Maybe you've seen the honey badger videos on YouTube by now. I'm always behind the curve on these things, but when 'honey badger' references started appearing on mainstream television commercials I figured I should check it out (Here's the Honey Badger video - not family friendly).
Honey badgers are seriously hardcore wild animals – about the size of a dog, they are fierce enough to fend off lions and straight up eat the heads off king cobras. Honey badgers are destructive, environment-upsetting, animals. Many would say they are fearless, but it may be more appropriate to say that they are shameless. They overthrew the natural order of the wild world – where the orthodoxy, like humanity's, is 'bigger is better.' Honey badgers are non-compliant – lions, jackals, black mambas, a thousand stinging bees…they don't give a shit! They are comfortable living in their own, very thick, skin.
Reminds me of Jesus (I'd make a better segue, but I don't give a…well you know). There is, of course, the "smile, Jesus loves you," kumbaya-singing version of Jesus that tends to be quite popular in the broader Christian worldview. But, seriously, name one time that Jesus actually tells someone that he loves them in the synoptic Gospels? (I'm waiting…) Clearly Jesus operated in love, but the sappy, romantic version is a modern revision that belies Jesus' application of it in the shameless pursuit of justice. Jesus was hardcore, fierce and environment-upsetting. In a time when honor and shame were the foundational values of society, it didn't do to stand out. People with opinions and ideas outside the collective or community orthodoxy were generally shamed into submission…
What becomes clear in the Gospels is Jesus' refusal to be shamed. His unorthodox platform was subject to continuous attacks from the leaders of orthodoxy – family, community elders, religious leaders and the political elite. They demanded their honor and sought to shame Jesus. But, he turned out to be an obstinate nonconformist – family, Pharisee, Sadducee, rich ruler…Jesus don't give a shit!
In fact, the entire metanarrative of Jesus' life appears to be an inflated challenge-riposte. Shameful birth?…Jesus is born again at the Jordan. Hometown calls him 'Mary's son'?…he walks away a prophet. Family thinks he's crazy?…they're the ones left standing outside. When the Pharisees come questioning…the peasant asks, "have you not read?" Then there is the cross. The cross strips him naked, declares him an imposter and takes the last breath from his chest…but, two thousand years later, in the hearts and minds of millions, across the continents – he lives! That's pretty bad ass.
Jesus is often described as both the 'lion and the lamb.' That's a sweet sentiment…if you favor a stuffed-animal kind of Christianity. The Jesus I read in the Gospels refuses to be held down and patted upon the head. He's no silly lion – he's a 'nasty-ass honey badger.' And I love him for it. – D. Christian Nix, 10/26/2011
