Inevitable

A few years ago, Lindsay and I went to Corvallis, Oregon for a little retreat. We got tattoos. Mine is a little Greek word from the end of the Gospel of Luke. The risen Jesus is walking with two disciples on the road. He tells them, “Was it not necessary that the christ should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” In my youth, this text was used to teach me that “it was necessary” for Jesus to die on the cross so that sinners like me could go to heaven. 

I learned Greek in seminary. I found out that “it was necessary” is one Greek word (dei). I also found out that, when read in context, a better translation of this one Greek word is “it was inevitable.” The death of Jesus was not ordained by God. It was not necessary. It was inevitable. Because Jesus spoke truth to power, in public. Jesus was a liberated man. The truth he spoke freely was a threat to those clinging to power. That’s why they demonized him, arrested him, tortured him and crucified him. 

What they did to Jesus, they did to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. too. Dr. King’s murder was inevitable in a racist culture where profit motives and property rights are more important than people. Like Jesus, Dr. King comforted the afflicted - and afflicted the comfortable. Like Jesus, King did not care about getting approval from “important” people. Dr. King modeled the way of the cross for modern America. This is the spiritual path I am committed to. It’s not about putting Jesus and King on a pedestal. It’s about trying to follow their lead.