If Jesus Came Back

At a congregation luncheon in Lauttasaari, Finland, author Eila Pennanen gave a lecture on the above-mentioned subject, at the conclusion of which she said, as reported by the clergy-sponsored religious journal Vartija, issue No. 5-6, 1962: “How would people react to Jesus nowadays? The organization men of the church would smilingly ignore him, the Pharisees would denounce him in the press, the Scribes would demand that Bishop’s Councils punish him for heresy, the Sadducees would regard him as an uneducated and simple man and secular authority would silence him in a much more effective way than crucifixion did. Publicity alone is murderous. There is reason to hope that Jesus does not come back.” Little wonder this is the attitude, for what would Jesus say about Christendom’s spiritual apathy, materialistic greed, immorality and wars? What would he say about the religious leaders who join the politicians in extolling the United Nations rather than the kingdom of God?