The Eight Ball

In a continuation of solidarity let’s do a brief exploration of the teachings of Jesus in relation to His commitment to the “Other.”  (For those interested in measuring the orthodoxy of such an adventure please note the following are my theological non-negotiables.

Note: This is not a lengthy apologetic on all that I believe; rather, it is a snapshot of what I consider most important, as I continually seek to be informed by scripture, history and the voices of other believers – past and present.

1.       CREATION.   I believe that the scriptures teach that God is the creator of all things. This creation is attributed to the triune Godhead; to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God created the whole of the universe, the heavens and the earth and all of humankind.  I believe that God’s creation is good in intention, design and essence – and that God created humanity in His own image (Imago Dei) and for His own purpose.  Both men and women together reflect God’s image. We are therefore both privileged and responsible, as image bearers, we bear a special relationship to God and have a specific role in restoring and reconciling creation to its harmonious relationship with its creator.  This role as an ambassador of reconciliation is at the heart of my understanding of the good news of God.

2.       THE INCARNATION.  I believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  He is, in other words, simultaneously fully human and fully divine in both his nature and being.  The scriptures teach that God ‘became flesh and moved into the neighborhood’ of humanity in the person of Jesus Christ – and that in so doing, Jesus made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant and being made in human likeness – and for all appearances, as a man.  The bible teaches that the fullness of God found in Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the exact representation of the divine being. He is the ultimate reconciler between God and man, as is evidenced by his death on the cross and his victory over sin and death.  He invites all of humanity to participate with Him in this new way of relating to the Father, made possible by his atonement.  Even in the name ‘Immanuel’ (God with us), the triune God communicates the distance between creation and the creator has been reconciled in the very act of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  In the Incarnation, Jesus signifies God’s solidarity with all of humanity in the midst of our brokenness. ‘while we were yet sinners…’

3.       SALVATION.  What is quite possibly the best known verse in the bible lays the foundation of salvation through faith;  “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but has eternal life.”  Yet that’s not the whole story.  Such belief is effective because of the undeserved love of God – that is grace. Receiving something you didn’t earn, work for, gain or deserve. The very definition of grace magnifies this truth.  Literally, unmerited favor.  The apostle Paul expands upon this idea in his letters to the various churches.  In his epistle to the Romans, for example, he clearly states that righteousness comes by grace through faith and that no one deserves or earns it, but rather attains it only through and by (and even because of) the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

4.       THE TRINITY.  The term ‘Trinity’ designates one God in three persons. Throughout the scriptures we find the Father, Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Spirit each referred to as God; yet again and again the authors of the sacred text describe God as one, single and unique.  We find glimpses of the Trinity in the old testament, in the Genesis narrative of the creation account, and in select passages in the new testament. Acknowledgment and celebration of the triune God is also found in the earliest creeds of the Christian church.  Perhaps the most important aspect of God as Trinity is the interdependent, communal choreography of God in relationship.  It is in this very core of Trinity that we are pointed back most clearly to the Imago Dei in each of us – created in and for relationship with others.

5.       THE SCRIPTURES.  I believe the bible (the Hebrew scriptures or ‘old testament’ and the Greek ‘new testament’), to be the inspired and authoritative words of God, which reveals His will, ways, purposes and character through recorded conversations among people – individuals and communities – with God.  The biblical library is a carefully selected group of ancient documents of paramount importance for people who want to understand and belong to the community of people who seek to understand God.  I believe the bible is complete and reliable as it relates to matters of Christian faith and life, and divinely inspired through the personalities and expressions within the context, language and culture of the original authors.  I believe the most valuable aspect of the scriptures is that they illuminate the very logos of God – Jesus Christ.  

6.       THE RESURRECTION.  Belief in the literal physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a basic tenant of the Christian faith and an essential belief in orthodoxy. All four gospel accounts describe Jesus’ resurrection, and it is also affirmed in the early creeds of the Christian church. The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians that without the resurrection, our faith is empty and worthless.

In outlining these essentials, my desire is not to divide; rather, it is to seek solidarity in the unifying mission of those who would call themselves followers of Jesus – to live as agents of reconciliation on behalf of God. 

Do you remember the story of the Good Samaritan?  It might help to refresh your memory.  A "teacher of the law" comes to Jesus asking how to inherit the abundant life of God’s kingdom. Jesus helps the conversation along, evoking the ‘right’ answer from the man.  “love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  This raises an important question, one asked by the scribe who had been instructing others in the way of Yahweh, “who is my neighbor?”

So, this tale is woven by the son of God, toying with preconceived notions of holiness, cleanliness, and the “Other.”  It turns out, according to Jesus, that the “Other” is actually our neighbor, and we’re prompted to move toward them with a compassionate hospitality rather than avoiding them altogether (or even worse – moving toward them with a suspicious hostility unless and until ‘they’ become one of ‘us’).

Please don't miss this.  In the divine parable, the compassion with which the Samaritan – the unclean, half-blood gentile who worshipped on the wrong mountain and was considered an apostate – moves toward the hurting traveler is the same compassion with which God moves toward humanity. In the incarnation itself, Jesus signifies God’s solidarity with all of humanity in the midst of our brokenness. ‘while we were yet sinners…’

The story of the Good Samaritan flips the very concept of “US vs. THEM” on its head.  At its end, Jesus alludes to our mission today as ambassadors of reconciliation when he says ‘Go and do likewise.’

So what does that look like? Some of us are asking this and other, similar questions. We readily acknowledge that we’ve found ourselves behind the eight ball in conversations with our neighbors - whether our neighbor is gay, divorced, worships differently, or wanders across some other imaginary line that serves as a litmus test of being one of “US.”

Please take a moment to watch this video by Professor Scott Alexander, Chair of the Department of Intercultural Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.  The Professor seeks to provoke conversations, inspiring solidarity with the "Other" rather than indulging in an insatiable appetite to convert “them” to “our” way of thinking and believing.  I wonder if we can find a way of holding our Christian identity that sends us toward the "Other" with love and hospitality rather than with fear and hostility.  So, I ask, “What do you think?”

Be Blessed!