who is this jesus? what’s he up to?

the crucial bundle of questions around our faith has always been “who is this jesus? what’s he all about? and what has that got to do with the complex realities of my life? of our lives together?” … and the entire christian life is simply an ongoing exploration of these issues.

as always, it is best to go back to the primary sources — the gospels — and try to pay close attention to jesus as they describe him. we're focusing on luke for now.

jesus — yeshua — simply means "yahweh saves". in a very simple sense, as the angel said to joseph, jesus has come to save us — all the world — from our sins.

...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:20-21 NRSVue)

what might this mean? to save us from our sins?

...

we're quite familiar with our own broken condition. we're not at home with ourselves — i find myself internally fragmented. there are things about myself i do not like, guilt about things i've done and continue to do, shame that emerges from this guilt, dislike of various aspects of myself... i pretend to be different than i know myself to be, i hide bits of myself even from my own awareness... i am not at home in myself, so to speak — and yet deep within me is a powerful longing to be fully at home in my own skin.

we're not at home with one another — every relationship contains within it a degree of dislocation, pain, misunderstanding, hurt... we look at the world around us and are heartbroken at the enmity, the bitterness, the violence, the injustice... and we feel helpless. in moments of genuine awareness we realize we are complicit in it. and yet there's a deep longing within us for peace, for joy, for love, for safe relationships within which all of us flourish.

we're not sure what to make of god — we're not even sure what we mean by the concept. we haven't had the best experience with those who hold power over us, and that makes us wary of the common ways that god is spoken of.

...

to save is to heal, to reconcile, to redeem, to restore, to make whole again.

whatever else is going on in the gospels — and there is a lot happening! — we clearly see jesus teaching us a way of life that he claims will move us toward transformative healing from within; will move us toward reconciled relationship with one another; will move us toward finding our forever home in the love of god. he asks us to trust him, and follow him, even though what he says seems so impractical, idealistic & even impossible.

"But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

...

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it quickly collapsed, and great was the ruin of that house.” (Luke 6:27-49 NRSVue)

so the clear starting point in our christian life is to learn to trust jesus, and actually follow what he says. there's much else to discuss & sort out, but without this simple foundation, it will all be pointless.

in saving us from our sins here's what jesus is up to

he is healing us from within, making us whole

he is reconciling us with one another

he is revealing to us what god is actually like, and is reconciling us to god