Owning Jesus

Has the Christian faith taken control of Jesus' identity? Jesus never really aligned himself with the Jewish faith exclusively, although he was a Jew, and for that matter, neither did he align himself with the Christian faith, although his first followers were spoken of as following “the way” and in time called Christian. It is true that he did involve himself with the Jewish faith in that he sought baptism, and attended the synagogue and temple. He both respected that the Jewish faith was of the Nation and that one should meet the basic requirements. He certainly knew the faith intimately and put the religious leaders to shame with his wisdom. His confrontations with the Jewish authorities were fierce. He lived his life as a Jew and died long before he was expected to by his disciples.

A question I ask was Jesus really a universalist who embraced the faiths that he engaged with. The most notable example was when he met with the Samaritan woman at the well. In conversation with her, he declared that the time would come when they would neither worship in Jerusalem nor ‘this land’, but in Spirit and truth. These are universal concepts and speak to a universal approach to faith.

Jesus had no opportunity to instruct his disciples other than his regular teaching to the Jews. He taught the sermon on the mount, the golden rule of love, the Lord’s prayer, that you must love your enemies, forgive 70 times 7 those who sin against you, give your coat to those who went without, etc. All are universal concepts that can apply to most faith traditions

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He saw faith in the Syro-Phoenician woman and the Roman Centurion. He praised them for their faith without demanding anything in return. These small signs of a universal attitude are enough to ask a question. Did Jesus intend to be captured exclusively by the Christian faith? There is no reason to doubt that the Christian faith was rightfully the witness to his life. The clearest example was the commemoration of the Eucharist, the telling of the story of his death and resurrection. But the dualistic attitude, ie always believing there is an opposite, that characterised the exclusive way of life of Christians meant that its history is riddled with war, the crusades, harshness in its teachings, ex-communications, etc. These were clearly in contrast to the compassionate teachings of Jesus and his tolerance of all faiths.

In this globalising world, that faces supreme challenges for survival, new opportunities present themselves. Change is possible. All may change with people of all faiths living in neighbourhoods alongside one another. The challenge is that humanity may understand that we cannot live any longer with this exclusive attitude. We need to grow in tolerance and understanding, respecting one another for our differences but acknowledging that the teachings of Jesus are universal, for he has always been a universalist. The Christian faith has ever so slowly grown to understand this truth in the proclamation of the cosmic Christ, ie that Christ is ‘all and in all. Every faith has the potential for acknowledging the universal without giving up their traditional ways, some may take longer than others but the future well-being of all people depends upon it as we learn from one another.