“Follow Me!”

“Follow Me!”

“The clue to John’s problem is when John says, ‘That guy does not follow us.’ Instead of getting people to follow Jesus, they really want others to follow them. They think that they, not Jesus, are in charge, which is still a big problem today.

“The good news is that Jesus, the one who really is in charge, is completely different. He is not controlling or dominating. He is non-controlling, non-dominating, and nonviolent. He is very free. He is always inviting and encouraging and empowering. He wants all of us to do good works and heal others and proclaim God's reign in his name.”

Source: Mary the Queen Parish Bulletin (September 30, 2012), no. 2028

Jesus is not a cult leader.

Comparisons, possibly even claims of convergence—between religious leaders and Jesus—border, it seems to me, on hubris, if not actually being instances of it.

Christians believe that Jesus is absolutely unique: no direct identification can be asserted between the only begotten Son of God and human beings.

When we hear that a so-called saint, for example, chose twelve apostles or that he offered his life for the salvation of humanity, etc.—such claims invoke the sacrilegious. Similarly, to imply that persons who leave a cult are in some way betraying the cult leader as Judas betrayed Jesus smacks of hubris. The cult leader is not Jesus. Indeed, sometimes cult leaders are themselves allies of the devil.

Jesus is the model for Christians. If we seek to follow someone else, substituting them for the only begotten Son of God, we risk going astray. We would be greatly mistaken to lose sight of the genuine way of Christians. Jesus is The Way, as he himself said.