I’ve been amused by the idiotic controversies sparked by the He Gets Us Super Bowl commercial. Although the makers of the ad certainly intended to provoke debate, most of the reactions proliferating social media and even news reports seem to be missing the point. And even if taken at face value, the commercial itself lacks a fundamental truth that should not be avoided.
Just so we are on the same page, here is the ad in question:
Knee Jerks
Probably the first reactions I heard about the ad was that “Jesus doesn’t need a marketing campaign,” or that portraying Jesus as apolitical is a disingenuous political choice. While these are valid observations that I happen to agree with, simplistic perspectives such as this are entirely dismissive of who the advertisement’s intended audience is and what was their expected response.
More nuanced criticisms began to slowly emerge. Fellow Patheos progressive Christian columnist Keith Giles rightly points out that while the ad in question poses those whom are marginalized or who serve the marginalized in solidarity with Jesus, most of the places to connect with those who claim to follow Jesus are filled with people who are the least likely to accept others as they are.
Perhaps you might believe Giles himself is guilty of judging others, but a quick doom scroll along a social media search of “He Gets Us” results in the following sentiments:
So yes, obviously there are significant populations of Evangelicals who demonstrate that MAGA dumpster fires of hatred do exist, that there actually are a bunch of bigoted people who claim to follow Jesus and instead hate and judge those they don’t understand. But I don’t need a Super Bowl ad to prove that: just go to any 3 out of 4 Evangelical churches on any given Sunday and you will discover that for yourselves.
Also less than helpful are “response videos” such as this one posted like click bait with captions like “The Super Bowl Video JESUS would have Shown!” These universally depict the LGBTQ+ community as unrepentant sinners in need of conversion therapy.
Then there is the obvious faux pas He Gets Us doesn’t get but news outlets pointed out: $100 million could have fed a lot of hungry people. It could have provided shelter for lots of people without homes. It could have clothed those wearing rags. It could have paid for medicine for children whose parents have no resources other than begging.
You know, it could have actually served others.
For those solid reasons and more, multiple commentators began posting about the “hypocrisy” of the ad. And they have a point.
The Company You Keep
He Gets Us explains in an FAQ on their website that “most of the people driving He Gets Us, including our donors, choose to remain anonymous,” and that “funding for He Gets Us comes from a diverse group of individuals and entities with a common goal of sharing Jesus’ story authentically.”
One donor who has not remained anonymous is Hobby Lobby co-founder David Green, an Evangelical who has undermined the rights and well-being of others, often prioritizing profit over ethical considerations.
Green has funded anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups and organizations that oppose women’s rights. His company successfully fought for the right to fire employees based on sexual orientation, and endangered public health by refusing to comply with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to avoid potential profit losses.
Green successfully sued to block his employees from using their own health insurance to cover contraception, and even fired a pregnant employee who requested maternity leave. Organizations Green controls have attempted to inject ideological religious propaganda into public school classrooms, and among other things were caught passing off forgeries as the Dead Sea Scrolls and stealing antiquities from Iraq.
Sermon on the Grassy Knoll
Because much of this has been widely reported, conspiracy theories have now began to spring up. One of the more prominent of these is that He Gets Us is a cleverly disguised Trojan horse intending to trick Christian progressives (like me) and other sympathetically tolerant voters to become mouthpieces for a MAGA Jesus and tip the forthcoming election battle/civil war into Trump’s favor.
At first I thought that was a nutty idea. Then I thought about it a little more. Sure, it’s patently ridiculous that progressives who love Jesus and affirm and serve the marginalized would en masse switch allegiances away from voting for anyone who isn’t Donald Trump.
But this is the twenty-first century, and unfortunately the one thing that matters more in American elections than voting is money. A chilling thought occurred to me:
What if ads such as the Super Bowl commercial attract major financial donors to He Gets Us, and those monies later become contributions to some convoluted PAC that funnels money into Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign?
The Gospel According to Rorschach
Then I realized something no one else has mentioned yet. Every single criticism I have read of the He Gets Us Super Bowl ad has been a projection of our worst fears, including mine.
This ad is a giant ink blot test. Seriously.
So for those who fear that all those nasty sinners will be let in the church, the ad is a terrifying abomination. The ones who fear the marginalized people featured in the ad would face judgement in most evangelical church settings think the ad is hypocritical. People who fear the politics of those who fund the ad see hidden political messages that may or may not be there.
But the ad has most significantly revealed not only how polarized Americans are, but how fractured the North American church is. We have been divided and conquered and splintered into hundreds of millions of pieces, and it seems that anyone who tries to pick up the shards will be wounded.
This is terrible news that some of you already knew, and others of you will not believe. But this moment is about more than a 60 second commercial spot and footwashing. It is an opportunity to come together, not by washing feet or agreeing about a commercial, but about something of much greater importance.
Mercy Over Sacrifice
Jesus did more than wash feet. He ate with people others called sinners. He never condemned but always forgave, even the Pharisees who plotted to murder him and were obsessed with pious ritual and conduct rather than pure hearts.
Jesus gave his life for all of these. It is love that yes, is humble and serves others, not unlike taking up the basin and towel to wash feet. And it is also sacrificial, of course, something we don’t really get because none of us living have yet had to give our lives for anyone.
But the most important thing Jesus’ death and resurrection provides is mercy.
Mercy for all humankind, yes, but mercy for the thief on the other cross, mercy for the disciples who tried and failed at understanding his parables, mercy for the zealots, the cowards, the betrayers, the murderers, rapists, the weak, the homeless, the diseased, the children, the elderly, the wise, and the stupid.
Mercy for the ones who have hurt us so very badly. The ones who will never deserve it.
The mercy we have seemed to have lost for one another is something Jesus never stopped giving. Desired even more than the most ornate or expensive sacrifice (even one that costs $100 million), Christlike mercy calls upon sinners to follow Jesus.
It would be easy to add conditions to mercy, as legalists often do, but there are none. The gift of mercy Jesus embraced with wood, nails, and blood was for everyone, to save our world rather than condemn it.
So sure, the He Gets Us advertisement seems trite, and I would not want to guess at the motives of those who decided upon that course of action. But what the church has forsaken in our shattered dreams of being right all the time is the mercy of Jesus for all.
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