Sept 09 +James JESUS IS LORD
I can't remember what we were discussing; but I do remember the question that came, as they say, from ‘left field'.
"What is a Christian?" she asked. I was tempted to reply "How long have you got?" In fact we soon managed to narrow down an answer to one simple statement. A Christian - is someone who can say that Jesus is Lord. That was good enough for the early Christians. Shouldn't it be good enough for us?
Having thought so at the time, I was duly challenged by a provocative statement I came across recently in a book by the highly regarded author and pastor, Brian McLaren. "We Christians" he says often call Jesus Lord without the foggiest idea of what we mean. Has he become (I shudder to ask this) less our Lord and more our mascot?"
McLaren goes on to suggest that in three key areas of Jesus' Lordship we frequently get the wrong end of the stick. The first has to do with kingship and its associated authority. In the twenty-first century most of the monarchies with which we're familiar - including our own - are now largely symbolic and have little actual power. Any that do exercise power (such as African ‘warlords') tend to be brutal or corrupt or both. So the idea of Jesus as King doesn't sound like especially good news as far as power is concerned.
Nor does the notion of ‘control' - which is another aspect of ‘authority' - help very much. We're now used to being told that we are ‘controlled all the time by everything from our genetic make-up to advertisements'. Discovering that from a religious point of view we are little more than "plastic chessmen on a board of coloured squares, puppets on strings in a play we don't write, or characters in a video game that we aren't even playing," is even more depressing. No wonder people are put off by talk of a ‘Lord' who determines our every thought and action.
But of course, Jesus' Kingship isn't really like that at all. He is the one who sets us free from the corruption of power and the determinism of society. His way is one of ‘liberating love, not coercive dominance' and in his Kingdom we become more human, not less. He is a King on a cross - and his outstretched arms speak of kindness, gentleness and grace rather than oppressive control.
The second meaning of ‘Lord' as applied to Jesus is ‘master'. He is our master - we are his slaves or servants. Once again, the language reeks of domination and coercion. How can you be a slave without losing your dignity, free-will and essential humanity? No wonder so many people are put off by what they hear and read about the Christian faith. We abolished slavery in this country more than 200 years ago. Why re-invent it today?
Basically, because Jesus completely redefines the master-slave relationship. Certainly, he is the one who gives commands. Certainly he expects us to obey them. But the extraordinary thing about serving him is that in and through service we discover what it is to be truly ourselves. We have to lose our lives - to find them; and sacrifice our freedom to become really free. One of Bob Dylan's songs goes "You're gonna have to serve somebody". If that ‘somebody' is someone (including oneself) other than Jesus we end up serving darkness rather than light.
The third meaning of ‘Lord' is teacher. ot long ago I saw a film in which a young man went to train as a pupil in a martial arts academy. He had to submit himself voluntarily to the discipline and tradition of the master, and gradually acquired not only a specific expertise but also a whole new way of living and being. By sitting at our master's feet, we also gain what the philosopher Michael Polanyi calls ‘personal knowledge': the sort of knowledge that enables a bird to build a nest or an experienced driver to negotiate a skid. Together, we are called to be our Lord's apprentices - and the learning community of which we're a part spans time as well as space.
So a Christian isn't just someone who can say that Jesus is Lord. A Christian is someone who learns what that means and is prepared to worship the Lord as king, master and teacher. Perhaps that's what Jesus himself had in mind when he said "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven" (Mt. 7.21)
James Newcome
