"Jesus takes the man with the withered hand from the periphery and places him in the center, in this case the center of the synagogue. That is outstanding, because the center is the place where the Thora, the word of God and God himself has his place. We are not concerned here with a mere center of locality, but a theologically determined center. Also worthy of mention here...are his encounters with leapers, tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. Many parables also belong here" (1)
I ended by asking: Is it possible that by seeking to move Jesus to the center of our lives or our organizations we are in fact not seeking the Kingdom of God? Could we be following Jesus more by seeking to center those on the margins than we would be by seeking to bring Jesus to the center?
A good follow-up question might be, not just who does Jesus place in the center, but rather, would Jesus place himself in the center? In John 5:19 we read:
"Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
I ended by asking: Is it possible that by seeking to move Jesus to the center of our lives or our organizations we are in fact not seeking the Kingdom of God? Could we be following Jesus more by seeking to center those on the margins than we would be by seeking to bring Jesus to the center?
A good follow-up question might be, not just who does Jesus place in the center, but rather, would Jesus place himself in the center? In John 5:19 we read:
"Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
John 5:19 is one of many texts where Jesus places in the center his father in Heaven. So one answer to the question of Jesus placing himself in the center, is that he placed in the center his Father. But further proof of Jesus not placing himself in the center can be found in Phi. 4:5-11.
"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
In this famous passage we see Jesus removing himself from his rightful place (at God's right hand in heaven) and becoming a servant to humanity. In this action, Jesus is clearly not placing himself in the center. Even in the end, when Jesus is exalted, it is God placing him in the center and not Jesus exalting himself.
So if Jesus places into the center those on the periphery, and removes himself from the center, maybe once again we are left with needing to reconsider the term "Christ-centered." Christ clearly wants others to be the center and not himself. If we are to follow Jesus being "Christ-centered" might not be a very good goal. Can we wrap our minds around the idea that Jesus does not want to be the center?
How often do we seek to place in the center ourselves and our needs? If we are honest, are we looking out for others our ourselves as we go through the world? What if in following Jesus placing him in the center is not following him at all? What if becoming a servant is more in keeping with what Jesus wants us to do?
As we head into Holy Week are we prepared to live into the reality of the kingdom where Jesus is not the center, but rather the servant of all? Can we dare to be Christ-like and become that type of self-sacrificial servant?
WWJC?
Joel K
(1) Fuchs, Ottmar, God's People: Instruments of Healing. Berne: Peter Lang. 1993. Pg. 49 & 50.
Joel, Thanks for the thought-provoking comments. While I applaud the idea of acting out the social values of our faith by welcoming the marginal rather than simply spouting true statements devoid of love, I can't whole-heartedly embrace your ponderings. Without a doubt, we see Jesus living out his time on earth under the Old Covenant accepting the marginal, pushing the boundaries of acceptable practice, and revolutionizing ideas of social justice. However, to suggest that Christ should not be the center of our focus, in my opinion takes things a step beyond what Scripture teaches. Hebrews 12:1 - "Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." How much more centered can our attention be on anything else? Yes, in centering our attention on Jesus, we must therefore value the things that Christ himself values. Christ CHOSE to temporarily release his authority as deity (Phil 2:5-11), but the end of that passage places Christ at the center of everything "to the glory of God the Father." I believe that Christ teaches that our social values are to be lived out precisely BECAUSE he is at the center. Otherwise, our social justice is just that, social justice done in our own name, in our own power, and not in the power of the Spirit or in the name of Christ. How can that bring God glory?
ReplyDeleteScripture teaches that God uses the marginalized things of the world, because through them it becomes obvious that any power must have come from God, thus bringing glory "to the Lord" (1 Cor 1:21-31). That title "Lord" is often used of God, but is used most frequently in reference to Christ himself. If Christ becomes our periphery for the sake of social action, then we no longer have a right to call ourselves the "church (gathering) of Christ". We become people doing good things by following the example of a religious teacher, which fits most other religions. But the teachings of Christ, even during his earthly ministry under the Old Covenant, are quite clear. Social action in and of itself is not sufficient, even in a religious context (Mat 7:21-23) -
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Lesson - true faith in Christ is relationship-based action
Suppose a brother or sister (fellow-believer in Christ) is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (James 2:15-18)
Belief without action is not Biblical faith, so yes we must seek justice for the marginalized. However, to remove the "faith" element, that active dependence upon Christ, it becomes just action.
James puts it another way - Pure and unblemished worship to the Father God is this: to take care of widows and orphans, and keep oneself untarnished by the world's values- (1:27)
All I'm trying to say is that Scripture says that our efforts are meant to be a life-style of worship. Worship is that outward expression of what we value inwardly, representing what is at the focal point (or center) of our lives - which for Bible-believing Christians should be Christ. We value Christ, and therefore we live it out by caring for the marginalized.
Again, thank you for sharing your ponderings, and I hope my comments will be taken in the spirit that they are intended, as one brother to another - literally and figuratively - encouraging one-another along the path.
Blessings, brother.
Mike -
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I firmly believe that we need to have faith in Christ coupled with action. However, I do think that if we are going to follow Christ we will do what he did and live the way he lived. So that means, as I read the text, the attitude explained in Phil 4 (moving ourselves from the center) and the actions of Christ moving the marginalized to the center.
In addition when discussing these matters of social service, I think we need to weigh the words of Jesus in Matt. 25: 31-46 where how we treat those in need determines our admission to heaven. In that passage those that are taking care of people in need are the ones Jesus sends to heaven...those are the ones who Jesus sees as fulfilling the will of God (verse 37 even has the "righteous" missing the point). It is a very tough passage for many of us to read because it's not about what we think or believe, but about what we do. In that passage what I see is that following Jesus is doing what he did. I read that passage and it appears to me that Jesus is being moved to the center as we help the marginalized and those in need because he is represented in them - he says as much, in fact he says he IS them: "Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (25:40).
I'm constantly challenged in recent years by the words of Shane Claiborne: "If you ask most people what Christians believe, they can tell you, "Christians believe that Jesus is God's Son and that Jesus rose from the dead." But if you ask the average person how Christians live, they are struck silent."
My thought here is simply that if we are to have Jesus be our focus we would do what he did and that maybe when we spend so much time on keeping Jesus as "the center" we miss being Chirst-like all together. I wonder if we become so focused on our personal devotional/spiritual life and individual walk with God that we forget to do what he showed us to do. More times that not I think Christianity has been reduced to a set of things a person believes, with no real expectation that it will impact what they do in any real way other than making them a "nice" person.
Thanks for you feedback Mike, lots to think about around this issue.
Joel K