The other day in a class the question was raised as to whether I would still follow Jesus if archeologist discovered what was determined unequivocally to be the bones of Jesus. Truth is, I don’t know how. I’d like to think that the life of Christ, the notion of God incarnate, living among us and sacrificing himself on our behalf, would be a compelling enough vision around which I could shape my life. But this analysis certainly calls into questions many of my assumptions.

Today’s Kingdomtide reading comes from Matthew 10:16-31. Jesus sends out his disciples and tells them to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” He spells out a full reality of life in God’s kingdom, including the understanding that pain and suffering may come as a result of the decision to faithfully follow Jesus.

I’m not sure I know that kind of pain. Don’t get me wrong – the steps necessary to come to seminary have produced some personal struggles. Bye bye steady paycheck. So long employer-paid health insurance. Adios, normal life. Or at least what I thought of as normal.

But pain? Okay, there has been some. But I’ve not been “dragged before governors and kings” because of my stand. Unlike other parts in the world I have a freedom to follow Jesus, including the seemingly nonsensical decision to leave corporate America, uproot a family of five from the safe confines of the ‘burbs, move to Kentucky and live in Christian community. No danger of persecution or prosecution for these actions.

Maybe this is why I have such a hard time connecting with the kind of radical sacrifice discussed in the Gospels and demonstrated in the life of Christ. Most of my connection to Jesus has been through belief statements. It has cost me little and shaped me even less.

Which brings me back to the question I raised at the beginning. Would I still follow Jesus if it was discovered that he was not raised again? Well, it would certainly call many of the suppositions around which I have formed my faith into question. The positive aspect of this exercise is that it causes me to ask how compelled I have been by the very life of Jesus – everything that lead up to the cross. Imagine this: God … yeah, that God … was here and lived in loving relationship to other humans. Real, life humans, just like you and me. So moved was he by love that he was willing to sacrifice everything, including that about which he could rightfully boast, for others. How shaped am I by that vision?