ECCE HOMO

Ecce Homo - "Behold the man" is one of the most insightful theological statements made in the New Testament about Jesus, and it was said, according to the Gospel of John, by Pontius Pilate at Jesus' trial. This statement, found only in The Gospel of John, is a bit ironic; in that, the Gospel of John is a very theologized Gospel, putting words in Jesus' mouth and probably other people's, like Pilate, but these words have resonated with Christians throughout the centuries, and I believe the reason they do is that they cause us to look at Jesus as one of us.

LOOKING AT JESUS - SEEING ONE'S SELF

There is way of looking at Jesus and seeing one's self reflected in him.  I'm not trying to be mystical or mysterious about this.  There's a way of looking at any other human being and seeing one's self reflected in that person.  It's not a case of the dualism found in the expression, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." but rather in the non-dualistic expression, " There I am. That's me."

I want to re-emphasize that when I say Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God, I am not saying Jesus is not God's son, just that he is not the only one.  Jesus is God's son and so am I, and so are you daughters and sons of God.  Jesus is divine, and so are we all. All humans are made in the image of God,  We're not God, nor is Jesus God, but we are "made of God," to use Julian of Norwich's phrase.  No single person can claim to be God, no group of people can claim to be God, and yet we are all made of God and are part of God. One cannot make God into a person without making an idol of that person. Jesus knew this.

Throughout his short ministry, as recorded in all the gospels, Jesus talks about the interconnectedness we have with one another and with God.  In the synoptic gospels, the way to God is through treating the other as one's self.  He tells us to love our neighbors, to love our enemies, and to forgive, forgive, forgive because the other person is me, the other person is part of God.

Perhaps this sounds so loving that we tend to push it into the realm of wishful thinking, but really think about this for a moment.  If this line of perception evolved into the mainstream of cognitive reality, much like we have all come to agree that a chair is a chair; if we saw everyone as the image of God, as being part of God, as being part of me, murder rates wouldn't be a consideration.  Killing another person would be seen as killing a part of one's self, as an attempt to kill part of God;  a suicidal act, a deicidal act. Wars would be unthinkable if we all saw the other person as my person, as made of God. 

Think of the freedom and the security this would offers us as individuals, to know that we are not alone, that others are part of me, that God is part of me, no matter what I think, what I believe, what I've done or what I have failed to do.  This would not only give us greater freedom to be who we are but also a greater purpose in being who we are. The fact is we haven't begun to evolve that level of perception, we haven't embraced the message of Jesus at all. 

The closest we have come to this in evolutionary terms is what we call community. In the communities of today, we/they, us/ them, and I/thou thinking prevails. That type of community is a far cry from what I believe Jesus is talking about.  Jesus was talking about a community in which we see God in myself and in the other; a non-dualistic community where the other is me, where a true sense of a variegated us-in-God prevails.  In the "variegated us" we retain individual traits, preferences, and abilities. In the variegated other we recognize in the their differences our complements and can appreciate a fuller sense of what it means to be.  We are light years away from seeing this perception realized.

How can we feel comfortable going to church, praising God while holding on to the idea that the world is evil and humanity is essentially sinful by nature? How can we praise God  as if it's all been taken care; believing there is nothing we can do to change the world or change ourselves; that all we have to do is wait for death; the death of ourselves and the death of our world so God can get it right and make it all better? If Christians don't embrace Jesus' message that there is a way forward, a way we can regain the original goodness that emerged from, how can one expect the world to get it?  How else is the world to be redeemed and realize its original goodness?

The way forward is not easy. There are mountains fear and hatred standing in the way, resulting from the volcanic activity of human violence and the seismic shifts of discriminatory injustice. The vision of seeing God and good in all things has been occluded by these activities. We cannot walk around them. We cannot scale them.  We can only remove them. They must be leveled.   To remove these mountains requires the force of faith. It requires us to engage and recognize God in one's self and in every person.  

God is present.  God is every where. God is in the person I fear the most and in the person I like the least.  It is those persons; the most feared and the least liked who require the deepest measure of my love and the fullest force of my forgiveness.  Admittedly, this is a very hard thing to do, and I'm not  good at it, but do it I must because within my love is God's love and within my forgiveness is God's forgiveness. This is redemption. 

This is the ministry Jesus left us. Do this we must, not to save our souls but to divert us from real self-destruction and to redeem and reclaim the goodness that is us, to redeem, to reclaim, and to rebuild the goodness of our planet home, Earth.

THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF JESUS

I want to end my discussion on Jesus, the man, talking about the end of his life and its implications in redemptive theology.  Where I think many people personally connect with this human male, Jesus, is what has become known as his passion or his personal suffering. I need to start by saying, once again, that I don't believe Jesus was sent to Earth from heaven for the purpose of dying for our sins. That simply misses and messes up his message.

The story of Jesus' suffering and death falls in the category of stories about Jesus. That Jesus was crucified because of his teachings is very likely.  His teachings found in the synoptic gospels turned religious practice of the time on its head and would turn the religious practices of our day on its head, if allowed.

Simply put, what ends up killing Jesus were the ideological beliefs and religious politics that Jesus challenged.  It's what kills all true prophets in the end.  Religion can kill. That is true of all religions, and we're seeing it played out all over the world today.  I believe Jesus understood this very well.  He didn't have to be a prophet to know that he was walking on thin ice when taking on that type of authority.

Jesus died because of what he taught, because he challenged religious authority and championed the cause of the poor, the sick, and the rejected.  You wouldn't think caring for the poor and needy is such a deadly occupation, but it is.  Jesus is a martyr. The stories of Jesus' martyrdom vary, but what comes through these stories is real human suffering, real human love, and real human forgiveness.  The story of Jesus' martyrdom provides us with the template for redemption as a way of living, a way to move forward in our diverse and complex world. That was always Jesus' message and his mission. For his part, Jesus kept true to it till his last breath.

The story of Jesus, the man, ends with his death.  Death is a fact of life. Death is not the enemy.  The causes of death are the enemy: apathy, avarice, disease, disorder, envy, hubris, and lust.  Death can come as a friend and a blessing.  Most Christians will say, "But Jesus doesn't stay dead. 'Death is swallowed up in victory!' Jesus is resurrected. 'He is risen indeed!' That's the whole point of spreading the Gospel, the whole point of Christianity. Isn't it?"

Is it?

What if it isn't?

What if the whole point of Jesus' ministry has nothing to do with the resurrection story or "spreading the Gospel?"

Until next time, stay faithful.