While bombs rained down in Gaza strip, we watched pretty Super Bowl ads for Jesus | Opinion
Contrary to what you may have heard, Jesus was not in Las Vegas at the Super Bowl. I don’t know where he was, but it seemed as though he didn’t make it to Rafah, either, as the brutal Israel-Gaza conflict was ramped up just as the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers were beginning to play.
I’ve been a Christian all my life, even before I wanted to be. Still, I have trouble determining with any level of certainty when Jesus does or doesn’t show up, what he does or doesn’t do, what unequivocally counts as Christ-like living and what doesn’t.
I’ll say this, though. A multi-million-dollar Super Bowl ad shown to 123.4 million people as part of a billion-dollar campaign will not make Jesus more palatable to those who’ve watched a segment of Christians routinely hate people while proclaiming a love of and for them — or who show little to no concern for the hurting.
“Jesus washed the feet of friends and enemies,” the ad by “He Gets Us” proclaimed. “No ego or hate. He humbly loved his neighbors. How can we do the same?”
The 60-second spot included images of foot-washing, the most iconic message of humility in the Bible, God literally bending the knee to soothe and serve the least of these. A police officer washing the feet of young Black man in an alley. A blonde-hair white teen washing the feet of a teen with red, closely-cropped hair in the hallway of a school. A white man bent over the feet of an Indigenous man. A woman washing the feet of a pregnant girl outside of a family planning clinic. A white woman washing the feet of a woman wearing a hijab. A Black man and white man sharing a mutual foot-washing in an iron tub on a front porch, their legs and hands gently touching. A white pastor washing the feet of a queer Black man with the sun towering over the ocean behind them.
“Jesus didn’t teach hate,” the ad ended. “He washed feet. He gets us.”
While that ad was being broadcast, an Israeli onslaught that had already led to the killing of an estimated 28,000 Palestinians and the displacement of nearly 2 million others was intensifying. It’s an onslaught with the broad backing of Christians, elected officials and everyday Americans.
Some critics claimed it was timed to begin during the Super Bowl when most of us would be distracted. I don’t know that to be true. But I know that far too many Christians are comfortable with the ungodly level of carnage in Gaza, and far too few have been willing to put pressure on the Biden administration to come up with a solution to end the killing, or at least ensure that Israel’s military was honoring its much-stated, though as-yet-realized realized, commitment to a reduction in civilian casualties.
Jesus washed the feet of friends and enemies, the ad told us. What would he say about so many of his followers seemingly unconcerned with the loss of so many innocent lives? Or would that not bother him because we proclaim a love for all of mankind we too infrequently make tangible?
Pretty words and pretty pictures can move us for a few minutes, as I’m sure that much-discussed Super Bowl ad did. It was well done, perfectly designed to pull at our heartstrings. But aren’t we supposed to be better than that? Isn’t our Christian calling higher than using an image of a meek Jesus to sell the world on a watered-down version of his commands?
Yes, we are to humble ourselves before friends and enemies. And feed the hungry, even if it might cost us a few extra tax dollars. And invite in the stranger, even if they are transgender. And stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves while bombs are being dropped on their heads.
This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 12:59 PM.