“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”
WWJD? I don’t know if you are familiar with the acronym, but it was popular a few years ago, turning up on clothing and accessories worn by many. I would like to think that it was the wording and not just the latest craze that encouraged people to advertise this means of dealing with life. Because it is a great way to deal with the questions of life, the issues of life, just daily living. It is a request for us to “stop, look and listen” before we do or say anything. WWJD? What Would Jesus Do? In this situation, at this moment, in response to this situation, what would Jesus do?
And, of course, it is reflected in Paul’s words in the Epistle this Sunday. WWJD asks us to think like Christ, to have the same mind as Christ and do, be, as he would in the situation. And what does Jesus do in tricky, even confrontational, situations? Well, he doesn’t escalate tensions, that’s for sure. When the chief priests and elders come to him to challenge his authority for his actions, he doesn’t get belligerent and defensive; he merely asks another question, one to make his inquisitors think. He “takes the wind out of their sails,” so to speak, and leaves them speechless: the only answer they can find to his question about John the Baptist is, “We do not know.” And so, as they cannot answer his question, or so they say, he declines to answer theirs: “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” Although, of course, the questioners did know the answer, but to give it would mean accepting by whose authority Jesus was acting.
But what about other situations in the world, in life? WWJD right here? What would having the same mind as Christ mean to us here and now? How should we act, react, be? Well, Jesus went out of his way to find those in need and sit with them, eat with them, show them that they were valued and had a place in society. He sat with those society rejected, supported those attacked by society, stood for them and spoke for them. As he declares at the start of his ministry: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’” (Luke 4:18-19.) This is what Jesus does. This is the mind of Jesus that we should seek to imitate. And he makes this even clearer in the parable in Matthew 25:33-36: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Because any act of comfort, help, compassion and love that we do for the poor, needy, lost, lonely, hungry we do for him, following his example.
And it is because we seek to have the same mind as Christ that we host the food bank, that we welcome all people into our church community, that we as a church community will collect and give to charities at Harvest, Palm Sunday, the Nativity Play, Trinity Sunday. But it is also important that we in our daily lives aim to have the same mind as Christ, the same loving attitude towards our neighbours, all in need. It is why, when faced with difficult situations we should ask ourselves, WWJD? What Would Jesus Do? And then we try to do it to the best of our ability, knowing that in serving others we are serving the one who came not to be served but to serve and be an example for us to follow.
Revd Jackie Sellin