christology 101 (or not)
A couple of friends here entered an essay contest where they were writing about their conceptions of who Jesus was/is. Today they presented their papers in a room full of professors, the seminary president, the dean, and ... well, me. It was a pretty fascinating experience, watching all of these highly educated professors grill fellow students on their views of Jesus' identity. The one paper was on Jesus as a respresentation of motherly love, the other was a very philosophical analysis of Jesus' primary role as a reconciler. Both presentations were very good and thought provoking.
Answering the question "who is Jesus?" is at the heart of what Christians wrestle with. What does it mean to fully human and fully divine? What does it mean to be God's son? The Son of Man? The Messiah? All of the things we say about Christ are hollow unless we put some kind of meaning into them. I like the image of Christ as reconciler and I have also really grown to love the image of Christ loving as only a mother can love, but for me, Jesus' primary identity is that of "Rabbi" - teacher. We often ignore that Jesus was giving us a "how to" for living our lives and that "how to" included ideas of self-sacrificial love. It was also a rejection of oppressive world structures. Even in his death and resurrection Jesus was teaching us. Jesus was teaching us the nature of God. Jesus was teaching what it meant to be human. Jesus was teaching what it meant for the divine and humanity to be in relationship.
Maybe as someone who is selling out to the idea of being an academic, thinking of Christ as the ultimate teacher just appeals to me at this time of my life. But that's where Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ministry have the most meaning for me right now. I'm interested to hear what others think...
Answering the question "who is Jesus?" is at the heart of what Christians wrestle with. What does it mean to fully human and fully divine? What does it mean to be God's son? The Son of Man? The Messiah? All of the things we say about Christ are hollow unless we put some kind of meaning into them. I like the image of Christ as reconciler and I have also really grown to love the image of Christ loving as only a mother can love, but for me, Jesus' primary identity is that of "Rabbi" - teacher. We often ignore that Jesus was giving us a "how to" for living our lives and that "how to" included ideas of self-sacrificial love. It was also a rejection of oppressive world structures. Even in his death and resurrection Jesus was teaching us. Jesus was teaching us the nature of God. Jesus was teaching what it meant to be human. Jesus was teaching what it meant for the divine and humanity to be in relationship.
Maybe as someone who is selling out to the idea of being an academic, thinking of Christ as the ultimate teacher just appeals to me at this time of my life. But that's where Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ministry have the most meaning for me right now. I'm interested to hear what others think...
