Still "Jesusy" After All These Years

 

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

 who, though he existed in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    as something to be grasped,
 but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human, 
    he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death—
    even death on a cross.

 Therefore God exalted him even more highly
    and gave him the name
    that is above every other name,
 so that at the name given to Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

                                          Philippians 2:5-11 NRSVue 

Before I began writing this blog entry for the first day of January, 2025, I turned to the daily scripture readings for the day. The heading for the day,  "Holy Name of Jesus", sounds like an oath or profanity, if an exclamation mark is added.

I literally had a tingle go through my body when I saw that one of the readings is what scholars figure is an early hymn or credal statement of the first century Christian community. We looked at this passage when we engaged in our creed study group a couple of months ago. 

There have been times in conversation through the years when I have quipped that I am still pretty "Jesusy", perhaps stubbornly so. My Christian faith has been battered at times by those who have done and continue to do terrible things in Jesus' name. Invoking Jesus to justify racism, sexism, and violence disgusts me and the rise of Christian Nationalism is ominous.

Yet the faith I embraced as my own as a teen, naively at times, still guides me and I continue to be a Trinitarian, accepting the mystery of God's presence with us in the person of Jesus who is the living, resurrected Christ. 

Over the decades I've changed, choosing to respect those of other interpretations of Christianity and other religions. More that 20 years ago I read an interview with the late, great historian of world religions, Huston Smith. He trained in a Zen monastery in Japan, studied with a Sufi mystic in Iran, and took a sabbatical in a Tibetan monastery. yet he always held firm to the Christian faith he learned growing up in a missionary family in rural China. In the interview he observes: "That’s why, from the start, Christianity has been my central meal. But I’m a strong believer in vitamin supplements. My experiences with these other traditions have been tremendously enriching."

This works for me, as did his commitment to be both spiritual and religious, seeing the strength of communities of faith despite their shortcomings. 

So, "holy name of Jesus!" folks, I invite you to find your way into this new year with Jesus as friend, guide, examplar, and Saviour. Here is an admittedly lengthy chunk of A Song of Faith, the most recent Statement of Faith for the United Church of Canada, the "Jesusy" part: 

We find God made known in Jesus of Nazareth,

and so we sing of God the Christ, the Holy One embodied.

 We sing of Jesus,

   a Jew,

   born to a woman in poverty

   in a time of social upheaval

   and political oppression.

He knew human joy and sorrow.

So filled with the Holy Spirit was he

that in him people experienced the presence of God among them.

We sing praise to God incarnate.

 Jesus announced the coming of God’s reign—

   a commonwealth not of domination

   but of peace, justice, and reconciliation.

He healed the sick and fed the hungry.

He forgave sins and freed those held captive

   by all manner of demonic powers.

He crossed barriers of race, class, culture, and gender.

He preached and practised unconditional love—

   love of God, love of neighbour,

   love of friend, love of enemy—

and he commanded his followers to love one another

   as he had loved them.

Because his witness to love was threatening,

   those exercising power sought to silence Jesus.

He suffered abandonment and betrayal,

   state-sanctioned torture and execution.

He was crucified.

 But death was not the last word.

God raised Jesus from death,

   turning sorrow into joy,

   despair into hope.

We sing of Jesus raised from the dead.

We sing hallelujah.

 By becoming flesh in Jesus,

   God makes all things new.

In Jesus’ life, teaching, and self-offering,

   God empowers us to live in love.

In Jesus’ crucifixion,

   God bears the sin, grief, and suffering of the world.

In Jesus’ resurrection,

   God overcomes death.

Nothing separates us from the love of God.

 The Risen Christ lives today,

   present to us and the source of our hope.

In response to who Jesus was

   and to all he did and taught,

   to his life, death, and resurrection,

   and to his continuing presence with us through the Spirit,

we celebrate him as

   the Word made flesh,

   the one in whom God and humanity are perfectly joined,

   the transformation of our lives,

the Christ.