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a
postmodern jesus
by
john o'keefe
jesus is
the same always, he never changes - he is the same today
as he was yesterday, and will be tomorrow. while
most of us would agree with that statement we need to
remember, that while jesus never changes, our perception
of him does - regularly. for example, the image
and perception of christ that led the crusades is not
the same image and perception of christ who led the
anti-slavery and equal rights movement (we seem to
forget that it is not dr. martian luther king, it is the
reverend dr. martian luther king, inspired by God
and lead by the spirit). so you see, jesus
never changes, but the way we interact with him changes
constantly. this interaction does not limit the
divinity of christ, it simply emphasis the humanity of
us all. it is through our limited and changing
understanding what we bring glory to the divinity of
jesus. with that being said, how do we view a
postmodern jesus?
let's
not get into a "physical" appearance debate,
that also changes with time - look at pictures painted
in the fifties and sixties and compare it to the images
of jesus today, and over time - i recently saw a picture
of jesus with earrings and a tribal, very cool.
each generation changes the physical image of jesus to
fit their individual tastes, so to truly get a grip of
jesus in a postmodern age we need to get to the essence
that defines jesus for a generation. this will
allow us to see how jesus interact with out lives today.
this goes way beyond physical appearance.
when we
look into that essence, i believe there are six major
areas where the postmodern understanding of jesus
differs from that of a modern jesus -
-
jesus
is action, not conversation
-
jesus
is a visionary, not a dreamer
-
jesus
is a servant, not a leader
-
jesus
is compassion, not tough love
-
jesus
is personal, not private
-
jesus
is real, not mythical
jesus
is action, not conversation
-
when we here jesus speaking to us, in a postmodern age,
we here him say, "get off your butts and into
the streets - minister to my people and stop planning on
how to minister." the time of talk and
plan are past, it is now the time of do. the norm
in contemporary church is to talk, plan and hold
committee meetings. postmodern people believe that
while you are planning the problem is getting worse.
modern people want a plan before they jump into action,
postmodern people want to jump into action and develop a
plan as they go along. modern people are check
book people, postmodern people are date book people.
jesus
is a visionary not a dreamer
-
what's the difference between a visionary and a dreamer?
first, a visionary see the destination in the light of
day, a dreamer only dreams when they are sleeping.
jesus had a vision, a deep vision of a glorious kingdom
of God - what a wonderful vision. a vision where
all people, from all backgrounds, all economic paths can
come together and worship the true and living God - what
a powerful vision. another important difference
between a visionary and a dreamer is this - a vision
centers on others, a dream is centered on the person
dreaming. jesus had vision, not a dream.
modern people tend to dream. they see the
possibilities with them as the center, a postmodern
person does not see themselves as the center - they are
willing to move aside, for the glory of God.
jesus
is a servant, not a leader
-
moderns freak out when they here that jesus is not a
leader - this goes against everything they hold dear
about jesus, but jesus never - never - never - never -
said "i come to lead" - he said he came to
serve. it is all the rage in the
contemporary/modern church to claim to be a
"servant/leader" yet, interestingly enough no
one claims to be a servant - they all claim to be a
leader - here's a test, go to any person in the church,
any person, and ask if they could direct you to the
servants; now go to another and ask if they can direct
you to the leaders. postmodern people have a deep
desire to be a servant, and to serve others is important
- for moderns, servants are something to be bossed and
controlled, for a postmodern person, a servant is
someone to be emulated and respected. if we leave
out the "leader" and only call ourselves
"servant" we will be right on task with what
jesus is calling us to be - will you wash the feet of
others in the church?
jesus
is compassion, not tough love
-
the concept of tough love is not a scriptural teaching,
it is a human teaching with no scriptural base at all.
tough love gives us an out and allows us to disconnect
with those in need. by claiming tough love we do
not mess-up our life with the baggage of other people.
but remember we are called, as mentioned earlier, to be
in action. this action calls us to get out of the
church and get dirty - if we desire to pick people up,
we need to extend our hands and take theirs - even if
their hands are covered with mud. a postmodern
jesus calls us to to pick people up, and if we get dirty
in the process jesus will be there to help.
jesus
is personal, not private
-
the contemporary/modern church tend to see our
relationship with jesus as private - it is not.
our relationship with jesus is personal, but it is not
private. you see, you and i may see jesus in
different ways on a personal level, but we are still
called to share that relationship with others and
sharing requires we speak with others about jesus and
what he means to us. we need to share our faith in
the postmodern age, if not us - who? if not how -
when? if not here - where?
jesus
is real, not mystical
- if
we see jesus as a mystic, he has no value in our life
today. seeing jesus as a real person, with real
pain, with real hopes, with real temptations, with real
emotions lets us know that we can look to him and get
connected - our life has meaning, because jesus' life
had meaning.
one day
a man went out for a walk. in his walk he decided
to make an unexpected turn, and in doing so he fell into
a deep pit. as he struggled to pull himself out of
the pit a humanist walked by and said, "man that is
a deep pit - i feel sorry for you." the man
just looked, and continued to try to get out.
soon, a presbyterian came by and said, "it is your
destiny to be in that pit, make the most of it and
relax." the man sat for a few moments, but
soon started to try to get out. as he did a
baptist came by and said, "well, i know i would
never fall into that pit." then a methodist
came by, "here are a blanket and some food, i hope
they make your stay in the pit comfortable."
the man smiled and took the blanket and the food and
rested for a moment - then returned to trying to get out
of the pit. soon a charismatic came by and said,
"you are only in that pit because you have little
faith." soon an episcopal came by, seeing the
man in the pit turned and walked away. the man
continued to try to pull himself out of the pit.
one day jesus came by, put out his hands and lifted the
man out of the pit.
john o'keefe
ps
- also look at "who
is jesus" for more
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