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Third Inquiry
The Story A.D.
In a world yearning for
transformation Jesus was born. Luke tells stories, as does Matthew, of
miraculous things which surround his birth. His birth comes as an unexpected
gift to his unmarried Mother, a gift like the birth of Isaac to Sarah. Mary
sings a song, much like the song of Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel, who
rejoices at his birth. The birth of Jesus’ cousin, John the baptizer, is even
more like that of Isaac’s. Like Moses Jesus escapes death, only the story is
reversed. He escapes death by journey to Egypt. The stories of Jesus' birth and
infancy are celebrated by certain church feasts. The Annunciation celebrates
the announcement to Mary by an Angel that she shall bear a son; The visitation
remembers Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer, and Mary’s
song; Christmas, the Birth of Jesus; The Presentation, his dedication in the
Temple. But we know few biographical details. He grew up in Galilee, was the
son (in human terms) of a carpenter, perhaps a carpenter himself. In young
adulthood he seems to have been associated with John the Baptizer. He was
baptized by John and in that experience had a profound sense of calling as God’s
well-beloved son. After John’s arrest an imprisonment,
Jesus begins a mission of teaching, preaching and healing in Galilee. He is
remembered as a great story teller. As far as we know he wrote nothing. But
his stories were remembered. His healings and his stories and his teaching all
focused on several key points. The time was ripe for God to inaugurate his
reign, in fact it was already breaking in in those instances of healing and
teaching. It was possible to enter that commonwealth now. This message was more than an appeal
to personal righteousness. It was a call for the transformation of social and
political life as well. The reign of God would mean that old structures of
religious life which had oppressive meanings would be destroyed. Thus Jesus
takes his message from Galilee to Jerusalem. He spoke of the destruction of the
Temple. He saw God’s reign overturning the systems of worship by which God was
domesticated by Temple worship. He saw the reign of God challenging the
entitlements of all the elites. He imagined a commonwealth which would truly be
unique, which would be a light to the nations. He thus associated with those who
were marginalized by the elites. He spoke of and practiced forgiveness and new
life. He seems to have had a significant number of women followers, something
in itself which broke not only convention but religious sensibilities. How he saw himself is not completely
clear. The church saw him soon as the Messiah hoped for. Plainly he saw
himself as a prophet, likely as a unique prophet. If he saw himself as Messiah
he understood that role in terms very different from those expected by dominant
parties in first Century Palestinian Judaism. His message was an offense to those
in power. He was tried in both religious and civil courts. TheRomans executed
him by crucifixion. His followers were demoralized. And the story would have
ended here. Except that his frightened followers found him to be present to
them, even though he clearly had died. There are stories of an empty tomb, of
conversations with Angels of a presence with them which is in many ways
physical, physical enough that he eats and drinks with his friends. His
followers openly speak, of his resurrection and come to think of his death as in
some sense sacrificial, although they don’t seem to need to know how it was
sacrificial. And this small group of followers soon becomes a powerful movement
which very quickly spreads throughout the ancient world. We have the story of
part of this explosion of new life in the Acts of the Apostles, and listen in on
the issues that community struggled with in the letters of Paul and others which
survive. His followers come to think of the
church, this community of people who practice life in the new commonwealth, as
the new commonwealth Jesus had spoken of, perhaps a provisional version of it,
even as they hoped for a time when all things would be transformed. The Story AD continues the themes of the story BC . In fact there are remarkable parallels and connections. The early church would come to speak of the festival of Jesus’ resurrection as the 8th day of creation, as that work of the creator beyond the Sabbath to heal the great wound. Exercise: Does this help frame the Biblical story for you? What is your favorite Biblical story? Why is it your favorite? How does it interpret your story? Which of Jesus’ stories touch you most directly? Why? Sit yourself down and read through one of the Synoptic Gospels. What strikes you about the story? Is the summary of the previous inquiry close enough to what you get from reading the Gospel? How would you say it differently? |
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