Monday, March 29, 2010

Who is Jesus?

Monday in Holy Week, A.D. 2010

It seems a "right, good, and proper thing"; to use very old Prayer Book language, for a parish priest to begin a blog in Holy Week. As I have contemplated this business of a BLOG I settled in my mind that it should be, insofar as possible, a communcation of hope and encouragement and if not that, perhaps a place that might foster some wondering about things that matter. Speaking of things that matter - I am off to the parish kitchen for a cup of coffee. It is a little after 7 - we have had our first serice for the day and it time for my coffee. ...There - that's better. Our coffee here at St. John's is really good Church Coffee - not quite a Sacrament - but not far behind.

In Holy Week the Church Universal contemplates the last days of the life of Jesus as he left the byways and beaches of the Holy Land and entered Jerusalem, a City over which he wept. It seems to me that there is no way to contemplate those events without considering on some deep level who this Being must be. Before the week is out you see, we (The Church) will be making some extraordinary claims about His personhood, His nature, His essence, His role in the unfolding history of the Divine/Human relationship.

Like most Christians on the journey, from time to time I must clarify for myself so that I can articulate for others, whom I hold this person Jesus to be. This, as one would imagine, shifts and evolves (one hopes) over time and life experiences but I am clear whom this Jesus is as I expereince Him and as I see Him unfold in the hearts and lives of those who believe in Him.

First, I should say that I believe in the Credal Jesus - the Jesus described by the Church Fathers in the Creeds of the Church. Yet - this is the Universal truth about Jesus for all believers to embrace and live. What I am getting at here is how that Universal/Credal Jesus encounters me and I Him in the very ordinariness of my life events.

I expereince Jesus Christ as the result of a Divine Love so expansive that it could not be contained in heaven. The heart of God was so bursting with love and hope; and yes perhaps fear for humanity; that the Cosmic Heart burst and the life blood of God Himself infused itself into the human condition in an enfleshment of that Cosmic concern for His creation. Further, Jesus Christ is a love so pure that hell could but expell it - for it could not endure so pure a Presence.

Well - there you go. That is the Jesus I have come to know and adore. But he came to know me and love me first. He just couldn't help it. It is the way he is.

I bid you a Blessed and Holy Week. It is my intention to return after the great celebration of Easter Day.

I welcome your thoughts about who Jesus is to you.

Faithfully,
Fr. Paul+

1 comment:

Phil Asby said...

Thank you for sharing your insight Father! I'm still getting to know who Jesus is and how I encounter Him. Day to day I find Him in a gentle voice or nudge reminding me to do one thing instead of another, to hold my tongue, to encounter those around me with love rather than indifference, to remember that the sacrifice He made for me is greater than any I may endure... But I also encounter him in the blessed Sacraments in the Eucharist - a continual remembrance of his passion, death and resurrection. I pray that I continue to find Him in unexpected places, and that I remain open to His presence.