Hans Kung, Judaism: the religious situation of our time. London: SCM Press, 1992. pp 319 – 347

Kung in these two chapters is attempting to place Jesus in his Jewish context.

He notes the following key points:

• Jesus was not a man of the Jewish establishment
• Jesus is no preacher of violence
• Jesus was not a Zionist messianic revoluntionary
• Jesus was not an ascetic monk
• The Jewish group Jesus was closest to, but still not a part of, was the Pharisees
• Jesus acted on the basis of an unusual experience of God, bond with God and immediacy to God

Kung suggests that Jesus was “more revolutionary than the revolutionaries” because of his radical moral demands. Kung is keen to portray Jesus as a religious revolutionary who had little interest in political revolution. I think that Kung suggestion here ignores three fundamental issues.

Firstly, for the Jewish religious groups the Roman occupation was understood in religious terms. As N.T. Wright suggests in last week’s reading the true return from exile was not to be fulfilled until Isreal’s enemies were overthrown. That is to say that a religious experience, the return from exile, was to incorporate a political reality, the overthrow of Israel’s enemies.

Secondly, the questions asked of Jesus during his ministry show an understanding of the questioner that Jesus had a political as well as a religious message. When he was asked “should we pay taxes to Caesar?” this is both a religious and a political question. Why ask a political question of someone who you see as only a religious leader?

Thirdly, the Roman’s executed Jesus. Kung deals with this issue and suggests that the Jewish religious authorities bring Jesus to the Romans and the Romans turn a religious charge into a political one. However the ministry of Jesus displays a different picture. Jesus takes on the ministry of John the Baptist, who was executed by the Romans. He moves around the countryside, never staying long in one place and never visiting the major Roman towns in Galilee. These appear to be the actions of someone who is avoiding the authorities who would want to crack down on his revolutionary teachings.

The rest of Kung’s two chapters bare out his thoughts on the Jewish background of Jesus and the continuity and disconnect between Christian and Jewish understandings of Jesus as Messiah.

I am currently studying in a class titled “Who is Jesus?” For the class I have to write a series of reflections on the readings. I thought it might be a good chance to get back into updating my blog and letting you read what I am up to.

The first reading is:

Thomas Rauch Who is Jesus? An Introduction to Christology. Chapter 5 “The Preaching and Ministry of Jesus” Collegeville, Minnesota, Liturgical Press, 2003.

Rausch focusses on three strands of the Jesus tradition: his sayings, his parable and the kingdom of God.

In Jesus’ sayings Rauch finds the following themes: centrality of the kingdom of God, a final reversal of status, struggle or conflict, the danger of wealth and the call for a radical change of heart. “his language is disturbing, unsettling, a language which afflicted the comfortable and comforted the afflicted and the disadvantaged.” (p 79)

In the time of Jesus ‘the poor’ included the economically disadvantaged as well as those who didn’t measure up to the strict rules of religious purity – the ill, women, orphans and sinners.

Rauch notes that Jesus’ parables “challenge our customary way of seeing the world … force us to ask questions, to rethink our values.” (p 83) Rauch suggests that the parables, “give concreteness and immediacy to the transcendant; those that hear them are brought to face the mystery of God.” (p 83)

The Kingdom of God was the central theme of Jesus preaching. Rauch tracks the theme back into its Hebrew Bible roots. He quotes N.T. Wright who suggests, “within Second Temple Judaism, the theme of God’s kingdom evoked a complete story line which envisioned Israel’s final return from exile, a correlative return of Yahweh to Zion, as well as Yahweh’s victory over evil in the form of Israel’s enemies.” (p 84) Many Jews of Jesus’ time understood the theme of God’s kingdom.

