“The people who hanged Christ never, to do
them justice, accused Him of being a bore – on the contrary; they thought Him
too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up
that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We
have efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Him “meek and
mild,” and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and
pious old ladies. To those who knew Him, however, He in no way suggested a
milk-and-water person; they objected to Him
as a dangerous firebrand. … But He has a daily beauty in His life that
made us ugly,” and officialdom felt that the established order of things would
be more secure without Him. So they
did away with God in the name of peace and quietness.”
Although Jesus is never once
recorded to have boasted about his own
oratorical powers and skills, the Gospel writers noted of Him (as historians have generally agreed) Jesus’ great
popularity among the masses of common people (Matthew 9:35-37). Yet significantly, this same passage also speaks
of heightening resistance to Him on the part of others (who also concede His
rhetorical power—Luke 20:26), namely the religious leaders, who recognize Jesus
to be a threat to the corruption in which they generally all participated
(Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are exceptions).
Jesus named the spirit behind the
division so described when He stated, “And
this is the judgment [krisis Gk (crisis)], that the light has come into the world, and
men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were
evil. For everyone who does evil hates
the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the
light, that it might be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God” (John
3:19-21).
The greatest source of all, however,
of the controversy and division surrounding Christmas, concerns not merely the
personality, but even more, the very person (nature of His essence, or being)
of Jesus of Nazareth. Sayers opens her
essay with the question “What think ye of
Christ?,” which was of course
inspired by Jesus’ two question to His disciples, namely, “Who do [others] say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-15). The answer to that largest of all questions
that can be asked has ramifications for the whole rest of life. It addresses such questions as 1) Is there a
God?, 2) Is God a personality?, 3) Granting the existence of such a God, what then
are His demands on me?, 4) What is God’s character?, and 5) Can I be in
relationship with Him, and if so, how so?
Sayers concludes her section, referenced above, “So they did away with God in the name of peace and quietness.” That statement highlights the most
fundamental aspect of the Christian claim about Jesus.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment