There have been many ways to talk about Jesus. In fact, one of the special areas in theological studies is called Christology. Christology basically focuses on how people talk about Jesus, particularly Jesus the Christ. It is normal to hear it simply put as “Jesus Christ.” This slightly alters the way I put it, namely, “Jesus the Christ.” While my rendition doubtlessly will sound strange in most Christian ears, it probably comes closer to the way Jesus and the early disciples would have understood it. But of course, I recognize when I say it this way, it sounds a trifle arrogant!
It certainly does not mean that “Jesus Christ” is wrong. Surely it is not. But at the same time, we need to be clear about what we are doing and what we are affirming. Let’s put a couple simple affirmations on the table. The first affirmation boldly assumes Jesus was a real guy---a human being. We can leave off to the side right now whether he was a guy who ever sinned. The second assumption affirms that Jesus was attributed the title, “Christ.” I call it a title because it was a descriptive way of talking about people.
Christ means “Messiah.” It is the Greek translation of that Hebrew word, Messiah, which means “the Anointed One.” The Messiah was expected in certain Jewish circles and there were specifics hopes surrounding the Messiah. And so when some early followers of Jesus began to understand and interpret this amazing poor Jewish guy, they turned to the Jewish notion of Messiah. That is Jesus. Or better, Jesus is the Messiah. And once, you load this descriptive title onto the shoulders of Jesus, all sorts of assumptions and expectations come with it.
No doubt, this has been the most used and most famous title attributed to Jesus. Personally, I am quite ok with it. In saying that, however, I don’t pretend that we all used the title, Christ or Messiah, in the same way. What I also know is we have available a whole bunch of other titles to describe and interpret who Jesus is and what he did in his ministry on earth. I value most of them, too.
Probably one of the least familiar titles, which I very much like, is “the cosmic Christ.” That one makes more sense as a title because no one understands it to be a last name, like “Christ” can be confusingly assumed to be part of Jesus’ name. The function of this title, the cosmic Christ, is quite different than the Messiah title. Let’s unpack it a bit. I recently read a nice piece from Richard Rohr, who uses this, and that enables me to borrow some of Rohr’s thinking.
Rohr helps us get a handle on this when he talks about the cosmic Christ being “beyond and before the child in the manger.” In some ways the cosmic Christ has always been and always will be. On the other hand, Jesus is a historical being---like we are. He had a birthday and we celebrate it at Christmas. He had a death day and we remember it on Good Friday. Jesus is a historical actor on the first century Palestinian stage and, remarkably, we know a good bit about him as a historical figure.
Rohr puts this in an interesting way. He says, “Jesus is the microcosmic expression of the macrocosm, the union of human and divine, psychic and physical, in a single life and person. The Christ includes and goes further than Jesus, beyond space and time. Jesus is a concrete and personal embodiment of universal love.” I like how Rohr puts it. Jesus is an embodiment of universal love. The implication is you and I also can be embodiments. If we do this, we are followers of Jesus. He is a great model. Rohr articulates it in a quaint fashion: “Christ is the blueprint and icon of God's loving presence and plan — always and everywhere.”
This description gives us some fresh options to understand who Jesus was when we call him “the Christ.” He is the blueprint of God’s loving presence. I like to say when Jesus was present, God was present in and through him. Jesus is one way God gives grace to people. Jesus healed people; he fed those who were hungry; he served those who had needs. He warned those who were religiously stuffy. He brought a prophetic message to those who profited unfairly from those who had little to give.
This view of Jesus is not simply a way of looking backward to see who he was. And it is not only a way of seeing his continued presence in our own day. The cosmic Christ is a way of looking forward. The figure of the cosmic Christ is a figure of the future and, particularly, of hope. Again Rohr puts it in a compelling way. “God's hope for history seems to be that humanity will one day be able to recognize its own dignity as the divine dwelling place, which it also shares with the rest of creation.”
I relish that one day all of us humans can begin to recognize our own dignity. We will come to understand our dignity is the dwelling place of God. We understand that we are also God-bearers. In each of us God can come to dwell---as fully as we are able to allow. And as we allow this indwelling God to take more and more place within us, we will become more and more like the Jesus who models this eternal, all-embracing love of God.