Rauch draws on four dimensions of Jesus’ preaching on the kingdom:

1. it is an event and not a place
2. there is an eschatological tension, it is both present and future
3. Jesus calls for an immediate response
4. the relation between the Kingdom and Jesus, “a decision for or against Jesus is the same as a decision for or against the reign of God.” (p 90)

As a result of these dimensions Rauch states, “There is an incredible claim to authority that emerges in his preaching and ministry, an implicit Christology. To encounter Jesus is to encounter God’s reign” (p 90) He then goes on to list that all Jesus’ activities are, “evidence that in his work and ministry God’s saving power is present to Israel in a new and definitive way.” (p 90)

I like Rauch’s thoughts on reinterpreting the Kingdom, they deserve to be quoted in full:

“The Christian community needs to express the Good News of God’s reign in every age. At times the kingdom of God has been improperly identified with the Church. At the same time, overemphasis on the kingdom as realized or present risks turning it into an ideology, identifying it with an ideal political or social order … Contemporary expressions of the kingdom stress God’s presence and action becoming manifested in Christ-like compassion and service of others.” (p 91)

Rauch concludes with a note on the miracle tradition. He comments that Jesus was known as a healer and exorcist, confirmed by the attestation of multiple sources. However, the ‘nature-miracles’ are more complicated. Some scholars see them as purely creations of the early church while others see them as having some basis in Jesus’ ministry.

Rauch comments that in interpreting the miracles two extremes are to be avoided. The first is to see them as displays of divine power that contravene the laws of nature. This leads to a God who arbitrarily acts in creation and could be held equally responsible for natural disasters and other negative historical events. This intervention would also overpower the causality of the natural order and would compel belief. This violates human free will. The second is to dismiss the miracles as only having meaning within the text and no effect on reality. Rauch calls his readers to recognise, “a God who acts in and through creation, it also safeguards the role of human freedom, since a miracle can only be recognized in faith and never forces it. Others may not recognize the miracle at all.” (p 93)

I think that Rauch does a good job of drawing out the key themes of Jesus’ preaching and ministry. I appreciate his connection between the parables and their ability to draw us into the transcendency of God. If the parables are suggestive of Jesus’ personal experience of God then we are able to share in that experience. Rauch also suggests that Jesus’ ministry displays the present reality of the kingdom of God. His parables, miracles and table fellowship all show the kingdom in the present. There is also a future reality to the kingdom which Jesus’ alludes to.

I think Rauch’s greatest contribution comes when he connects with Jesus’ claim to authority. He states, “to encounter Jesus is to encounter God’s reign.” (p90) This provides us with both a Christology and a way forward as believers. We must respond to this Jesus just as the first Century hearers of Jesus were required to. There is an immediacy required in this response however it is not fully realised in the present.

I went on a lovely hike over the weekend. A friend and I hiked down at Wilsons Prom and visited the lighthouse. What struck me about the weekend, other than the obvious beauty of the surrounds, was the local wildlife.

Whilst sitting down and preparing dinner I happened to get the fright of my life. As it was dusk and starting to get dark I did not notice a Possum creep up and steal the bag of fruit cake sitting less than 10cm from my leg until it was scurrying away. After I shot up and chased it it dropped the bag of fruitcake. The possum was so brazen that it continued to try and sneak back to steal more food. After waking at midnight to the sounds of the possum trying to get into our packs we had to put the packs into the tent with us for the rest of the night.

The next morning we hiked down to the lighthouse. We left our packs at a track junction leaning against a rock. Upon our return we found that a crow (or perhaps a group of them) had unzipped the top pocket of my pack and picked out each plastic ziplock bag to find food. The contents of my pack were strewn across the ground.

Now one reason I love hiking is to get out in nature and see it in its natural state. Instead of seeing a possum running up a tree truck and eating possumy food I spent my evening chasing the possum away from my human food. Instead of being able to leave my pack safely at a track junction it was attacked by a couple of crows. Those animals were in their home, their natural environment. But because of their interactions with humans they have adapted. That possum knows that it can feed off the rubbish that has been left behind by other hikers. This has then led it to try and eat the food sitting within my arms reach while I cook dinner. The crows have learnt that the track junction is a good place to hang out because of the custom amongst hikers to leave their packs there.

