Articles of Religion Revisited Part 2: Jesus Christ

Thanks to all those who took a few moments to read through the first part of this series. I pray that the journey through the Articles of Religion are providing direction and passion for being a Follower of Jesus. I know I have already had my journey strengthened. Here we go with the second installment:

Article II—Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly human, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all people will be judged.

As I write this we are on the doorstep of Christmas. In a little over 24 hours the congregation I serve will be gathering for our Christmas Eve celebrations. The idea of Christmas has become some many things to so many people. It is possible that folks who gather for worship on Christmas Eve will be a part of what the Huffington Post shares is up to half of Americans that see Christmas as a non-religious holiday.

Meaning that for half of the people around you what is seen at Christmas is more about trees, shopping, family and time off from work than it is about Jesus.

The implications of this reach further than Christmas Eve services. Especially in light of revisiting the Articles of Religion. It seems that in the late fifties through the early eighties the descriptions offered in the Articles of Religion regarding Jesus were considered offensive to some. Even in the life of the established church, the understanding of Jesus offered was considered dated, non-enlightened, or even harmful by some. These views are still present in the church today, and furthered by the clergy of the church.

Here we are in the year 2013 and the issue is not whether folks see the description of Jesus as dated, or offensive, or wrong. Fact is most people don't even care. In their minds Jesus has become irrelevant. It would be easy to blame "the church" for the state of Jesus in our culture. It might be equally as easy to blame a society that has seem to erode the importance of Jesus in day to day life. The reality is that responsibility belongs not to the church or to society, rather to individuals. 

Over the past couple of days I have been wrestling with Jesus. I do not have to look too hard to find people telling me who Jesus is. Some would say that Jesus is the advocate for the poor and oppressed. Others would say that Jesus is the one who judges the sins of society. I am amazed at the number of people who are quick to declare how Jesus would act, talk and be among humanity. At the same time what I find convicting in my own soul is how I struggle to embody the life of Jesus. All too often I am willing to settle for talking about how I think Jesus should be portrayed rather than doing the hard work of conforming my life to look like the life Jesus lived and calls me to live.

I wonder if people no longer see Jesus as relevant, even at Christmas, because I live my life in a way that renders Jesus irrelevant? What would happen if I began to live my life in such a way that people could see Jesus as truly God and truly human, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. Don't you just love the why that is phrased, divine and human natures perfectly and inseparably united.

What might happen if I lived my life in such a way that others would see and know a Jesus that,  is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit? Or if people could understand Jesus as one who is a  ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return?

Is it possible for me to live my relationship with Jesus in such a way that the people around me will not read, He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all people will be judged, with fear but as an invitation to wholeness and full living?

My struggle with Jesus is not that the church is failing Jesus, or that society has lost its way. My struggle with Jesus is that all too often I make many things more important than Jesus. I am working toward the day that people can read the words of Article 2 of the Articles of Religion and experience it in my life. I am called and am working toward being a person that helps the world around us, and the church, see Jesus as not only relevant, but as the life which gives life to all things. 

Articles of Religion Revisited Part 1: God

For the better part of my life I have been a part of the United Methodist Church. Through that journey I have seen some interesting things take place and have witnessed trends that are less than encouraging. It seems we  in the church are good at reproducing rhetoric, division, hurt and decline. What many have struggled with is reproducing Followers of Jesus Christ. We have often chosen ideology over incarnation and morality claims over ministry with. In it all I see the church at a decisive crossroads.

What I actually have found is a church that is no longer familiar to me and one that I wonder if I have a place in.

So part of this pondering has brought me to the point of revisiting the base tenets of the Church I call home, and have labored to see be a Church God can use to develop disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Over the next several weeks I will be looking at each of the Articles of Faith offered to the UMC from the Evangelical United Brethren. Each one will be adapted from the UMC Book of Discipline.

So, let us begin; Article 1-- God  "We believe in the one true, holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible; Infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of all people, to the glory of the name of God. We believe the one God is self-revealed as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power."

This seems like a good starting point, not only because it is labeled number one but because this is the foundation of all that follows. In the beginning God... begins the text of our relationship with God. Before there was form and order to the cosmos, before there was plants, animals and people, there has been God. The God who creates all things. However, creation was not the end of the relationship, God continues to be an active part of creation.

As the many understandings of God are listed in the article I am aware that there is more to the story than I can readily see or perceive. God is the God of all things, those I can see and interact with as well as the things that I cannot see. Often I limit God to my experience and understanding, quite simply this is wrong thinking. There is no limit to God except that which I attempt to impose.

Through it all we find the promise and desire of God revealed. God desires for the well-being and salvation of all people, it could be argued all creation. This means our lives are not a series of random events to which we react to. Rather, our life is a dynamic relationship with God in which our choices have consequences. All the consequences, whether we interpret them as good or bad have one aim, to connect us with the God in the deepest way possible that we may experience salvation here and now, and fully in the culmination of time as we understand it.

Wanting to use everything possible to connect with humanity, God self-reveals in three distinct persons to us. Father, the ultimate in parent that is just, holy, gracious, compassionate and loving. God that creates and rules over all creation. Son, God stepped out of eternity and into our world that we may know what it is to walk as Kingdom people, and to have the offer of grace and salvation offered.

Holy Spirit, the ongoing presence of God in our life and in creation that continues to call us, lead us and convict us toward a life that we have been created to live.

In all of this I wonder what it would be like if we were to seek after God on God's terms rather than our own. This is no easy task as we cannot possibly separate ourselves from ourselves. Still, I am committed to seeking the God in whose image I am made, rather than the God whose image I have made. A God that does not always agree with me and my understanding of the world but challenges me to a holiness and righteousness that is beyond my created ability.