The third round of Theology on Tap focused on Jesus the Christ as God’s self revelation.
The technical term for this topic is Christology. The premise at the foundation of this conversation is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God.
Basics of the Christian narrative:
1) Christ is once and for all.
Romans 6:10, “For the death he died he died to sin, once and for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.”
2) Through the Christ event, the whole of creation is reconciled to God.
Colossians 1:20, “… and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace, through the blood of the cross.”
How do we understand Jesus the Christ?
The outline for the remainder of this conversation comes from Dr. James Cone and his book “God of the Oppressed (revised edition, Orbis, 1997).”
Dr. Cone establishes the following triad in chapter six of “God of the Oppressed (pg. 99):
Jesus is who he was.
Jesus is who he is.
Jesus is who he will be.
Jesus is who he was.
Wolfhart Panneberg states “Christology must begin from below.”
To begin to talk about Jesus we begin with the man Jesus of Nazareth.
A note on the historical Jesus and the search to find him.
Albert Schweitzer, author of “The Quest for the Historical Jesus,” began the first attempt to rediscover the historical Jesus. At the conclusion of the study, Schweitzer proposed that the authors who had written about the historical Jesus had really created a Jesus in their own image. The bottom line here is that we often find what we are looking for in the search for the historical Jesus.
We must tread lightly here.
The Gospels are not historical documents in our conception of history text books. They tell the story of Jesus, from the faith perspective of the author who is writing to a particular community.
It is difficult to capture the historical Jesus. Few records outside of scripture.
Here is what we can say with relative certainty:
Jesus of Nazareth (the man) was a Jewish peasant. He may have been from the region of Galilee. His movement began among the common, agricultural folk - particularly I am thinking of Mark’s Gospel. He was in conflict, and had the most in common, with the Pharisees. He was executed by Rome.
Dr. Cone writes, “My assertion that “Jesus is who he was” not only confirms the importance of Scripture as the basis of Christology. It also stresses the biblical emphasis on Jesus’ humanity in history as the starting point of Christological analysis… The events described are not intended as fiction but as God's way of changing the course of history in the human person. (pg. 109).”
Jesus identifies with the poor and outcasts of his time and place.
For us - how do we (as privileged people) identify with Jesus who’s ministry was to the oppressed? - Key question.
Jesus is who he is.
Jesus is the Christ - God’s anointed one.
Dr. Cone - “The crucified One is also the risen Lord (pg. 110).”
“Faith in the resurrection means that the historical Jesus, in his liberating words and deeds for the poor, was God’s way of breaking into human history, redeeming humanity from injustice and violence, and bestowing power upon little ones in the struggle for freedom (pg. 110).”
Jurgen Moltmann was a German theologian who lived through world was two. He was captured and spent time as a POW. His experience in the war, his reflection’s on the Nazi party, and his time as a POW had great impact on his theological thinking. His most important book may be “The Crucified God.”
Moltmann writes, “Christian identity can be understood only as an act of identification with the crucified Christ…(pg. 19).”
Dr. Cone - “Christ's meaning for us today is found in our encounter with the historical Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord who is present with us in the struggle for freedom (pg. 111).”
“Resurrection is a political event (pg. 115).”
The politics of the resurrection are found in its gifts of freedom to the poor and helpless.
Political statements:
Jesus is LORD - subversive statement against powers of the world (emperor, ruler, etc.)
Christ is Risen - Jesus dies a political death at the hands of Rome. God declares life through resurrection. World not in control.
Jesus is who he will be.
Jesus is continually resurrected in our midst where his story is shared and his love enacted.
This is sacramental in nature. Baptism and communion - where Jesus promises to be present. We trust these promises.
Matthew 28:19-20 - “Baptizing in the name of… and remember I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Luke 22:19 - “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Dr. Cone - “He is not only the crucified and risen One but also the Lord of the future who is coming again to fully consummate the liberation already happening in our present (pg. 116).”
Paul Tillich on Resurrection - “In this way the concrete individual life of the man Jesus of Nazareth is raised above transitoriness to the eternal presence of God as Spirit. This event happen first to some of his followers who fled to Galilee in the hours after his execution… then to all those who in every period experienced his living presence here and now (Systematic Theology 2, pg. 157).”
Dr. Vitor Westhelle - “To know the whereabouts of the church, one needs to listen for where the truth is being uttered, to look for where the embodied Word exists, which is not only to be found in Jesus of Nazareth but how and where it is embodied today (The Church Event, pg. 159).”
Question for us today - “What if the truth is not being uttered?”
Our call is to utter the truth today and participate in Christ’ future.
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