Jesus is the Answer.

Popular Christian saying

This saying has always troubled me. It’s not that I doubt its truth; I do believe that Jesus is the answer to all our most intractable problems, because our worst problems are caused by human selfishness. It is rather the finality of the sentiment that I find troubling, the way it forestalls all further discussion and brings dialogue to an end. Once you say, “Jesus is the answer,” there seems to be nothing left to say. Oh, you could say, “No, he isn’t,” and I could say, “Yes, he is,” but that kind of interchange doesn’t even rise to the level of argument, let alone dialogue.

Saying “Jesus is the answer” is like saying “Science is the answer.” Either may well be true, but neither gets you one whit closer to a solution to the particular predicament we are in at the moment, whatever it may be.

In the stories of the bible, God rarely answers questions. In fact, he’s usually the one asking the questions. From the poignant “Where are you?” in the Garden to the overwhelming barrage of unanswerable questions with which God brow-beats Job to the plaintive cry of Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God appears as someone who asks rather than answers questions.

John begins his gospel portraying Jesus as the Word that became flesh and lived among us. We are accustomed to think of that word as a declaration, an announcement of divine purpose. But what if Jesus is not the answer? What if he is the question? What if God became a man to ask us what we want? Do you want to get well? What do you want me to do for you?