Saltmeister
The Dangerous Dinner
RubySera_Martin said:Obviously, this passage is open to interpretation. I don't think Jesus meant for people literally to trample or walk over his body like a path is trodden. That would be a serious problem for us late-comers; Jesus' physical body has been gone for some time now.
Or for those who see the eucharist as the actual body of Christ, I don't think they are meant to lay down a pathway of eucharist bread and wine to walk on. Nor can one literally enter Jesus' body to get to God. Thus, the whole thing is open to interpretation. To use the pattern of life Jesus set for us as our path would seem the most reasonable interpretation, in my opinion.
I like the idea about not putting the teacher on a pedestal for worship but to use his life and teachings as the way or path. Just worshipping does seem awfully much like the lazy man's way out. Perhaps it is possible for some people to both worship and use Jesus' life and teachings as the way.
Quahom1 said:All good points here, however (don't you hate that), there is one point that seems to have been ignored. Jesus may have come to blaze the trail and put us on the right path or way, but then He quite clearly stated that He WAS the way. If I recall correctly, it is something like "I am the light and the life and the way..."
Seems to me that He is saying He isn't pointing the way for us to go, He is the way for us to go...
In other words, not "go forth along the path I've pointed out", but rather "come to me", and "no one gets to the Father but through Me"...
Hello, everyone.
Nice thread!!!
Perhaps one point I thought I might put forth, rather like Quahom's, is that I think we tend to put more emphasis on Jesus' teachings than Jesus himself.
I think the whole point of the Christian faith is not the teachings of Jesus, but Jesus himself. A messenger becomes useless once he has delivered his message. A teacher becomes useless once he has taught his students everything. It's not that Jesus would hold anything back from us, but that he's the Messiah. He's special and that's why he's Messiah.
If we think the teachings are more important than the person who teaches them, then it's because we think nobody is special. On the other hand, I think the whole point of Christianity is a Messiah that is special. The teachings themselves are insignificant compared to the Messiah who teaches them. Good teachings come from someone's personality. That must mean that there's something special about Jesus' personality that's more important than his teachings.
But no, this isn't idolatry. God isn't telling us to worship anyone here. Jesus is a beacon.
I think many Christians today have allowed themselves to fall for the idea that no teacher is special, that it's the teachings that matter more, not the teacher himself. As a result, we have lost sight of the whole purpose of Christianity. We no longer know or understand what the Christian faith means and represents. The original purpose is lost to us. We can read the whole Bible from start to finish and not have a single clue where to begin contemplating Christianity's purpose.
However, a Messiah is not just a teacher -- he's a leader -- a spiritual leader. What's his aim? He leads us to God. This might perhaps explain why he calls himself "The Way, the Truth and the Life." There is something about his personality that's more important than his teachings. There is something about his personality, character and attitude that leads us to God. The teachings are just a sign of something greater, not the sum total of his glory.
This perhaps explains why in Christianity he's called "the Son of God" and "Son of Man." Christ is a concept, a symbol, a paradigm that somehow leads us to God. Maybe it's because we can't understand God's character, personality, plans and intentions without first understanding the Messiah himself.
In order words, the concept of Messiah is what allows us to understand God himself. If we don't understand the concept of the Messiah, we can't possibly comprehend and connect with God.
In addition, the Messiah can't be defined. We can't define who he is, though we can explain who he is. The moment you define the Messiah completely, in entirety and totality, he ceases to be Messiah. If we could define the Messiah, he becomes no more than an instrument that we use to manipulate ourselves and God (a great way to have a relationship, eh?). If we were able to define him, we wouldn't need the Messiah. All we would need is our definition of him. We would then be rationalising away our need of a Messiah.
But God doesn't manipulate us and we can't manipulate Him. As soon as we try and grab and take hold of our Christ he vanishes. He disappears. When we try and turn him into something concrete rather than abstract, it destroys our own concept of Christ.
We can explain but not define. I guess that means that we can't rest easy. Life goes on. We will never reach our full potential. Life is a constant process of change and re-alignment. We are constantly moving, shifting and changing direction. Continually moving on to something better. (But that's only if we're perpetually following Christ.) We know where we're going but we'll never get there, but that doesn't mean we'll not making progress. We are making progress. The sky's the limit.
That is, perhaps what Christ is all about, he is the Son of God, the image of the invisible God, but at the same time he's the Son of Man, the image of man when he has reached his point of completion. The Son of God and Son of Man are merged into a single entity, a symbol/concept/paradigm of when God's eternal purpose is fulfilled and when Man reaches his full potential. He's also a symbol of how God becomes our home and we become God's home. We live in God and God lives in us.