Radical Jesus and 'exotic mysteries'
Rowan Williams (the Archbishop of Canterbury) has posted the text of an article he wrote for the most recent Mail on Sunday (a conservative UK newspaper). In it, he talks about why people like to hear about things like the Gospel of Judas and why we prefer sensational conspiracy stories to the prosaic truth.
When the Jesus of the Gospels comes back from the dead, he doesn’t go and crow over his enemies, he meets his friends and tells them to get out there and talk about him – about what his life and death have made possible, about forgiveness, making peace, being honest about yourself, checking the temptation to judge and condemn, tackling your selfishness at the root, praying simply and trustingly.
This is flesh and blood. It’s not about exotic mysteries. It is about how God makes it possible for us to live a life that isn’t paralysed by guilt, aggression and pride. It asks us to come down to earth and face what’s wrong with us. Is it surprising that some people found this too direct, too in-your-face to cope with? No wonder they preferred to go on about the names of angels and the secrets of how the world began.
(Thanks to Ekklesia for the link.)
pax et bonum
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