Birds aren’t real.
Read time: 7 mins
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:1-5, 34-35 NLT
You may hear me randomly scream “Birds aren't real” and that's because they aren't. All of the birds in America were killed and replaced with government spy drones between 1959 and 1971. That’s why you have never seen a baby pigeon. The factory doesn’t make that model… yet. I’m telling you, If it flies it spies. Bird watching goes both ways. These surveillance drones even charge on the power lines… at least that's the joke. Peter McIndoe improvised this satirical conspiracy theory as a “spontaneous joke” to poke fun at some of the cultural movements fringe conspiracies he saw in 2017, and it has grown into what has been described as “the joke thousands are in on.” It has been featured on nationally syndicated news stations and platforms such as CNN, Times Magazine, NPR, Vice MSNBC, and 60-Minutes. They had a “conspiracy truck”, college “bird brigade” clubs, and marches with thousands of people involved in a fake protest against Twitter (because of their pro-bird logo lol). It was crazy.
While the joke wasn’t real, there were very real consequences that came up in how people interacted with Peter. In a Ted Talk, Peter described how strangers would come up to him with violent energy and abusive language when they saw him advocating for something they didn't believe in. They would call him stupid, uneducated, and crazy. And even though he was playing a role, he felt the real feeling of sadness, condemnation, and otherness that someone who really believed this would feel. And that taught Peter something that could be of benefit to our greater society and culture at large. Many of the people against Peter would say that they were trying to help Peter see the truth or be enlightened in a new way, but Peter says that the responses actually pushed him in the opposite direction.
Humans have been created by God to crave community and identity. It should be something we find in Christ and the body of Christ through the church. But through our approach, many of us have pushed people to the fringes and ostracized them to the point that the only community and acceptance they can find is in gangs, abusive relationships, or online echo chambers that affirm our personhood. Maybe the reason so many people would rather join destructive communities over belonging to a church and finding identity in Jesus is because the Christians they are around are just as destructive. Maybe the abusive relationships and faulty senses of identity we run to are filling us because the church has done such a bad job at accepting broken people. I’d argue that the LGBTQ+ community is significantly better at creating a self-place that is conducive to growth than many of our churches are. Gangs are a lot better at affirming our sons and offering identity, purpose, and security than a lot of our churches are. Toxic relationships have accepted our intimate moments a lot better than the church has handled our questions, vulnerability, and brokenness. And if we are called to be a hospital, we have to stop turning away other sick people.
But I know what you're thinking. If we are to accept hurting people, does that mean we are affirming the things and decisions that may be causing their hurt? What about repentance? I’m not calling you to forget the truth or the gospel. I’m actually calling you to remember it.
Many scoff at the idea of creating a space where people can belong before they behave. But Jesus exercised a practice of pouring out an unrequited love when He died on the cross before you accepted Him, just in case you wanted to in the future.
God loved you enough to keep you alive while you were sinning just so that you would have the time to choose Him later if you so desired. Your repentance wasn't the prerequisite to His love. His love was the primary action that made your response of repentance even possible. The fact that you are breathing while you make mistakes is a sign that God has blessed you while you were broken. True grace allows room for the expected faults of imperfect people.
When we hold back grace, mercy, and love from those who don’t deserve it, it is proof that we have forgotten that God didn't hold back grace, mercy, and love when we didn't and still don’t deserve it. Jesus washing the disciple’s feet was an allusion to the act of undeserved, humble service that He would pour out on Calvary. Jesus shows this act of sacrificial love and then beckons us to do the same. So maybe our interactions with people who believe differently or even behave differently aren’t just hurting them. Maybe those actions are going against God's intended stamp of love that His children would embody.
If we are to love as Jesus, we need to recognize the gospel in what actually happened in this story. Remember Jesus is not just hanging out with notorious sinners, they are a part of His team. He personally chose a zealot as a follower. That was the equivalent of a domestic theorist with dreams of insurrection and government upheval. Jesus also chose a tax collector whose everyday job was literally siding with the oppressor of his people to rob the oppressed. These are the people Jesus chose to give time and opportunity to while they were wrong about some things. These are his disciples, this is who he chooses and serves. But it doesn’t stop there. The Bible intentionally tells us that Judas had already been prompted by the devil. It doesn’t get much worse than that. Judas is literally planning to kill Jesus and Jesus knows it. But Jesus still serves, loves, and creates space and opportunity for Judas. Judas is not repentant or even desiring a further walk with Jesus. Judas is the worst you can be, yet Jesus still stoops down, takes off his robe, steps into a position of service, and loves him.
That’s what Jesus does for us each and every day and that is the love we are called to give to others. Serving those who are actively against us. Love doesn’t mean you agree. Jesus didn't agree with what Judas was doing and doesn’t agree with a lot of what you do. But He still pours Himself out.
Let’s lean towards grace. The Bible says that it was Jesus’ kindness that led us to repentance. True undeserved love, acceptance, and grace might open the door to true repentance just like it did with us.
Now this is a hard call. But the Bible tells us how we can do it. We are told that this act of love was in response to something. Jesus knew His identity. He knew where He came from, what He had, and where He was going. When we truly understand the gospel, we have the ability to pour ourselves out in radical ways because we know that this world is not our end-all be-all. What's biting your tongue or choosing humility on earth for a few years in comparison to infinity in glory? What's forgiving your parents compared to being forgiven by your Savior? What's needing approval or apology from someone on earth when you already have received acceptance and anointing from your Father in heaven? When you consider the identity you have in Christ, you can radically serve those who don't deserve to be served.
The people who hurt you don't hold the power. And the longer you live like they do, the longer you will be under bondage. If you believe you’re how they made you feel, that is how you will always feel. But if you find your identity in who God says you are, their words or actions will be like water off a duck's back. You can pour because you have been filled. You can give because you have all you need.
We will be known by our love. We will be known by how we sacrifice and give. And that sacrificial love is only possible when we pull our identity from Christ. Serving the Judas in our life is only possible when we realize they have no power over us. Making room for those with dissonant discourse stops being a fear when you realize you're safe. Love as He loved. Make room for those who are against each other and against you like He did. While repentance might not always happen, it’s only possible when you allow people to belong before they behave.
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Send this devotional to whoever God puts on your heart. I believe this devotional can springboard you into many conversations about how we love those who are different or even against us. Anyone can subscribe through the subscribe tab on the site.
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