Rev. John Kasper, superintendent of the Central Bay District, asks us to consider taking on the mind and attitude of Jesus when we find our freedom gone and oppression rules the day.
JOHN KASPER
Superintendent, Central Bay District
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself . . . . Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:5-7, 12-13, ESV).
Tradition tells us that when Jesus was a teenager, there was a rebellion near Nazareth where he lived. The Roman army crushed a rebellion and crucified an Israelite approximately every thirty feet for nearly ten miles. The sight of almost 1,760 people dead or dying in agony must have made an indelible impression on everyone in the area, let alone a teenager. Long before his death, the cross was for Jesus an ugly, hideous reality.
While execution on a cross could be the outcome for many a crime, its primary use was to eradicate revolutionaries opposed to the imperial control the Roman government had over Israel and other countries, who had often utilized guerrilla warfare tactics to strive to weaken the Roman garrisons and stir up emotions of the citizenry. It also served to instill fear in the general population to maintain control. As a result, crucifixions were a fairly regular sight, all because people wanted to be free.
It’s understandable, the hatred, disdain, and bitterness. What’s sad is that those desires to be free and the resulting emotions of the oppressed still exist today. One people group desiring to dominate another. Unrealistic expectations of time, resources, and energy by those in power over those over whom they have control. The seizing of position, possessions, or person. The destruction of dreams, health, identity, and being.
When freedom is gone and oppression rules, when you have been hurt, offended, treated unjustly, and had your rights violated, indeed, bitterness, resentment, and hatred can easily grow in your heart and begin to consume you. Pretty soon, it just takes over.
As I write this blog, it’s Holy Week, and I am very aware you will read this after the celebration of Easter. Yet, as I consider Jesus’ awesome sacrificial gift in the context of the chaos going on all around us, I wonder if Jesus might give us an understanding, an attitude, as it were, from which to act as “little Christs.”
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus stated he had been anointed to “proclaim good news to the poor. . . . proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19, NIV). On that fateful Friday, it would seem Jesus failed to accomplish his purpose. Ironically, Jesus was actually fulfilling it by striking at the root of the problem — sin. But for that to take place, as the ancient hymn in Philippians 2 states, Jesus needed to do the opposite of what seems natural, right, or even logical to humanity.
What seems right is persuasively stated by the late psychologist Carl Jung: “In the secret hour of life’s midday the parabola is reversed, death is born. The second half of life does not signify ascent, unfolding, increase, exuberance, but death, since the end is its goal. The negation of life’s fulfillment is synonymous with the refusal to accept its ending. Both mean not wanting to live, and not wanting to live is identical with not wanting to die. Waxing and waning make one curve” (Psychological Reflections: A New Anthology of His Writings, 1905–1961, p. 323).
Jung suggests that we are born to die, so what seems right and logical is to make the most of life by constantly trying to climb, achieve, perform, and prove ourselves before we can no longer do so. Regrettably, the prevalent attitude in this world today is to do whatever is necessary, including disregarding others, in the effort to become more while we still can, to attain status and glory while we still can, because ultimately “the end is its goal.”
However, the ancient hymn in Philippians and Jesus’ demonstration through his death are opposite to Jung’s statement and human understanding. Jesus emptied himself, with some translations stating he made himself nothing, and identified with those at the bottom, even taking on the form of a slave.
And he continued to do so all the way to the cross and tomb, in essence saying, “Nothing human is repulsive to me.” Rather than disregarding others, Jesus regarded others with great value. Rather than stepping over or on others, Jesus lifted them up. Rather than taking great glory for himself, Jesus enabled others to achieve the greatest blessing of restored relationship with God. According to the hymn, it was in the giving and dying that Jesus was then lifted up and glorified.
As Jesus told the disciples upon washing their feet, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15, NLT). Fr. Richard Rohr, in his Palm Sunday meditation this year on the ancient hymn, suggests we should “trust the down, and God will take care of the up.” Jesus gives us the blueprint by which we should live in the chaos of our world. More importantly, Jesus shows us the attitude by which we should engage the world.
May we have the same mind, the same attitude as Jesus, who emptied himself, considering himself as nothing, so that we can have our relationship with God restored and face life instead of death. Let us consider ourselves in the same way, so that those we encounter can also have a restored relationship with God and face life instead of death.
In taking on this mind and attitude, Jesus changed everything.
In taking on Jesus’ mind and attitude, so can we.
Last Updated on June 5, 2025