So, I was inspired this week by a Saturday Night Live skit that I wasn't even aware of when it first aired, but became aware of from the angry Christian backlash. It was a skit called "Djesus Uncrossed," a parody of Quentin Tarantino's films, Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds, and...the passion and resurrection of Jesus. You'll notice I did not link it. Watch it if you want, but you may well find it offensive. Suffice it to say it contains Jesus engaging in grisly Tarantino-style violence. Now, I did this as a fan of both SNL and of Tarantino's films, although I admit both are often cringe-worthy and certainly meant for adult audiences only. But I also did it as a discipleship training exercise, in responding in the way I think the Jesus I know from the Gospels teaches. In other words, I'm not out for blood. I'm hoping to speak the truth in love. So here's what I put in the piddly little "comments" box that NBC provides for such feedback:
An Open Letter to NBC, Lorne Michaels and the SNL Writing Staff
I am a Christian pastor writing in response to your skit of Feb. 16, “Djesus Uncrossed”. Just from that, you may think you know what I'm going to say, But please hear me out, because I want to respond to your skit not in anger, but the way I feel Jesus taught his followers to respond when they feel disrespected.
First off, Jesus taught me not to point out someone else's minor faults until I acknowledge my own major ones. So here goes...I acknowledge that Christians have often made a mess of things in history. I actually chuckled a little when your mock-review said the fictional film was “a less violent Passion of the Christ.” Both in fantasy and in reality, the followers of Jesus are guilty of appalling violence in history, and this is much more disgusting than anything you could write for a comedy show. Also, both historically and in our own time, Christians are often guilty of having no sense of humor. Know that I do, in fact, get the joke: the Quentin Tarantino revenge fantasy thing, the fact that your whole point was this was Jesus acting out of character. And as another person who's had a weekly “writing gig,” I know you're not going to bat 1,000. But this time I'm definitely not laughing.
And it's not because I feel “persecuted.” Look, I have global brothers and sisters who risk arrest or death every day just by following Jesus and praying to him. It would be a major slap in their face for me to count your comedy skit that I could turn off at any moment (and that I admit I didn't even catch when it first aired) as “persecution.” I wouldn't do that to them by elevating what you do to that level.
But I do feel disrespected. I feel slammed. And instead of slamming back, I want to turn the other cheek and give you some more fodder for ridicule. Let me tell you about the guy you're making fun of. This is a guy who hung out with the people in his time who it was OK to disrespect and mock, to hate, and even kill. This is a guy who put his reputation on the line every day, not by tearing these folks down, but by lifting them up. This is a guy who committed an act of civil disobedience at a time when political change seemed completely impossible, but he did it anyway. Specifically, he let himself be publicly executed though he had not committed a crime, and while he was dying, and getting made fun of in the process, he prayed out loud for God to forgive the people doing it.
This is a guy who inspired people through the generations, and created more change by dying than any dictator ever did by killing. This is a guy who inspired protesters, abolitionists, and people struggling for freedom through history, including Frederick Douglass, Oscar Romero and Martin Luther King, Jr. In a real way, this is a guy to whom we owe some of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today.
So I'm not going to say anything negative about you or your craft. In fact, I'm a fan. I just want to say something positive about the guy you're making fun of. And if that makes you want to make fun of me, that's OK. He taught me that sometimes being mocked is a good thing.
Kind regards,
The Rev. Timothy Jahn
“Bring it on down to Gospelville”
