Whodoyousaythatiam

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Butcher 1 Stephanie Butcher Professor Demian Wheeler, Ph. D. TR607: Jesus February 28, 2018 Who Do You Say that I am? Three Perspectives If Jesus were to ask me “Who Do You Say that I Am?” I might find myself in an uncomfortable position. My traditional Episcopal beliefs tell me who Jesus was and I would of course reply with one such answer. I would also mention Jesus as a likely liberal in today’s American society. Lastly, I would refer to him as God’s avatar linking him to Krishna and other divine teachers. I say Jesus Is the atom of all atoms. He is everything and everywhere. Who Do You Say That I Am?

Butcher 2 The anointed One, The Christ, our teacher brought to bring peace, love and salvation for mankind. My Episcopal faith affirms Jesus as the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. His mission was to come teach the word of God and His messages of love, peace and eternal life. His final gift to man would be his own human life in the exchange for the sins of all past, present and future. I say he is the knowledge and voice of God in the flesh. Jesus is the messenger, the deliverer of God’s new covenant with man. This teacher gave mankind knowledge to the path in which to take in order to find his salvation and eternal life. Jesus is the epitome of unconditional love. He brought with him messages of love thy neighbor and reminded us to love our enemies as well. Jesus brought with him teachings to show mankind how to treat one another and how important forgiveness was. His teachings assured those that followed him would find God. His statement “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJ) brings a message that we need not wait and look for a sign rather the love of God resides in all of us. I do love this image of “Who Jesus is” as it coincides with my upbringing and the “box of faith” I was taught. When I say box of faith I am referring to the Christian story of Jesus many of us are engulfed into the moment we are born never to hear of any other stories. If we did hear other stories, they were considered false. I am inclined to believe there is much we have been deprived of with regards to who Jesus was and the details of his life. While many parts of his life are suspiciously excluded, I am convinced Jesus was a divine spirit given to mankind in the form of flesh and blood to bring about change and give hope to all those who would follow him throughout history. Who Do You Say That I Am?

Butcher 3 Jesus the Liberal Snowflake My relationship with Jesus has always been a very personal one. One without much influence from the Catholic Church I was raised in. I studied him in my catechism as well as on my own. I found Jesus to be a kind, loving, forgiving man. It was my understanding that he rebuked the behaviors and judgments of the scribes and Pharisees. While Jesus did advise his listeners to respect the scribes and Pharisees because of their positions of authority he also advised they do not behave as they did. Matthew 23 shows us a Jesus who brings a warning against hypocrisy and the seven woes on the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. “Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on the other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them”. (Matthew 23:1-4, NIV). Jesus goes on to speak of the Seven Woes on the teachers and Pharisees calling them hypocrites and blind guides. All of these teachings remind me of the religious right-wing Christian sects we have in America today. The teachings of Jesus reflect the ideas more conducive of a liberal snowflake today. When comparing some of the teachings of Jesus to that of America’s right-wing party Jesus is clearly a lefty. With regards to community Jesus said “Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. If you would be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 7, 22, 19 NIV). Jesus did not say love and accept only those you approve of or make you comfortable to be around. He did not say give to those who only help themselves. With regards to public prayer including prayer in schools and displays of faith Jesus said “When you pray, though shalt not be

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Butcher 4 as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of streets, that they may be seen of men. But, when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6-7 NIV). Many of Jesus’ teaching align with a more liberal crowd. I believe Jesus was a pluralist liberal who expressed the views of God and religion need not be so orthodox. Finally, the world’s richest 1 % get 82% of the wealth ( www.bbcnews.com) . Jesus rejected the ideas of amassing wealth without distributing a social balance. I grew up in a conservative household. I still hold some of those conservative values dear but I have seen a change in the conservative movement that doesn’t reflect the values Jesus spoke of. Stephen Colbert puts it into perspective that is clear. “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” ( https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/) Who Do You Say That I Am?

Butcher 5 The Avatar, the incarnation of God The use of the phrase “I Am” is used throughout the Gospel of John. Jesus uses this term to refer to himself as the incarnation of God. Orthodox Christians interpret this phrase literally assuming that Jesus is the only one who could identify with God. I am willing to believe there is more to this than what has been translated. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus is not the teacher from Galilee, rather he is the eternal Christ, the avatar of the God head who repeatedly takes on human form throughout history. The Hindu avatar, Krishna uses the saying “I Am” in the same way as Jesus. When reading the Gnostic Gospels compared to the Bhagavad Gita one would see the similarities in it’s language and content. The two are virtually interchangeable. I have received a few negative responses to this idea of Jesus being another avatar bringing God’s message to humans but if we look at just a few of the statements from Jesus and Krishna it is at least worth a moments consideration. In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus states “I Am the Light which is above them all. I am the All. The all has come forth from me, and all has split open before me. Lift a stone and you will find me there. Split the piece of wood. I am there” (Taussig, H.,2013). In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says “I am the origin of all things. All things came from me. Whether moving or unmoving, all things exist in me” (Johnson, W.J., 2008). Essentially Jesus is everything. He is all that is created from dust to water. Jesus is life and death. Jesus is the male and female. He is the continuing universe that God created. He is what he/she needs to be when humanity needs him most. The Thunder: Perfect Mind comes to mind when I say Who is Jesus. He is the female voice I envision reading the poem to all who would listen.

Butcher 6 Works Cited Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011by Biblica, Inc.® http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42745853 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/327220-if-this-is-going-to-be-a-christian-nation-that Johnson, W. J. The Bhagavad Gita . Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. Taussig, Hal. A New New Testament: a Bible for the Twenty-First Century Combining Traditional and Newly Discovered Texts . Mariner Books, 2013.

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Butcher 7 Who Do You Say That I Am? You are the sun that begins my day. The Moon that brings my peaceful rest. You are the continuing presence of love and transformation. You are my suffering and my compassion. You are my friend, my enemy, my protector. You offer me hope when the world seems dark. You are forgiveness and a new beginning.