The Human Jesus

First century theology was less sophisticated than that we have inherited through our creeds and traditions. The ideas and dogma we now take for granted either did not exist or did so in a much more primitive manner.

 

Marks gospel for example has no birth or resurrection story in it’s original form. Writers such as the one who penned the Letter to the Hebrews knew nothing of the trinity, penal substitution or of Jesus being without flaws. Their theology was a reflection of their Jewish traditions and of their personal experience, and much of it would fail to pass muster in various schools of theology today.

 

Yet it speaks clearly to us of a simplicity of thought and practice we have long let go past. Complicating the simple seems to give it an aura of truth and credibility – try reading some academic papers before you go to bed tonight and I think you will see what I mean.

 

Both Mark and the writer of the Hebrews understand Jesus and his message in simple terms. Here was a man for whom the love of humanity stood over and above love for self or some particular individual. He looked with compassion on the state of people in the world around him, not because he was divine and above them, but because he was human and one of them.

 

Jesus found himself in the place of the priest, acting on behalf of other because he was aware of his own humanity. The writer to the Hebrews highlights this by saying he was chosen to be God’s represent not because he sought that position, put up his hand or filed an application for the role and attached his cv. He was chosen because of his lived and embraced humanity.

 

He writes: “Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; ³and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. ⁵So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” (Hebrews 5:1-10)

 

This is far from the idea of Christ being predestined to be sinless and therefore the only one who could fulfil God’s economy in the world. He was chosen because he made no attempt to avoid his humanity or to pretend to be better than he was. He was human and understood the struggles all humanity were, and are, muddling through.

 

Jesus muddled through by ‘prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.’ He waited on the hesed, the everlasting compassion of God, and remained faithful to humanity in all he did.

The constant theme of Mark’s gospel is one of Jesus challenging those who put themselves above humanity and calling them to become subservient to the will of God for all people. His was a life lived for others, despite, in the eyes of the first century writers, just being human himself.

In Mark’s Gospel (Mark 10:35 - 45) he became a ransom for humanity, not because of a sacrifice of blood, but because of his faithfulness to the cause of humanity, the reign of God in the world. This is not about claiming the blood of Jesus as the means to wipe away my personal sin. It is to claim the obedience of Jesus to sacrifice himself so that others may have the capacity to live for the kingdom of God despite the suffering and pain that comes with that.

‘Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; ⁹and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,..’

And many people have continued to obey ever since, even many who would not claim him for their own. Anyone one who gives up the sense of entitlement to possess Jesus, life, position, power, and lives in solidarity with the greater mass of humanity, shares in that quality of life called eternal salvation.

It is interesting that the writer of the Hebrews asserts he learnt obedience through suffering and therefore can speak on our behalf to God. William Loader, writes: "This is first century theology finding its way of asserting that right next to God there is a voice urging compassion for those hard up against it. Later generations will develop trinitarian doctrine and find ways of asserting this primitive idea in more integrated ways, speaking of solidarity as something which God does not need to be told about but which is central to God's being."

James and John epitomise the desire to rise up. Jesus in both Mark and Hebrews epitomises the need to grow down. Growing down is growing into the lives and experiences of others, of becoming one with those who have had to accept their place in the world and the rawness of their humanity.  Refugees, children in detention, victims of addiction, those suffering mental illness and more call not for the transcendent but the immanent, a human being who can say “all shall be well’ if we remain in unity with each other.

James and John sought to rise above unity into an individual play for divinity. They wanted the special place of power, to have the ear of Jesus in glory, able to influence and bask in the reflected glory of JesustheChrist. Jesus did not seek that position. In Hebrews and Mark it is clear they understood him as an exemplary man, different in his humanity than any others they had seen. It was only later that this was confirmed as divine. Here he is simply the very best a man, a human, could be. He was given the ear of God as a result of learning wisdom and compassion though suffering in the same way as the rest of humanity.

There is something valuable here for us to grasp, something we often fail to understand. You do not need to aspire to be somebody other than yourself, your lived humanity is sufficient. Each time you work at the pantry or op shop, help out the grandmothers stall, march for refugees rights, visit your neighbour, cook a casserole for another, make a phone call to someone who is lonely, drive someone to and from church or just welcome each other at church you are living out your humanity in just the way Jesus did. These are acts that cost you something, that reflect your understanding of the important things of life learnt through your own suffering. As my daughter would say, ‘It’s not rocket science Dad”.

The writer of Hebrews brings us back to basics, it is the human that matters, and the human that matters most is the one who has learnt though suffering how to be obedient to the needs of the kingdom of God in those around them. 

What A Waste of Time

"It was a waste of time, but I will do it again." Eden had just spent three days on a silent retreat. No technology. No needless talking.  Early to bed, early to rise. Spiritual direction. Group sesions three times a day. And more.

"It was a waste of time, but I will do it again." Eden is a typical 14 year old, bright, intelligent and very, very active. Always doing something. The biggest challenge for her was to stop doing. To stop being in a hurry. To let go of the expectation to achieve, get a result, to have something to show for her weekend out. 

It took two days of reading her book and writing in her diary, feverishly, before she arrived at the place of 'no thing doing'. Sort of. It wasn't easy to put down her book or pen and do nothing. Writing a diary is good. So is reading. But if they are a distraction from the inner journey, from the the silence and solitude of stillness, then some time apart from them is appropriate. It was in this time Eden came to appreciate the value of wasting time.

It is not easy. She almost went a little stir crazy. The preconditioned desire to be active, the implanted should of a consumerist technological society, refused to go without a fight. She became agitated and a little stressed as she remained firm in her efforts to do no thing. It did become easier. And it was good.

"It was a waste of time, but I will do it again." We live in a technological world, not so much in a mechanical sense, but in the reduction of all of life to one of endless outcomes, usefulness and instrumentality. We are in a hurry to do something useful, to achieve a result and to get the best out of everything and everyone. Life has been objectified and if it isn't useful it is deemed to be useless.

We have reduced education to the busyness of learning skills to cope with a fast changing world and to ensure we get a good paying job so we can travel, buy houses and cars and be comfortable. There is little time for reflective learning, touching the inner journey or just sitting with ourselves. What a waste of time.

We have reduced spirituality to a private practice that helps us be calm, relaxed, successful and stress free. It has been seperated from the transcendent and reduced to another pragmatic tool for sale in a consumerist society. Forget about any sense of soulful community. What a waste of time. This is all about me.

Work is about the bottom line, for both self and the employer. How to pay the bills, maintain the life style and make more. Profits, shateholders and the minimisation of responsibility to state and its citizens through the avoidance of taxes, and more, appear to rule. People lose out to the God of money. Why put people first? What a waste of time.

We have reduced the human being to a biomechanical entity which can be adjusted, improved, reinvented, supercharged and reduced to a little more than sum of its mechanical parts. Brains can be changed, mindsets reset, intelligence expanded, where does it stop? When will we cease to be human and what does it mean to be human anyway? Does being human mean living with limitations and borders? What happens when we fiddle with humanness to such an extent that we become a new creature, something other than human? Is being a human enough? What a waste of time.

Eden has begun to see that wasting time is good, neccessary and appropriate. You discover yourself, or at least make a start on the inner journey. You begin to discover unity with others and creation. You begin to discover the transcendent and your proper place in the world. You discover your centre, without which you can not engage with, or resist, the technological world in which we live.

Busyness prevents us from wasting time. Our busyness is manufactured by a technological consumer society which needs us to consume both goods and time in pursuit of being more than human. Having more, being more, doing more in some way helps us to go beyond our limitations and borders. We seek to become more than we already are. Somehow we need to leave behind ourselves in search for more, more what, we are not sure, for we have not made the time to discover who we are.

And that's the learning for Eden and the new contemplatives. We are human. We need no more. We need to become what we already are, not seek to become something else. Only through the inner journey of letting go of the shoulds found in our over hyped world and staying connected to our true self do we become fully human. It is a movement of the soul, of depth, and not of spirit which is a movement of flight. It is a slow, rythmical journey of sufering and joy, not of safety and happiness as promised by the television ads, personal well-being gurus and technological breakthroughs.

Less is more. And it is a waste of time. But I, too, will do it again. Now.

Rhinoceritis - Thomas Merton on Being Human

It seems a little ironic that I will be presenting my paper on "Rhinoceritis - Thomas Merton on Being Human" at the Newcastle University tomorrow and it hasn't stopped raining since I arrived!

In Merton' article, "Rain and the Rhinoceros", he is suggesting we are unable to control or own the rain. After 6+weeks of rain at home, I get it!  The rain is, simply rain. As rain, it is the subject of it's own existence and can not be objectified and owned by another.  He compares that to people who, if seen as objects, can and are owned, controlled and consumed by others. You and I are objects to those who benefit from our consumer society, for example. And more.

For more on Merton's thought and my paper insert this link in your browser http://bit.ly/VWBgYp