When I was reflecting this week on the Easter season, I was suddenly struck with an interesting thought. Cancel culture, while seemingly a new concept, has been happening for a long time. And the Easter season brings out one classic example.
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The crowds were greeting him with great excitement. Today’s news would have described him that day as a celebrity and fan favorite. A week later, the same crowds were yelling “Crucify Him” and calling for his death. Today’s news on Good Friday would paint him as the villain, the worst person in the world. The Pharisees had managed to change the mood of the crowd, and had basically cancelled Jesus. And this was without today’s media and social media influences. Of course, we know that Jesus was not truly defeated.
While this was the ultimate cancel, it is not the first time that the crowd turned on Jesus. He was in his hometown, and when he didn’t perform the miracles they wanted, he said that a prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown. Many times, the Pharisees tried to turn the crowd against him by calling him out for his actions. In other words, the world, and Satan, have been working to turn people against Christian ideals since the beginning of Christianity. And that is now reflected in what we call cancel culture.
I want to point out that Jesus never tried to turn the crowd against anyone. Even the Pharisees, whom he obviously found issue with, were treated with respect. While he did call out behavior of the religious leaders, he never tried to turn the crowds against them. Also, he was often seen trying to prevent the crowd from turning against someone. One example is when the adulterous woman was brought before him. It would have been easy to rile the crowd up against the adulterous woman. But instead, he just calmly said let him without sin cast the first stone. He defused the situation, rather than rile up the crowds. Everyone is eligible for salvation, they just have to accept the offer. Even those who were on the council were welcomed by Jesus. All they had to do was accept the offer.
So what is the lesson to learn from this. Well first, even though we may want to reciprocate, we should understand that cancel culture is associated with hate, and we can’t meet hate with more hate. Second, if the crowd turns against you, that does not mean you are a bad person and that you are wrong. The crowd does not have a good track record of being right. Just because it seems public opinion agrees with an idea, that does not make the idea right. Just because the crowd shames you for not going along with them, that does not make you wrong.
Over my lifetime, the crowd, public opinion, has gone further and further away from Christian teachings and more toward a teaching of do what you want. Being a Christian has become more difficult as a result. It is no longer the norm or the expected in this country to be Christian. And I think that is going to get worse, not better as we continue through this decade. That may not be as bad a thing as it sounds.
When it is easy to be Christian, everyone claims to be one. An easy path does not take much faith or effort. But it also does not build the strong faith that Jesus asks of us. As a result, we have let the faith get watered down. Marriage as a lifelong commitment, that is too hard. Let’s normalize divorce. Celibacy outside of marriage, that is too hard. Let’s normalize pre-marital sex and living together before marriage. Sunday as a day of rest, we don’t have time for that. Let’s normalize active Sundays with working and shopping. The list of sins that we normalize goes on. And gets bigger each year.
Maybe as it becomes less desirable to be a Christian, those who remain will get back to putting the work into truly following the creed. Jesus bore the cross, and invites us on that journey with him. He did not say it would be easy. But the hardest labors are usually the ones that bring the most happiness in the long run. The crowd will, of course, disagree with me on that. And I am perfectly happy to not be going with the crowd. I have something much better awaiting me.
This holy week, take some time to reflect on what cross you need to bear with Jesus. What shortcuts have you taken. Where have you taken the easy path rather than hold to the tenets of your faith. Then make plans to pick up your cross, and with the help of the Savior, do a better job of carrying that cross. Nobody expects perfection. None of us have done everything right. Don’t let anyone hold you to who you were in the past. Walk into the future with Jesus at your side guiding the way.