We will never be called “the Christ,” but we can be “Christians.” We can be associated with the one called Christ. We can be expressions of God’s love just as the cosmic Christ embodied that love. What a challenge! What a gift!
It certainly does not mean that “Jesus Christ” is wrong. Surely it is not. But at the same time, we need to be clear about what we are doing and what we are affirming. Let’s put a couple simple affirmations on the table. The first affirmation boldly assumes Jesus was a real guy---a human being. We can leave off to the side right now whether he was a guy who ever sinned. The second assumption affirms that Jesus was attributed the title, “Christ.” I call it a title because it was a descriptive way of talking about people.
Christ means “Messiah.” It is the Greek translation of that Hebrew word, Messiah, which means “the Anointed One.” The Messiah was expected in certain Jewish circles and there were specifics hopes surrounding the Messiah. And so when some early followers of Jesus began to understand and interpret this amazing poor Jewish guy, they turned to the Jewish notion of Messiah. That is Jesus. Or better, Jesus is the Messiah. And once, you load this descriptive title onto the shoulders of Jesus, all sorts of assumptions and expectations come with it.
No doubt, this has been the most used and most famous title attributed to Jesus. Personally, I am quite ok with it. In saying that, however, I don’t pretend that we all used the title, Christ or Messiah, in the same way. What I also know is we have available a whole bunch of other titles to describe and interpret who Jesus is and what he did in his ministry on earth. I value most of them, too.
Probably one of the least familiar titles, which I very much like, is “the cosmic Christ.” That one makes more sense as a title because no one understands it to be a last name, like “Christ” can be confusingly assumed to be part of Jesus’ name. The function of this title, the cosmic Christ, is quite different than the Messiah title. Let’s unpack it a bit. I recently read a nice piece from Richard Rohr, who uses this, and that enables me to borrow some of Rohr’s thinking.
Rohr helps us get a handle on this when he talks about the cosmic Christ being “beyond and before the child in the manger.” In some ways the cosmic Christ has always been and always will be. On the other hand, Jesus is a historical being---like we are. He had a birthday and we celebrate it at Christmas. He had a death day and we remember it on Good Friday. Jesus is a historical actor on the first century Palestinian stage and, remarkably, we know a good bit about him as a historical figure.
Rohr puts this in an interesting way. He says, “Jesus is the microcosmic expression of the macrocosm, the union of human and divine, psychic and physical, in a single life and person. The Christ includes and goes further than Jesus, beyond space and time. Jesus is a concrete and personal embodiment of universal love.” I like how Rohr puts it. Jesus is an embodiment of universal love. The implication is you and I also can be embodiments. If we do this, we are followers of Jesus. He is a great model. Rohr articulates it in a quaint fashion: “Christ is the blueprint and icon of God's loving presence and plan — always and everywhere.”
This description gives us some fresh options to understand who Jesus was when we call him “the Christ.” He is the blueprint of God’s loving presence. I like to say when Jesus was present, God was present in and through him. Jesus is one way God gives grace to people. Jesus healed people; he fed those who were hungry; he served those who had needs. He warned those who were religiously stuffy. He brought a prophetic message to those who profited unfairly from those who had little to give.
This view of Jesus is not simply a way of looking backward to see who he was. And it is not only a way of seeing his continued presence in our own day. The cosmic Christ is a way of looking forward. The figure of the cosmic Christ is a figure of the future and, particularly, of hope. Again Rohr puts it in a compelling way. “God's hope for history seems to be that humanity will one day be able to recognize its own dignity as the divine dwelling place, which it also shares with the rest of creation.”
I relish that one day all of us humans can begin to recognize our own dignity. We will come to understand our dignity is the dwelling place of God. We understand that we are also God-bearers. In each of us God can come to dwell---as fully as we are able to allow. And as we allow this indwelling God to take more and more place within us, we will become more and more like the Jesus who models this eternal, all-embracing love of God.
We will never be called “the Christ,” but we can be “Christians.” We can be associated with the one called Christ. We can be expressions of God’s love just as the cosmic Christ embodied that love. What a challenge! What a gift!
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