It got me thinking about how we are all changed by our interactions. We are shaped, both positively and negatively, by our interactions with others. Sometimes we are influenced to be lazy and to seek the easy option, like the human food. Other times we are influenced to work together to achieve a common goal. (Did you know that crows can work together to open bottles, one holds the bottle while the other unscrews the lid.)

See, we can all learn a lot from hiking!

Just watched an interesting video discussing Jesus’ role as a prophet. It then flowed on to how Christians should stand up for justice.

I loved the description of a cartoon that was told. In the cartoon there was a person praying, “Jesus thanks so much for coming into my life, but did you have to bring all your friends?” The next frame of the cartoon had Jesus surrounded by ‘his friends’, prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers and other ‘undesirables’.

The role of the prophet is to stand up and tell people a message that they really don’t want to hear. The prophet challenges the status quo and questions people and their motives. The prophetic role is not a popular one. But it is a necessary one.

I wonder how often we seek out the prophet, seek out the challenging message they have to bring? A different perspective that could change the way we look at a problem, or the world.

Last night Wayne Swan delivered his second budget. Now I don’t want to comment specifically on the details of that budget, but it would be remiss of me not to take the opportunity to remain topical.

I believe that one of the many (and perhaps main) roles of Government is to provide for the disadvantaged in our community.

I believe that we shouldn’t have a two tiered health system and we especially shouldn’t be providing financial incentives for middle and upper class people to take out private health insurance. By directing money, both private and public money, out of the public health system means that it is the disadvantaged who suffer.

I believe that whilst there is a role for government to provide a positive incentive for behavioural change, legislation and punitive taxation are a better course of action. The government provides subsidies and grants for environmentally friendly behaviour (car LPG conversions, solar power, etc.). I think instead they should heavily tax the behaviour that society wishes to change. This has happened with cigarettes why not with other behaviour and lifestyle choices?

I believe that the taxation system should be used to redistribute wealth from those who have plenty to those who need the assistance of the Government to get by. A flat taxation system, such as the GST, is not equitable. (while we are at it, I think fines should be scaled to your income but that is a thought for another day). The government also needs to close taxation loopholes that make tax avoidance legal.

Just a few thoughts. I am sure many will disagree with me. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I got a new computer a couple of weeks back and with it I bought X-Plane. X-Plane is a very good flight simulator. Ever since I got it I have been trying to find time to sit down and practice my flying skills. For someone who has a passing interest in flying but will never have the budget to get into flying it is fun to spend an hour ‘flying’ in front of my computer. I can make a mistake, crash my plane and just press ‘restart’ and try all over again.

It got me thinking about how much of my life I spend in simulation mode. You know what that’s like. You go through the motions but its not real. The risks you take are not really risks because if you fail you can just press ‘restart’ and try again.

Perhaps its just me, but every so often I need a kick start to move out of simulation mode and into real living mode. Perhaps it is time to take some real risks, rather than simulated ones?

Want to join me?

Just a short post today to mention a couple of resources that I have found really helpful recently.

The first is Living the Questions. Although it is expensive to buy outright (we have borrowed our copy) it is a great resource that I am considering purchasing. It is a set of DVDs that is split into 20 minute session. Each session deals with a topic and has interviews/storytelling from numerous ‘progressive’ Christians. It has well known Christian authors, speakers and academics (Marcus Borg, John Cobb, John Dominic Crossan, John Shelby Spong, Walter Brueggemann, Hans Kung, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza to name a few) as well as local saints. It tackles some of the big issues of the Christian faith. If you think you know all the answers and there is a ‘right’ way to believe then this probably isn’t going to interest you. A group of us meet together most weeks to watch the DVD, eat some supper and chat about the issues it raises. It has been a very life giving resource for all of us, we all highly recommend it!

