I Still Love Jesus

I was raised in a world where the birth of Jesus was seen as the manifestation of something new and different and spectacular.  In other words, his birth was so revered and was so central to our faith because, I was taught, he came to reveal a message that had never been heard before.

The Good News.

The Gospel.

This message was one that would end up turning the world upside down and inside out because it would reveal the hidden plan of God to save the world from sin, to "send his one and only son" so that "whoever believes in him shall not perish, but receive eternal life."

This news.

This message.

... It was new, it was fresh, it was never heard of before and (therefore) it turned the world upside down so much so that Jesus and many of his followers were murdered because of it.

Death, though?

It couldn't hold Jesus down.  Why?  Because he is greater, stronger, and more powerful and the plan of God will not and cannot be thwarted.

Nowadays, though.

I don't see the birth of Jesus as the manifestation of something new as much as I see it as the manifestation of something that is as old as time, something that has always been.  In other words, his birth is revered (for me) not so much because he came to reveal a message that was new and different and never heard of before or because he came to reveal some master plan of God to erase sin, but because he came to reveal a message that has always been true ...

It's always been here.

It's always been written on our hearts.

It's always been within our reach.

... A message that has always been true, but has been forgotten or lost amidst the ups and downs and waves and storms and evils and horrors and traumas and hurts and pains that life throws at us 24/7/365.  

The Good News, then.

The Gospel.

Isn't so much the revelation of something new as it is a reminder of something that we forgot.  It's a reminder of who we are, a reminder of how we are to live and move and be in the world.  

Yes.

Jesus didn't come to reveal God's plan to solve the problem of sin, but to live out before us the way that God has always intended human beings to live so as to solve the problem of our own forgetfulness.  

"Watch me", Jesus says, "and remember - REMEMBER who you are, REMEMBER how to live, REMEMBER how to love, REMEMBER how to forgive, REMEMBER how to bless others, REMEMBER how to tear down walls, REMEMBER how to make bigger tables, REMEMBER how to care for the oppressed, REMEMBER how to walk closely with the Divine.  REMEMBER.  REMEMBER how to be a vessel of love even when they crucify you, even when they put your back against the wall, even when they drive nails through your body, even when they use their words like daggers and pierce your hearts.  THIS is the way, THIS is the truth, THIS is the life and THIS is the way to the heart of the Father, of the Mother, of the Divine."

Contrary to popular belief amongst my former tribe, I very much love Jesus ... I just love Jesus for very different reasons than I used to.

And you know what?

I think Christ is big enough to handle that.  I think Christ is big enough to handle the reasons why I used to love him and I believe she's big enough to handle the reasons why I currently love her.  Jesus is big enough to handle Evangelical theology and big enough to handle Progressive theology and big enough to handle whatever is going on in this blog post.

So (for me, these days) I don't think Jesus came to show us anything new, but to remind us of what has always been, to wake us up from our slumber, to jumpstart us into action, to give us a swift kick in the a**, to take us by the hand, to walk with us on our journey, to lead us along the narrow path ...

To show us the WAY.

To model for us the TRUEST way to be human.

To lead us to LIFE.

... to walk us into the embrace of the FATHER.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life", said Jesus, and "no one comes to the Father but through me."

I believe it.

Much love,

Glenn Siepert