Jesus Who?

This week leading up to Christmas I have been listening to who people think Jesus really is. To get beyond the decorations, wrapping paper & presents, if Christmas is all about Christ then who is He? Why does the one who defines history, BC & AD not get more kudos if we are meant to be celebrating His birthday! Is it all cliche?

I love hearing how people describe Him. Some see Him as the baby in the manager, others as one who loved little children, healed people, did miracles, spoke of a new way of living, died on a cross, rose from the dead, a Prophet, the Messiah, others have ethereal perspectives and images, and some see Him as their best friend, Saviour, Lord - but what does that really mean? 

Sometimes as a someone who tries to follow Christ  I am embarrassed to say I am a Christian - not because of Christ, but because of other Christians. 

Media often portrays the worst, only the bad stuff makes head lines & news. The Catholic priest paedophiles, the fundamentalists against gay marriage, the right wing pro lifers who picket abortion clinics. This is the picture often painted of Christians. Is it really what Christ was on about? 

I read an article this week that tried to describe the difference;

"One thing that might ease our anxiety is to remember that Christ and Christianity are not the same thing; If Christ is the wind, then Christianity is the sail. Some sails are better than others at catching the wind, some sailors are better at using the sail, but there is always and only one wind."

Seeing Jesus as the wind is a good analogy - as the One who gives breathe to life, gives direction.....

The writer, Shane Hipps goes on; "Just because Christianity claims Jesus as its own does not mean that Christ automatically claims Christianity as his own.

In one sense, Christ is the pre-existent creative power of the universe with no birthday or death date, Christianity on the other hand is an institution built with the intention of harnessing that power. If the institution goes away, the power remains. Put simply, Christ is much, much bigger than any religion.

In one of the gospels, Jesus has an experience with a woman from another culture. Jesus introduces her to the possibility of eternal life. This woman was a member of a religion starkly at odds with his own. She was a Samaritan, he was a Jew; the gap between these two is comparable to the gap between Muslims and Christians today. Yet, throughout their conversation, he never once made religious conversion a requirement for her to access eternal life. To paraphrase, Jesus essentially says to her, "I don't much care where or how you worship, but if you can recognize me, streams of living water will flow from within you."

In the story above, Jesus focuses her attention on a deeper interior reality, rather than external ones. The religion of the woman is immaterial. However, we notice a minimum requirement to recognize Jesus in order to get the goods he offers. It might be tempting to conclude that as long as we recognize and name Jesus that is what matters.

 Sometimes even recognition isn't a requirement for Christ to be real in our lives. In another story of Jesus, He spat on the ground, made mud pies and smeared them on a blind man's face. Soon the man could see. The method of the miracle is so bizarre that we often miss the most important point. The man didn't ask to be healed. He was minding his own business when some guy rubs dirt and spit on his eyes and them tells him to go wash it off. He didn't even know the name of his assailant. Here Jesus performs a miracle without anyone asking or recognizing who he was. Jesus served as an anonymous donor, able to give gifts without getting the credit. If we, who are merely human, are able to give anonymous gifts, how much more is Jesus?"

Jesus said, "love one another" - I think until we get that right, let's stop judging, condemning and accusing each other! 

Ask who Jesus really is this Christmas? He is not banging on about religion! 

To me, He is the lover of my soul, author of life, my peace in uncertainty, a wonderful counsellor, a gracious, gracious God, everlasting Father, the reason that I live. 

Hoping you have a wonderful time with family, friends, loved ones today. Cherishing Christmas as it brings us together, to be in touch, to celebrate, to be generous to one another, to practice goodwill, charity and random acts of kindness. I think this demonstrates who Jesus really is.......

If you'd like to read the full article referenced follow the link below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-hipps/why-christ-doesnt-need-christianity_b_2258246.html