The Dark Knight, Santa, and Baby Jesus

A man in a red suit, a large antlered beast, the sound of sleigh bells ringing on a snowy night, and a raised crossbow loaded for battle?!?! That’s right crew; you are not reading a typo there. Earlier this month DC Comics published a comic series (Silent Knight) featuring our big man in red, a.k.a. Santa Clause (though he prefers to be called Chris Kringle) showing up in a way that would get our D&D nerds amped for an impromptu session. One of the best parts of this series was the different heroes’ reactions to the reality that Chris was not a holly jolly guy, but an epic, battle-worn warrior. Turns out that Chris doesn’t just deliver presents to boys and girls, but fights off the things that go bump in the night for the sake of the world’s safety.  Reading through this series made Santa interesting for me.  Like I would look at pictures of Santa throughout Christmas and would automatically translate those images to Chris from the comics.

We have a bit of a habit in doing this with Jesus, especially around the holiday season.  As Ricky Bobby (Talladega Knights) prays, “Dear, nine pound, nine ounce…baby Jesus.” all because he prefers to pray to the baby version of Jesus.  But we tend to keep him like that or look to other images that feel less confrontational. Our tendency is to hover more on aspects or moments with Jesus that are the warm and welcoming images (kid blesser, outcast receiver) and forget/neglect the aspects where Jesus has some major call outs (table flipping, Pharisee bashing). In all of it we can’t forget that really Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:14), that in all He did was in obedience and reflecting what God would have done (John 5:19). We need to step out of our comfort zone and our dispositions to see the Jesus that is in the Gospels for what He truly is.  It is by doing that we have a richer understanding of not only what Jesus is like, but how we are supposed to be when connected to Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

What have you read or heard about Jesus that gave you a mental shift in who He is and what He is like? How has that perspective shift changed the way you live, connect with God, and act in the world around you?

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2024 at 8:32 AM

    Jesus came as a baby to die on the cross...ever thankful for the gift of salvation..He is my mighty King and my personal Warrior..

    ReplyDelete

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