Jesus in Disguise (With Glasses)

A silly chorus of a popular Oldies song goes "doot doot doot doot doot-doot Judy in Disguise...with glasses". I'm not really sure what the song means, perhaps in a way it pokes fun at Clark Kent/Superman who was in disguises just by putting on glasses. But either way, this chorus came to mind today as I was reflecting upon these scriptures: another psalm and the continuation of our shipwreck story in Acts. We know the scriptures- God is here among us. But, sometimes we forget to put on our "Jesus-colored glasses" and take a close look at the Jesus in the world, perhaps disguised in glasses, a subtle disguise even. But when we're not looking, we can miss it.


The Disguise: The Battle

1 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our fathers;
you crushed the peoples
and made our fathers flourish.

3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God,
who decrees [c] victories for Jacob.

5 Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.

6 I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;

7 but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.

8 In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.
Selah

9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies.

10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us. (Psalm 44:1-8)

This psalm sounds like it comes from another very real source. The psalmist recognizes the God that was at work saving them from their enemy. They saw through the disguise of the sword or the arm into the Lord that was protecting them. "But now" as the scripture says, "you not longer go out with our armies." It's harder to see the Jesus in perhaps a darker shade of glasses. It's hard to understand that there might somehow be another reason for their failure in battle. Perhaps it's a battle they shouldn't be fighting. Or perhaps it's not a God thing at all. I believe that we cannot blame all of the many horrors of this world on God, without giving Him all the credit for the blessings. It's the all-to-familiar "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Here the psalm is honoring God for His protection, but then blames God for His lack of protection...when it may be another force... that of the hurricanes, the earthquakes, war, violence, hunger.

All of these difficulties exist, but we also exist to be a different voice, the voice of Jesus in the world. At moments when we see violence and pain, we should look for the alternate voices, the many Jesus who are in disguise. Last week at Annual Conference, I was blessed to see Jesus in disguise many times over, from the wonderful and talented speakers from the Church of the Brethren to the alternative voices like Shane Claiborne & Jarrod McKenna. From the selfless youth workers and youth advisors and session leaders who gave so much time and effort and energy to be there, and mostly from the youth themselves. I was touched by seeing so many youth (in a generation where this is certainly uncommon) worship in truth their Lord, seek him with their whole heart and give with all they had. On the last night when an offering was collected, youth gave $16,000 to educational and housing programs in Haiti where Disaster Relief has been. While we could choose only to see Haiti and say, "Lord, but now You have turned away," we can also look a little harder at the actions of Jesus embodied in the youth at conference who say, "We will give what we can, we will commit ourselves to serve in Brethren Volunteer Service, and we will be your hands and your feet." Jesus in the youth of our nation and our world- what a beautiful disguise!


The Disguise: The Centurion

39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.

42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety. (Acts 27:39-44)

I really do feel that this shipwreck story could be an afternoon special, on some show somewhere. It's really quite a captivating and thrilling tale. And like any good story, the end comes with a twist. In the physical sense, Paul is not saved by his fellow prisoners, you know- the one's on his team, the 'good guys'. No. Paul is saved by the centurion in charge of the troops. Somehow his heart was changed, and he decides to stop the plotting that was happening right under his nose. Our Lord loves to do this- He chooses the unexpected, perhaps to prove that He chooses all of us. Tax collectors, alleged prostitutes, come one come all and Jesus will use you in amazing ways to further His work. But who would've seen the centurion and thought that Jesus could work through that big offensive guy from the wrong side of the tracks? (I myself am imagining the enemy of Popeye at the moment.) But that disguise doesn't make what he did for Paul and God's kingdom.

Our help sometimes comes from unexpected and unseen places. It's so easy to miss it, to just take it for granted. But, I've experienced it quite a lot in the last few days. I'm on my own here in Tucson for a while, praying that God would bring Brad safely back to me if that be His will... but always knowing that we never know the hour. And I've been here with a car that I can't drive (stick shift) and a new home. But, just when I start to get lonely or feel like I can't alone... Hermana Pati, Gloria and Sergio give me a ride to church when my bike breaks down and come over to visit after church; Pacific comes over and cooks dinner with me; Derek, Jessica and Jaxon visit with Shaya and invite me over for dinner; and I meet up with Mike while walking Shaya and he comes and keeps me company for a while. Jesus is in disguise, working through the faces of friends and family.

So I ask you to look around today. Take out those Jesus-colored glasses, and see Him in the places where it's hard to see Him. And even more, be a part of it. Call your congressman about taking the troops out of Pakistan, visit your neighbor and ask what you can do to help, call your grandparents who would love to hear from you, get your disguise on!