The people were saying that Jesus had gone out of his mind.
Is that what you want in a savior?
The first time I ever read this story about people saying Jesus is crazy, that he had gone out of his mind, I didn’t like it.
For one thing, I didn’t like the idea that the one I worship and follow was out of his mind. If I commit myself to following the way of someone who is crazy, what does that say about me?
For another thing, if people were saying that he was crazy, that he was out of his mind, he must have been making quite a scene. What do you have to do for people to accuse you of being out of your mind?
...I have never been a person who likes to make a scene. Maybe that’s one reason I like to arrive early to things. You arrive early, you don’t make a scene. Other people arrive, and you are already there. Just like the furniture.
But if you arrive late, someone might call out, “Oh, look, everyone: Danny’s here!” And then you’ve made a scene.
I don’t like making a scene.
When I was 11 or 12 years old, I was sitting in church one Sunday, and the pastor recognized an older member of the congregation for something. I don’t remember what for. But he mentioned her name, and everyone started applauding.
But I couldn’t see her, so I started craning my neck around, looking back and forth, trying to see the person who everyone’s attention was focused on.
The pastor saw me looking around, and said into the microphone, “She’s up here, Dan.”
When my pastor called me out, the congregation chuckled. I sank into my pew, trying to disappear. Was he making fun of me? No, not really. But everyone was laughing. He had made me the center of the congregation’s attention, at least for that one brief moment.
It was almost more than a shy kid like myself I could handle.
The fact that I still remember this all these years later shows how traumatizing it was to have all that unwanted attention focused on me.
Not long after that, when I graduated from middle school, I was somehow chosen to lead all my classmates as we marched in. I don’t remember the criteria on which that selection was made, but I was just thankful that that was all I had to do. I didn’t have to give a speech.
A similar thing happened in college. I wasn’t valedictorian. Valedictorians have to give a speech. In fact, now that I think about it, I’m sure I could have been valedictorian if I wanted to… but valedictorians have to give a speech. And I didn’t want that kind of attention. So I made sure to get a B every now and then, just so I wouldn’t have to give a speech.
But then the faculty at Chapman University chose to designate me the “Outstanding Senior Male.” Did I have to give a speech? No. Just lead my classmates in as we marched...which wasn’t too bad… as long as I didn’t take a wrong turn on my way to the stage.
By the way, if you are wondering how it is that I went from there to becoming a preacher..., let’s just chalk that up to the miracle of God’s mysterious ways.
I don’t like to make a scene. So, naturally, I get a little uncomfortable when I read that Jesus made such a scene and drew such attention to himself that people thought he had gone out of his mind.
And when his family heard about all this, they believed what was being said about Jesus. They at least thought it was plausible, and they felt the need to go restrain Jesus. They felt it was their responsibility to go find him, calm him down, and convince him to stop making such a scene.
You go family! Go out there, and make Jesus act in a more respectable manner!
Do we really want to count ourselves as followers of a man who many thought was crazy? Don’t we want to follow someone who is a little more tame, a little more respectable, a little more normal?
On the other hand…
We must consider what is considered normal in our society. Our society considers “normal” a lot of things that really aren’t...
It is considered normal, and acceptable, that nations have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, capable of destroying all life on earth many times over. That’s normal… but really, it’s not. Or at least, it shouldn’t be.
It is considered normal, and acceptable, that so many go into bankruptcy because of medical bills.
It is considered normal and acceptable that our economic policies favor those who already have piles of wealth, and penalize those who are poor, giving to those who already have, and taking from those who have so little.
It is considered normal and acceptable to deny services to people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
It is considered normal and acceptable to take families who are fleeing violence and terror, separating the children from the parents, then labelling the children “unaccompanied minors” and locking them up in cages. That’s our normal, operating procedure these days.
It is considered normal and acceptable to use rude, offensive names when referring to people you don’t agree with.
It is considered normal and acceptable that our justice system and economic system favors people with white skin.
It is considered normal and acceptable to allow industry to pollute the environment without accountability.
It is considered normal to make up your own reality, present it as truth, and then claim that those who report the actual truth are “fake news.” Truth becomes lies and lies become truth - that’s our new normal.
...But is all that really “normal?” Is all that really “sane?” Is all that really something that people in their “right minds” do? Is all that really acceptable to us? … acceptable to God?
Jesus went out to those who were poor, and gave them hope. He went out to those who were crippled, and healed them. He went out to those who were sick, and cured them. He went out to those who were broken, and made them whole.
And in doing so, he lifted them out of the position to which normal society had placed them. In doing so, he transformed society, by making the poor, rich; the weak, strong; and the last, first. And anytime you set out to transform society, someone is going to call you crazy.
Why did Jesus do all these crazy things?
Because Jesus was motivated by love.
Jesus was empowered by love.
Jesus was crazy in love.
Notice that no one ever says they are “sane” in love. No one ever says they are “normal” in love.
Crazy in love. That’s what people say.
Jesus was crazy in love for God and for God’s way.
Jesus was crazy in love for God’s kingdom.
Jesus was crazy in love for all of God’s people.
I’ve said before that, when faced with a difficult decision, a good place to start is to ask: “What would love do?”
The answer may be complicated. Would love have you leave everything behind for a mission trip, or stay and care for your family? One could argue either way. Examine the lives of people who acted out of love and you’ll see that. How did Martin Luther King, Jr., balance love for the world and love for his family? How did Erin Gruwell, the “Freedom Writers” teacher at Wilson High School who they made a mostly-true movie about, balance love for her students and love for her family?
There are people in this country fighting for justice. Some of them are still children. Some of them just graduated from high school. And they are fighting for justice. They are crazy in love for justice.
Little Miss Flint, the ten year-old who is fighting for clean water in Flint Michigan.
The survivors of the Parkland School Shooting, who have received death threats and even had murder attempts on them because of their commitment to ending gun violence. If I were their parents, I might encourage them to reign it in a little bit, not be quite so aggressively outspoken, only because I would fear for their safety.
But they are crazy in love for justice. They are crazy in love for life. And nothing’s gonna stop them.
How crazy in love are you for the things you believe in? People are going to say things about you regardless of what you do. There are always going to be haters. Is that going to stop you from being crazy in love for what's right? It didn't stop Jesus. The world thought he was crazy, but that didn't stop him. Because nothing can stop love. Nothing can stop the power of love. And nothing can stop people who are crazy in love for Jesus, and crazy in love for all that is right and good.
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