We had a great birthday bash last night. We sat with blankets outside as the weather got a tad frosty. The fires were burning to keep our backs warm as we ate Kate’s soup, the Lamb was succulent and delicious and Anne’s pears soaked in wine with custard were something else. It is good to celebrate life when you can. Nobody else does it for you, unless you are fortunate?
Bonhoeffer is grabbing my attention. The contextual theology (thoughts about God that are instructed by the contemporary situation) that we are bombarded with in our theological seminary’s has almost replaced the classical theological of Christology, Atonement etc. It is refreshing to dialogue with the theological masterminds of yesteryear. Bon. (for short) suggests we ask the question Who? And not How? Or What? when confronting the person of Jesus. The error according to Bon. is to know Jesus as an influence in history, a power that has shaped the world. The other error is to see Jesus as an ideal that is imposed through a God who transcends into our history from outside of it. This thinking uses questions like How? and What? but forget the most important point of Christ and that is Who? The person rather than the power or influence is most important. How we know Christ is to recognize Jesus dead and risen. Only when we profess Jesus risen can we ask the question Who? The presence of Jesus is thus now, not history, not an influence once come into the world. So when next in prayer, maybe spend a little time on the question Who? and see where it leads you. Not what he has done for you or what he can do for you, that is all about power not person. Let his person fill us with His presence and let us find our center there.
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