October 3, 2010:

Ponderings of a Pilgrim PASTOR

“Who Is Jesus For Us Today?”

Perhaps you missed this religious news item: the Jesus Seminar is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. For those of you who may not recall, the Jesus Seminar is a group of New Testament scholars who have been meeting regularly for years attempting to decide (for themselves) which of the words in the Gospels attributed to Jesus actually come from him or later Christian writers. The Seminar has also been concerned how Jesus saw himself.

The Seminar came under some criticism from conservative Christian scholars because they voted by using color-coded beads to decide what they think Jesus really said. A variety of other issues have been addressed over the years but public attention and controversy have clearly waned.

Whether the Seminar’s methods and results were helpful, there is no question in my mind that their work raises a crucial question for Christians in every generation: Who do we thank Jesus is for us today? Don Klinefelter led our adult Sunday morning group in a great discussion on this question last Sunday. Don posed a variety of answers to this question which I have slightly adapted. Who is Jesus for us today? . . .

• Our personal Savior and Lord?
• The Savior of the world, indeed, of the entire cosmos?
• A bringer of enlightenment, like the Buddha?
• A hero of western civilization, like Socrates?
• A revolutionary Jewish rabbi who paid for his conception of the Kingdom of God with his life?
• A great shaman or faith healer?
• “God with us” (Immanuel), the divine spark or life force present in all creation?
• The epitome of God with us as suffering love, crying out for justice, especially for the weak and neglected?
• The incarnate Logos, the divine truth present in the universe as well as the light in all the world’s religions?
• All of the above? None of the above? ???

At some point, every Christian has to decide: Who is Jesus for me? I do not believe there is any one “right” answer, but an answer must be given.

Love,
Pastor Dave