The God Who Riots

Jesus couldn’t get the horrific images of police brutality out of his mind. Walking downtown, Jesus was tired of seeing people assaulted and killed. Enraged, Jesus destroyed a police car and other properties. When officers started to show up in riot gear, Jesus gathered his friends together and confronted them. “Get out! Get Out! Get out!” they kept screaming in unison. Though everyone kept calling them agitators and thugs, Jesus and his friends refused to back down in their quest for justice. Anyone who doesn’t believe Jesus is capable of such things simply hasn’t read John 2 and Mark 11. Throughout these stories, Jesus cuts up for the sake of justice. Overturning tables and swinging a whip, Jesus destroys the tools of oppression and drives the oppressors out. Followers of Jesus are brought face to face with a God who riots. In the aftermath of the lynching of Freddie Gray and in the midst of the fires of Baltimore, one should not assume that Jesus is on the side of law and order. He’s not. God is always most present on the side of justice. You can’t cheer on Jesus in the temple and condemn the rioters in the streets. Jesus shows us that we serve a God who is willing to destroy the tools of oppression and drive the oppressor out of the city. Let’s pray this is what is happening in Baltimore.

Amen.