“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa

December, 2021

Several weeks ago, my wife, Charlotte, and I were able to experience Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience. I encourage you to experience it if you have the opportunity. The exhibit features immersive projections of the artist’s work, descriptions of events in his life, and correspondence with his brother, Theo. In one such exchange, Van Gogh wrote, “Love always causes trouble, that’s true, but in its favour, it energizes.”

It does seem sometimes that love is trouble but it’s often what the late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis called “good trouble.” In June, 2018, Lewis tweeted, “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

The hymn “Love Came Down At Christmas” reminds us of the time God sent God’s love into the world: “Love came down at Christmas, / love all lovely, Love divine; / Love was born at Christmas; / star and angels gave the sign.” When God sent Jesus, it was the beginning of trouble. It challenged the way people looked at God and the world. We have a God who “. . . so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 New King James Version).

Jesus’ birth caused so much trouble that King Herod attempted to learn where he had been born (Matt. 2:7-8) so that he could get rid of him. When that failed, Herod had all the children two years old and younger killed (vs. 16) but Jesus and his earthly parents escaped. And after Jesus grew up, he continued to cause trouble.

Beth Castle, with Life.Church, describes “8 Times Jesus Got in Trouble With the Church.” While I don’t necessarily agree with all of her points (first, there was no “church” at the time, Jesus got in trouble with the rulers of the synagogue, and second, he got in trouble in Luke 5:17-26, not because he “healed the broken” but because he forgave sin [vs. 20-24], which the religious authorities believed only God could do), it’s an interesting, enlightening list, and I encourage you to read it for yourself. (Incidentally, we speak of forgiving sins when we pray The Lord’s Prayer: “. . . and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Who knew the Lord’s Prayer was so radical? And when Jesus commissioned his disciples, he told them, “‘If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” [John 20:23 NKJV].) Ms. Castle concludes by asking, “In what ways do you feel challenged to live the way Jesus lived during his time on Earth?” This should be a challenge to all of us, and I know that I fall short often.

In response to God’s message of love, we are called to “‘. . . love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.’” (John 13:34b NKJV). But beyond that, we’re also called to “‘. . . love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,’” (Matt. 5:44b NKJV). That kind of love can definitely “cause trouble.” Living our faith and loving our enemies goes against the grain, not only of human nature but of the way our world is run.

If we truly live our faith, if we live as Jesus required, we will also find ourselves at odds with the way the world is run. If we’re “doing it right,” at some point, we’re going to get into “good trouble.” The competing demands of God’s commandments and human traditions will conflict. Loving God and loving family will collide, with predictable results. When we honor God’s name, pray and work for the coming of God’s kingdom, offer thanks, forgive sins, and resist “evil,” we go against the grain of this world. We cause—and get into —“good trouble.” As Beth Castle points out, people “. . . didn’t know how to respond to [Jesus], and it made them nuts.” If we live as Jesus commands, we’ll make people a little bit nuts too. We’ll disturb them, “trouble” them. Perhaps we’ll become a bit “troubled” ourselves. And that’s not entirely a bad thing.


“Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign.” (“Love Came Down At Christmas,” vs. 3, Christina Georgina Rossetti.)
Copyright © 2021 by David Phelps