A few months ago, I watched two movies on consecutive days, The Big Short and Spotlight. The first was about the so-called great recession and how the big banks knew about- indeed, caused -the bust, the second about the Catholic scandal of priests molesting young boys, as it unfolded in Boston under persistent investigation by Globe reporters. The common theme is that in each case the truth was so contrary to popular belief that, at first, nobody could believe it. The big banks knew- and told no one. The archbishop knew, and told no one. And both succeeded at first because the truth was so shocking and so undermining of the public trust that it simply could not be true. But true it was. That which challenges public perception is ultimately accepted only with the greatest persistence and effort.

It is a fact that the disciples of Jesus were excited, if not also ecstatic. They ran around telling the story about Jesus in a hostile environment with no regard for their own safety. Paul, although he never knew Jesus personally, travelled throughout Asia Minor preaching the “good news” and establishing small communities of faith. These people were not timid about their convictions.

But why? Why were they so excited??

Well, everyone knows the answer to that. God had sent Jesus to die for your sins. Believe that, and be saved. Halleluia! At least that’s what we are told today. Of course, we are also given other explanations for the excitement generated by Jesus. The Jews expected a Messiah, and Jesus fit the bill. Some wanted a warrior to expel the Romans, and saw in Jesus a revolutionary who would do just that. Some, like the writer of the gospel Matthew, saw in Jesus the fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy. In addition, Jesus healed and exorcised, taught and travelled. These were initial incentives for folks to become excited, but our understanding today is that the real cause was the atoning death of Jesus. Google “gospel”. The “good news” is invariably described as “Jesus died for your sins. Believe and be saved.”

But is that what really happened? The disciples followed Jesus while he was alive and had no thought about his dying for their sins. For whatever the reason, have we come today to accept as true that which is not true? Suppose that, as in the movies, we look beyond that which is commonly accepted as gospel truth. Suppose we shine the Spotlight on the Jesus/disciple encounter in search of what really excited the disciples. What do we find?

It’s simple, really. What the disciples found in Jesus was the person they could become, and they found that very exciting. It’s so easy for scholars and theologians to present Jesus as somebody really, really special. You know, he was a mystic, he had visitations from God, he was charismatic par excellence. Maybe, but I rather see Jesus as one of us, only better. If we create our own ego-centered world, he did not. He was tempted as we all are to live in our bubble, but he did not give in to the temptation. He was tempted to be blind to the presence of God in the world all about him, but he did not give in. He lived totally “in the zone”, in the moment, in full consciousness of God; we succeed only partially. He was a fully loving human being. And yes, that includes the righteous anger that might have happened in the temple with the money changers. So here’s the first cause of excitement: the disciples now knew what it meant to be human, to be fulfilled rather than empty.

But it doesn’t stop there. Because Jesus’ ego did not get in the way, the presence of God could shine through him. He taught about God, yes, but more importantly he presented God. The disciples experienced themselves and God together in their experience of Jesus. Now that’s something to get excited about!

But then he was crucified. Had that been the end of the story, it would have been a cruel joke. But the disciples were convinced that it was not the end. After the murder of Jesus at the hand of the Roman empire, they experienced something that could not easily be described. Jesus, though crucified, was yet alive. As we have seen, this was not a resuscitated body, nor a body walking through walls, nor just their subjective experience, but a newness that transcended their ability to describe. And so we add more cause to their excitement: He is risen! or, to use other words, love wins! peace wins! justice wins!

Love may not win all at once, but it can be the dominant force in some places. This is why Jesus created a family of disciples, men and women, about 25 in number. He wanted to create a microcosm of new life. This, I believe, is why Paul traveled all over, preaching the gospel. Not to tell people that Jesus had died for their sins, but to establish communities that could be a beacon of light for others to emulate. That, no doubt, is why he was so upset when discord arose.

The disciples believed they had discovered in Jesus a reality they had never before experienced. They discovered who they were, they discovered who God was, and they now had a vision for the future, a vision of a kingdom of God, a transformed earth. No wonder they were excited.

Where had this Jesus come from? They really didn’t know. Nazareth, of course, but beyond that? He was sinless, he was truth. That must originate with God. How to describe that? Born of a virgin? Not really. The eternal Word made flesh? Yes, most likely. But “how” is of minor consequence. “That” is what counts. New life is at hand, as Jesus says in the gospel of Mark. Live it.

Of course not everyone became a disciple of Jesus. The vast majority did not. His family thought him crazy and possessed. When I ask why the disciples were excited about Jesus, it’s important to remember that we are speaking of a very small segment of the population.

For the Christian conservative, my explanation for the excitement will fall far short. They will argue that the early Christians, and Paul in particular, really did believe that Jesus had died for our sins, and, to be honest, there are many passages in the New Testament to support that thesis. All I can say is that if Paul believed that Jesus had to die a horrible death in order to appease an angry god and thereby enable “him” to forgive us, then I am forced to respectfully disagree. This, of course, implies that I do not accept the Bible as absolutely inerrant, and I am happy to plead guilty to that charge.

My account of the disciples’ excitement will also not be very convincing to a large segment of secular humanists, and the focal points of their objection are the beginning and the end of the Jesus phenomenon, the birth and the resurrection. It may be, they say, that the disciples believed that the sinless Jesus did come from Beyond, as an eternal Word incarnate, but that doesn’t mean that he did. And they may have believed that he returned to them after the crucifixion, but that doesn’t mean that he did. So maybe they were excited, but on false pretense. There is no way to prove these humanists wrong in their skepticism. And there is no need to do so.

Setting the Jesus story aside, there are many secular humanists who do in fact believe that the universe has a positive moral dimension to it, and therefore no matter who we are, we should be excited about working for peace and justice and freedom in our world. These humanists agree with the conclusion of the disciples but not the cause. These are the atheists that Pope Francis speaks of as working hand in hand with Christians (and others) to do good and create a better world. One can only hope that that is an image we can all get excited about.