He Gets Us. Do We Get God?

 

First of all, the Superbowl, the annual American football extravaganza played last evening was probably the best I've ever seen. Many of these big games are more foolish hype than on-field heroics but from the opening drive to the last-second field goal, this was an exciting contest. For the first time in more than 50 years of Superbowl history the quarterbacks of both teams were Black and both were brilliant. In the end the Kansas City Chiefs prevailed over the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Then there are the commercials created for the audience of at least 100 million viewers and costing as much as $7 million US to air for 30 seconds. There are lengthy articles written about which ads are best and worst every year which really is bizarre. And here in Canada we don't get to see most of them because...I'm not really sure, but we don't. 

Apparently there were ads for Jesus during the broadcast as well. According to CNN: 

“ He Gets Us” a campaign to promote Jesus and Christianity, is running two ads during the [Superbowl] as part of a staggering $100 million media investment. To many, the spots will be nothing new: “He Gets Us” content has been peppering TV screens, billboards and social media feeds since a national launch in 2022.

The campaign is arresting, portraying the pivotal figure of Christianity as an immigrant, a refugee, a radical, an activist for women’s rights and a bulwark against racial injustice and political corruption. The “He Gets Us” website features content about of-the-moment topics, like artificial intelligence and social justice.

“Whatever you are facing, Jesus faced it too,” the campaign claims.

There are aspects of the message which are truer than true.,Yet, at the risk of seeming unkind, this seems so American. Find a bunch of rich donors, hit them up for big bucks, and create a commercial campaign to "sell" Jesus. It isn't the first time -- remember "WWJD?" (What Would Jesus Do?) and the merch people wore to promote this campaign. Why do people think that expensive advertising campaigns are the way we share the Good News about the peasant, radical Jesus who didn't have a shekel to his name? 

The CNN piece goes on to say: 

But certain details about the “He Gets Us” ads have set off alarm bells among young people and those skeptical of religion, two groups the campaign is specifically trying to attract.Some of the campaign’s major donors, and its holding company, have ties to conservative political aims and far-right ideologies that appear at odds with the campaign’s inclusive messaging.

Wouldn't the millions spent last night on ads come in handy for the suffering displaced people in Turkey and Syria, or in sponsoring refugees making dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean, or...?

I do believe that Jesus "gets us" and that the incarnation is God-with-us. This is the marvellous, mysterious story of our Christian faith, in life, in death, in life beyond death. I'm not so sure that we "get God" if expensive Superbowl ads are the way we go about sharing the gospel. What would Jesus say or do about "He Gets Us"?