“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
I understand Fox News has stirred up another controversy, this one concerns an Islamic book about Jesus. The author has compiled a lot of modern scholarship about life in Palestine under the Romans and concluded that Jesus was a misunderstood prophet. I've not read this book and don't plan to take the time, but it sounds like the same old same old. Lots of people say lots of things about Jesus.
Christianity is, more than any other, a religion of paradoxes. One of them being, "Jesus of Nazareth is a man for all time." Historians would like to locate him in the time and place of first century Palestine. They insist that we cannot understand anyone unless we have some grasp of the time and place and milieu in which he was born, lived and died.
Christians can enthusiastically agree with that. The Son of God is incarnate in Jesus. The more we know of the man and his time, the more we know of God.
But Jesus is also the Son of God. The more we know of God the more we know of Jesus; and the more we understand that he is truly a man for all times, and places and cultures. Those who do not allow for the Presence of God in their study of religion cannot know Jesus. They might as well study anatomy without knowing about microbes.
Invariably, those who would take a secular approach to Jesus misread the data. They overemphasize certain points and overlook others. Some like to see him in the political milieu of his time and suppose he must have been a zealot or revolutionary of some kind. That reading makes a lot of sense, especially because many of Jesus' contemporaries thought the very same thing! They did not know the man and could not -- or would not -- take him at his word.
To give a modern "for instance:" many people suspected Dr. Martin Luther King had Communist connections. In the 1950's Americans had a bugaboo about Communists and anyone who challenged the status quo was suspected of communist leanings. In fact, until the atrocities under Stalin were revealed, many thoughtful people studied Marxist thought. Those who knew King personally, of course, knew he was deeply Christian, and his vision was the American dream.
Since the 1890's, when anarchists first appeared in national and international politics, it has been easy to suppose Jesus might have been an insurrectionist. Only his intimate friends could see the man and know the truth about him. They would also know how absurdly misunderstood he was:
“Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.