The second is Something Beautiful Podcast. I follow a couple of these guys on twitter and have found their conversations really interesting. I decided to subscribe to the podcast and have found it really interesting. I am a bit behind on the podcasts, but the one I was listening today said something that encapsulates the idea behind the podcast. “We want to hear your story because people can’t argue with your experience.” The podcast usually interviews someone to hear their story and how God has impacted their life. My only warning is that it is usually hosted by someone with a thick Scottish accent but don’t let that put you off.

So check out those two great resources. Have anything your finding interesting or helpful lately? Let us all know about it in the comments.

I have just finished preparing a part of tomorrow nights dinner (am I organised or what?) and while doing that I was pondering how food tells us a lot about a culture.

For lunch today I had a beautiful kebab (Turkey), my preparation was getting together the marinade for Tandoori Chicken (India) and tonight I am heading out for Paella (Spanish). In the space of an afternoon and evening I will have engaged with, albeit in only a small way, three unique cultures.

What we eat and how we eat it can tell us a lot about ourselves or about another culture. Many cultures spend lots of time preparing meals that will be shared amongst an extended family. A Friday night sees Jewish families coming together to celebrate the Sabbath meal.

Sadly, for many people in Western countries, food has become utilitarian. We eat because we need to. We also eat alone, or in front of the television. The food we eat is either fast to cook or bought from a place that serves it quickly. Fast food for fast lives.

We could delve deeper and explore where our food comes from. For some cultures it comes from the backyard, or family farm. The animal is slaughtered and because it was the only one the family owns it needs to last all year. For others, we are so far removed from the food production we would struggle to know the difference between a pumpkin and a zucchini (courgette for my British readers) plant. Because we are removed from the farming practices we don’t care what goes into the soil or the animals to prepare them for our table.

So if what we eat and how we eat has a large part in define us, what does it say about you?

Photos courtesy of roland and Christian Cable

Today I want to try something different. I want to get to know you my readers better.

So I would like you to tell me a little bit about yourself. You can participate if you are a regular or if you are a first time visitor.

I would love to know your name (or nickname) and where you are from (roughly). What are you interested in and how do you fill your time? The idea, other than for me to get to know you, is also that as readers of this blog we can get to know each other. Feel free to ask questions of other readers or engage in discussion through the comments.

If you have never commented on a blog before, it is easy. You can either:

1. click on ‘Leave a Comment’ in the grey box at the bottom of the post, or
2. Click on “Getting to know all about you!” at the top of the post and type something in the box under ‘Leave a reply’

So let the sharing begin!

Photo courtesy of a2gemma.

Yesterday our church ‘team’ got together and went through a process called “Team Management Systems”. Basically we all filled out an online questionnaire that asked us about how we prefer to work and interact with people. We were then given a pretty detailed report on our ‘work preference style’. The importance, for our team, came in seeing how everyone preferred to work.

We were able to see that some in our team preferred to be creative and come up with new ideas. Some preferred to take those ideas and mould them into something that would actually work in practice. Others preferred to be given a task and knuckle down and get it done, while others like to evaluate what was going on and make sure we stay on track.

We were also given an assessment on our personality. Some are introverted, whilst others are extroverted. Some find routine and repetition comforting, while others find it constricting. Some make decisions based purely on rational facts and hard data while others rely on their beliefs and gut feelings.

Some might think that defining our personality into set types puts people into a box. I think yesterday most people found it interesting to read their report and have it presented to them how they like to work. It told you things you needed to focus on as well as things to remember about working with other people. For example it told me that I have to explain to others where I am heading so they come on board, rather than expecting them to meet me there.

Personalities are amazing things and to break points of our personality down to binaries and split people accordingly can provide a stark reminder of our diversity. Having the self awareness to recognise how our actions affect people of differing personalities will go along way to helping us work in teams.

Perhaps if we understood ourselves better, working with others might become easier. Just a thought.