Conversation Point

Taking Offense

You may have heard of Kathy Griffin. Ms. Griffin has been around for awhile, both as an actress and as a stand up comedienne. She's also filled in a few times as guest host on ABC's "The View." This past week she even won an Emmy for her role on "My Life on the D List," a reality program based on her own life. Her acceptance speech included the sentiments that Jesus had nothing to do with her winning the award and that her Emmy statue was her new god. This didn't sit well with a few folks. A Christian theater group from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, even spent over $90,000 to place a full page advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper protesting her comments. It appears they were morally offended about how Christianity is portrayed in our society and this was the straw that broke their collective, religion-driven lives.

And you wonder why people think Christians have no sense of humor.

Having watched a variety of awards programs over the years, I've seen a whole lot of people thanking God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for being able to stand on a stage and accept their statues. But I'm not so sure they are expressing true, faith-based gratitude, or simply filling in air time until they can get their bearings and thank people they actually include in their lives on a regular basis. It was pretty clear to me that Ms. Griffin was having some fun at her show business associates' expense.

It is equally clear to me that many people find ways to feel miffed or offended on a pretty regular basis. To paraphrase Wayne Dyer, an internationally-known self-help and self-improvement author, some people wake up every morning looking to be offended and they are not disappointed.

Jesus was well aware of this seemingly human need some of us have to bristle at whatever crosses our path. One such situation, an exchange with the disciples of John the Baptist is shared with us through Matthew's gospel account. "And when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, 'Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?' And Jesus answered them, 'God and tell John what you hear and see; the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me (Matthew 11: 1-6)."

It would have been quite easy for John's followers to be upset that Jesus was claiming his authority as the promised Messiah for whom generations of faithful people had been waiting. The leader in whom they had placed their trust, and likely years of their lives, was imprisoned and at the mercy of Herod's whims. While John may have been willing to recognize his role in the grand scheme of God's work, they may have resented him for giving up and passing over the mantle of his own authority to Jesus. If John was asking, he surely had a sense that Jesus was the Messiah, but he wanted to be sure. Hindsight, especially with regard to spiritual issues, is so much more clear than when we are standing in the middle of them.

But John's disciples followed their leader's direction, received word from Jesus that the scriptures were being fulfilled in his work with the blind, lame, lepers, deaf, the dead and the poor. He assured them that the people who took no offense at this were blessed. Jesus didn't blame them for how they may or may not have been feeling, but simply let them knew that they could make a choice about their response to the information they were seeking and would pass back on to John.

It's very easy to feel offended when something in which we are invested is challenged or if a situation we had hoped would turn out a certain way comes to a different conclusion. We've all been there, wanting to displace the feelings of frustration, hurt or even anger, that seem to flash through us like a rocket at take off. Getting it off our chest is supposed to be good for us, right? It's only human to let off some steam, vent a little, let it go before it eats us alive? Personally, I'm not sure any of those things help, especially if they are feelings that have nothing to do with the person at whom they are directed. Offended though John's disciples may have been, Jesus is telling them they have a choice about their feelings and their response to him, and they are blessed if they can find it in themselves to take no offense at him.

Offended though we may be at various opinions, behaviors and ideas that may cross our paths, we have a choice. We can stay stuck in our reaction of feeling offended, carrying on and dragging negativity into as many conversations as it takes to make us feel right. Or, we can remember Jesus' words, taking no offense at him or anyone else who contradicts what we expect from them. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they aren't. Sometimes it isn't about right or wrong at all. Sometimes it's about recognizing a joke when you hear one.

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 4:14 PM