I suppose what's left to ponder then is...am I still Christian?
Yes. Yes I am.
...not in the traditional Black Christian Church sense of the word, but in essence. you see, I believe in the ideals of loving God and loving my neighbor as myself. I believe that there is a place of love and acceptance for all people that doesnt belittle or degrade my own opinions and personal experiences. I believe in a kind of healing and wholeness for humanity that begins with seeking the kingdom of heaven within ourselves and assisting others to find it as it is revealed to and realized within us. Jesus is STILL my personal savior, but not because "He died on the cross for me." Jesus is the enlightened One with whom my affinity lies and He literally came and got me. He picked me up out of enough of my selfish, self-centeredness, guiding me to a place where I could continually find wholeness and peace, both from what I receive from others and by assisting others to the same.
Palm Sunday, instead of attending chuch as per usual and hearing about the arrival of Christ into the city prior to His judgement and receiving a "palm" to bring home... I went to Temple. I sat through about 6 1/2 hours of class - hearing, listening, feeling the essence of Spirituality -- experiencing real conviction in my thoughts and actions, pushed to reflect on my ideals and sincerely repent in regard to those things that necessitate change.
I have discovered that perfection isnt the requirement, never has been, or even expected. What is required is that we learn and change, experience and grow. This doesnt mean that we dont strive for perfection, or propriety, but that we understand that its a journey and not a race. Just like we may all take different routes and different amounts of time to get to the same place, what's important is that we get there; that we all get there.
So the real, and infinitely more important, questions become - what am I doing today to get there? and what can I do to help someone else get there too?
I will probably be in church Easter Sunday, but not exactly to celebrate the post-crucifixion resurrection of Jesus, but because Jesus showed us that resurrection is possible and sometimes necessary to affect the change that needs to happen in the world. I can be reborn, recreated, reshaped.. rescued from the suffering depths of death and live again in abundance, happiness, freedom, and love. And in my own living again is the someone else's hope, faith, trust, and love.
I call myself Christian by way of identification so others might catch a glimpse of what I mean, but honestly I AM simply following The Way. And it might be narrow and sometimes hard.. but there's a lot less shade.
I woke up this morning searching for something to inspire me and I found in this reading.
ReplyDeleteI have for a while now been struggling with this same thought around Jesus. Do I still feel the same way, does Jesus hold the same weight he once did as it relates to how I come and connect to God? The truth is that I don't see God the way I once seen God and so en-turn the concept of how I see Jesus has also changed. Not that I take the power away from Jesus but I put in my own hands.
<< John 14 >>
5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Now let me start off by saying I don't believe everything in this Scripture ^^ but hear is my personal interpretation of it as of now; Jesus is saying as we believe in him and the work that he did we are seeing God in him. Seeing God in Jesus means seeing God in ourselves. God created us in his image yet we separate ourself so far from God. Im not necessarily saying that we are Gods but I am saying that God has given us the same "WAY" and even the same power that God gave Jesus and it is through truth, light and love. These things gives us the power to do the work that Jesus did. ...
No Shade Jesus, The purpose is to take the shade off of you and shed some light to your significants. Thank you for being a great example of how to cultivate A WAY to show Gods love for us and to us through your life! Let me see if I can do the same.
Thank you for this post. Friday, I preached in two different "Seven Last Words" services. I had the "My God, My God" saying in one service and "Into your Hands I commit my spirit" saying in the other. You have described how I approached both sermons. I am a follower because I believe deeply in the example Jesus set, even from the cross: 1) forgiving 2) accepting an outcast and offering grace 3) creating community/blessing relationships 4) owning his own pain and despair 5) acknowledging bodily/human need 6) recognizing the end of his mission 7) yielding to God the results and the rest. I believe Jesus' death on the cross was a horrific crime against humanity and that his crucifixion was "different" (LYNCHING) only in the sense that he was a chosen Enlightened One who carried Sophia's Truth in a particular way. He was neither the first or last to be so lynched, but he was "somehow" (the how of which I continue to seek) special. I am persuaded by him, but not because of blood atonement. I am a Jesus follower because of how he lived, what he taught, and God's ultimate "no" to brutality in his resurrection--and the truth that resurrection is possible over and over for all of us. Let me say that you stand in a long line of Christians who do not believe in the "substitutionary" blood theology. Process Theologians have done a great job of articulating it. You might also enjoy the work of Walter Wink, who though not a process theologian, does address the notion of "scapegoating" and "needing" blood (for some people). I have long since understood that Paul was using a rhetorical device that has become a warped doctrine of the church. The whole law does indeed hang on, "love God; love neighbor." And the notion that you cannot love your neighbor without loving yourself, which explains the need to grow in one's own spiritual life, embodied in the way we live in the world. As you have noted, we all are born anew many times. I haven't decided whether I will be in church on Easter Sunday, but if I am, it will be to celebrate Resurrection and the saving grace that is in the truth "we can begin again; we can resurrect." Again, thank you for this post.
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