I have been tagged by A Year Acceptable for the Five Things I Dig About Jesus meme...
I am excited about this. I really DO dig Jesus. I was shocked, not too long after my ordination, to learn that another pastor with whom I worked closely assumed I held a "low" Christology/ theology of Jesus simply because of my seminary. (It is true that, at the time I attended, the front page of the seminary website said "The Church's rule-breaker for over 150 years." It was a deep regret of mine that the seminary backed off that claim-- it was, in my view, utterly prophetic.)
But Anywho, back to Jesus. I shared (I believe I sputtered) with aforementioned pastor that, indeed, I held that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One of God, and that I can say the words of our statements of faith without crossing my fingers. And, contrary to that pastor's expectations, the things I dig and believe about Jesus are the underpinnings to my progressive theology.
So here are the rules:
1. Those tagged will share 5 Things They Dig About Jesus.
2. Those tagged will tag 5 people.
3. Those tagged will leave a link to their meme in the comments section of this post so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.
And here are 5 of the Things I TRULY Dig About Jesus:
1. I dig that I can dig and dig and learn and experience more and more of the truth of who Jesus is... that Jesus is like a Zen koan, bottomless in meaning and a window into the deepest, most unfathomable mysteries.
2. I dig the way in which Jesus challenged the religious authorities of his day, to recognize that all God's commands boil down to two, and that anything that prohibits us from living out those two is not of God.
3. I dig the way in which Jesus constantly allied himself with the "least of these." Our Brief Statement of Faith says it so beautifully:
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed
and blessing the children,
healing the sick
and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. (9-18)
I truly believe this is the gospel-- this, right here, is what Jesus calls us to do. Can you dig it?
4. I dig that women were the primary witnesses to the resurrection, and that Mary Magdalene was the apostola apostolorum, apostle to the apostles. I think this was so subversive that people are still arguing over its ramifications for ministry (if they aren't ignoring it entirely because of its... ahem... inconvenient truth.
5. I dig that Jesus loved to gather around a table with people-- people he knew and people he didn't-- and that this gathering is the primary prophetic action with which he entrusted us (yes, in my view, even moreso than baptism). It is in this gathering that we attempt to live out the mandate of #4.
So there you have it, friends... five things I dig about Jesus.
MoreCows, Little Mary, Suzer, Knittin' Preacher, and Sally, you're it. I look forward to hearing what you dig!
3 comments:
very cool five things...pardon my ignorance, but is that PCUSA's "statement of faith?" i love it! thanks for playing
Since my blog is private, here are my 5 things:
1. He was a rule breaker and a risk taker. He welcomed the outcast and those despised by society. He taught us something new by rebelling against the strict legalism of the religious leaders of his day.
2. He was able to learn from his mistakes. His eyes were opened even more to the power of Love when the Canaanite woman begged for him to heal her daughter. One of my favorite passages from scripture is: "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." (Matthew 15:27) This image is echoed in the Book of Common Prayer: "We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table." This has always stuck with me for some reason I haven't quite figured out yet. Perhaps it's because it reminds me to be humble.
3. He saw a bigger picture, focused on what was truly important in life, and had the courage to share that vision to his own detriment.
4. He refused to explain it all, refused to satisfy the fundamentlist tendencies we all have of wanting our faith and belief to be simply drawn, a map to Heaven. His parables and the way he lived his life left it open to us to explore our own relationship with God through Jesus.
5. He forgave his enemies -- something I have a much harder time doing.
Right on!
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