Jesus in Wonderland

Please read Matt 20:1-16

I haven’t seen Tim Burton’s rendition of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ yet. But I do remember having to read Lewis Carroll’s original crazed story in high school. What I remember best about this story is that it’s wacky. Not much of it made sense to me. Carroll tosses aside most literary constructs like Jesus tosses temple tables. Nothing happens that’s predictable. Even Greek gods appear less capricious. I couldn’t tell you, even if I wanted to, if there is a point to Carroll’s stories. I do know this though, there has been much speculation over the years regarding Carroll’s literary work. Some say his writing is allegorical containing hidden meanings. Some say he’s a crazed man. I don’t know. Personally, I think his works are amusing, but kind of weird.

Sometimes when reading the gospels, Jesus reminds me of the Cheshire cat. He speaks in words that appear to make no sense. Jesus speaks in parables when I want him to come clean and speak straight. The first will be last. The greatest will be the servant of all. He says the weak are strong and the strong are weak; that the way to life is death. Really? What? What does it mean to eat his flesh and drink his blood? It sounds like crazy talk, this ‘lose your life to find it’ nonsense. Similarly, when we, like the multitudes, want Jesus to do something amazing, he slips away Cheshire catlike, and appears to do nothing. He defies our best efforts to control. We try to pin him down with questions, he sends us away empty handed and with more questions.

The truth is, we still can’t pin Jesus down. In our thinking we can’t figure him out. His Kingdom economy is nonsensical to our post-modern thinking, where truth is relative, where fairness reigns. Jesus tosses aside religious constructs like he tosses temple tables. Christ’s view of the world is very different from our own. His priorities are not the same as ours. We think, “Let me take care of business, then I’ll take care of the kingdom.” Jesus insists, “Seek first the kingdom and these will be added to you.” We assemble our dream team. Jesus assembled a rag-tag rabble of 12 bumpkins. We devise clever marketing schemes, Jesus entrusted himself to the Father and relied on the Holy Spirit. To us failure is not realizing our dreams. In the kingdom of heaven, failure is the result of not trusting God despite circumstance.

Even today Jesus alone remains history’s most controversial figure. To some he is the most revered, Time Magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ for all time, God incarnate, LORD of all. Still others despise him, they still mock, cajole, torment and even kill his followers. Many still die for Jesus. Many more though find life, bountiful and spilling over as God intended it to be. Is that really so hard to understand?

Tom Kind