Monday 25 January 2010

Today we begin Battle's look at Jesus' Ubuntu.

Tutu's Christology is central to his appeal to move beyond racial identity as primary identity as primary identity. Black and white Christians can look to Jesus and see a different reality than that defined by apartheid anthropology. For Tutu, Jesus moves human attention away from finite conceptions of human identity. This movement is like a person's attention to beauty, which is said to be in the eye of the beholder. In other words, who one come to understand Christ to be is determined by who the beholder is. This means that the training of true worship of God (habitual recollection) and discipleship are required for persons to see Christ. As Tutu believes, a correct understanding of Christ "depends on who and where you are and what is going to be pertinent to you." Tutu's Christology depicts both the particularity of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah of Israel and the universality of Jesus as the Messiah of the Gentiles. Both views of a savior joined in Jesus to for a new humanity (Ephesians 2).

In Jesus we see what I have quoted many times before, "the truly human one." In that one who brings us a living vision of the reality of God's Reign that is now among us, we find that the dividing lines that have caused division between people is now gone - forever gone. It is because of this Jesus that we can stand up against such systems as apartheid and simply say No! The way that we learn to say 'no' is through our regular participation in worship - our gathering around the central story that shapes us and the gathering alongside others who have an interest in this story. Worship and the opportunity re-view the story becomes our base line that will bring us into a new possibility to be shaped and guided and confronted. I am always being caught by the voices of our faithful storytelling that pushes me beyond the place in which I usually feel so comfortable. I would submit that it is this "truly human one" who reminds me of where my own humanity can go. That is the start of an amazing journey.

Connection: Let yourself see the expansiveness of God's Reign as it is made known in Jesus. It is quite a practical journey.

Lord of All, when we are pulled into your living Reign, we begin to see beyond ourselves and experience the fullness of your Reign by coming into contact with those we do not know and those with home we will find a path to new life. Guide us, O God. Amen.