ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512220009
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: the back pew
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
The advertisement for the magazine was slickly done.
About the size of half a sheet of notebook paper, the brochure unfolded to reveal one picture after another with the caption ``Would you recognize this person as Jesus?''
The black-and-white photos were striking. There was an African-American street person. A dirty-faced, ill-clad white child. A pregnant Hispanic woman in a run-down apartment.
``Would you recognize this person as Jesus?''
The magazine - which promotes a Christianity of social action - obviously had hired a talented crew to promote subscription sales. And I didn't doubt the sincerity of its founder and editors and writers.
But I have to admit I had a strong knee-jerk reaction against the advertisement, even though I did not disagree with the cause.
The material is so melodramatic that it just begs for a sarcastic, satirical response. At least it did with a person like me who sees hundreds of such appeals every year.
I started to imagine how many other unfortunate people they could have used to try to boost subscriptions. Where would the border into the tasteless be crossed? With a quadriplegic? With a mentally ill person? With a prostitute?
OK, those would have been over the line. At least I think they would have been.
Faced with something so blatantly aimed at jerking a tear right out of its ducts, I got a little testy. I threw the offer in the trash without subscribing.
Yet the closer we have drawn to Christmas day, the more often that ad has been on my mind. As its designers intended, it made a lasting impression.
Of course, there is a profound truth at the core of the ad campaign.
``Would we recognize the return of the Messiah?''
There are many Christians for whom the answer is a simple and emphatic ``yes.''
They believe the Bible speaks literally of a time when Jesus will return from the heavens in some mysterious manner that will be instantly recognizable to all the peoples of the Earth.
As we celebrate this Christmas season, we think back to that time of Jesus' humble birth 2,000 years ago.
Our biblical accounts do, it's true, describe a divine announcement of Christ's birth and the recognition of his uniqueness by a few shepherds, some astrologers, and perhaps by a jealous king.
Overall, however, the picture is less one of majesty than poverty. It is clear from the Gospels that what Christians came to see as the manifestation of the Messiah was significantly different from the expectations of the culture into which he arrived.
Jesus' birth was not widely recognized or known. His childhood, for the most part, appears to have been insignificant to his biographers. His young adult life - most often presumed to have been that of a carpenter - receives no comment or recognition in the Gospels.
Finally, his adult ministry was radically different from what even his closest disciples expected. His methods and his teachings seemed designed to shake the religiously complacent from their moorings. He seemed intent on fulfilling messianic prophecy in ways no one had anticipated.
All that leads me to believe that we shouldn't be too sure about prophecies about Jesus' return. Maybe that magazine's brochure is a better guide to setting our expectations than it first appeared.
Tomorrow most of us will be thinking of the birth of a baby in a manger. Fortunately, many of us also will remember the words that baby spoke as an adult. Among them were his admonitions to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit the prisoner. ``Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.''
Recognizing the presence of God in the needy around us is one of the blessings of this season. Looking around, we see hundreds of our neighbors giving bicycles to children who otherwise wouldn't have them, food baskets to those who would otherwise be hungry, heat and shelter to families that otherwise would be cold.
For those of us who call ourselves Christians, there is no higher calling in this season than to love each other as we believe God loves us.
Thank God we have such a time.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB