What would Jesus do?
As a child growing up in the WWJD? bracelet era, I always thought the question felt too deep and too complicated and too… stressful. I wanted to answer it very specifically as if I needed to know exactly what Jesus would do in any given situation at any given moment in my life. And how was I supposed to know that?
The better question, I grew to understand, is… what did Jesus do?
- He practiced prayer, solitude, and silence, routinely desiring time away to be with his Father
- He prayed with and for others
- He fasted
- He served others
- He went regularly to the temple and synagogue for communal worship, to learn the scriptures, and to teach
- He kept sacred time - remembering the Sabbath, as well as Jewish calendar of feasts
By these practices he was so deeply connected to the Father, so incredibly attuned to the Holy Spirit, that he was able to resist the temptations of sin and walk in obedience to the Father’s will. If we also want to share in Christ’s abundant life, we must do these things.
From this list of Jesus's actions, the early Church set about creating the habits and liturgies of the Church - developing spiritual disciplines to help their congregations learn and meditate upon scripture and understand God's big story. Among these spiritual disciplines is - yes, you guessed it! - remembering the work of God through the observance of the Church Year!
Remembering and rehearsing the work of God among ourselves is a way for us to imitate Christ - to do what Jesus did! Let us faithfully follow him.
