on a car at a refueling station in Columbia, MD:
“I get my comedy from Fox News and my news from Comedy Central.”
–This clever twist on the news expresses what researchers are learning about the so-called Millennial Generation, those between the ages of 18-34, and how they consume news. Most studies show a heavy reliance on social media.
Researchers at The American Press Institute, for example, suggest young adults in America approach news in a manner that does not follow patterns of their elders yet remains informed and aware. (a)
2) From a billboard on Interstate 95 in North Carolina:
“Real Christians love their enemies.”
–This suggestion arises directly from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 5:43-45):
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
Its admonition raises a serious challenge to any Christians calling for stronger restrictions on immigration or any demanding the annihilation of terrorists. At its root, it challenges anyone defending nationalist aggression; it distinguishes Christian faith from any nationalistic allegiance; and it places love of neighbor/sojourner above any tribal, familial, or creedal priorities other than the love of God.
Incidentally, as a roadside billboard, it reminds us that loving one’s enemies must trump our road rage.
3) From a coffee mug at my son’s house:
“Far from idleness being the root of all evil, it is rather the only true good.”
–Soren Kierkegaard.
–What can I say?
Faith@Ease and Josef Pieper (faithatease.com/2007/02) find an ally in an existentialist Dane! And a recommendation of two cups a day of caffeine apparently is gaining favor among health nutritionists. (b)
4) From Amy-Jill Levine’s The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus. HarperCollins. 2006:
“Jesus’ followers and even those Jews who chose not to follow him would have agreed with such basic assertions as that God is our father, and that his name should be hallowed, and that the divine kingdom is something to be ardently desired.”
–Required reading for Christians!
Levine, if confronted with the billboard referenced above, might suggest that Christians can’t be “real” until they know and appreciate the Judaism of Jesus.
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Tags: Amy-Jill Levine, billboards, bumper stickers, idleness, Jesus' Jewishness, love of enemies, Sermon on the Mount