Growing Your Church

Mark 8:27-30 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others Elijah; and still others one of the prophets.” He asked them. “But who do you say that I am?”

It’s nothing new. People are still trying to figure out who exactly Jesus is. Recently, Discovery Channel shared the story of a bowl discovered by a diver off the coast of Alexandria bears the title Christ the Magician. The discovery is being touted as the earliest known reference to be discovered that makes reference to Christ as a magician. Theories posited exposes the close interrelation between early Christianity and paganism.

No doubt that story might have offended the sensibilities of some very good Christians. It got me thinking about who and what Jesus means to us today.

Imagine what some of you think of Jesus depicted as a Rastafarian as in the image below. The image is a reproduction of the famous, Black Jesus Montage by Brazilian artist Vincent Barzoni. Jesus as Rastafarian prophet and messiah is one way that some persons experience him. Others reject the very thought of such a thing.

Jesus as a Christic figure was always surrounded by a lot of bad perceptions, wrong assumptions, misconceptions about his nature, life and ministry. It was all a part of his mystery. He meant many different things to different people. Furthermore, there were those who weren’t quite sure his powers were genuinely miraculous works of God or if he was tapping into demonic “powers” like that of Beelzebul (or Beelzebub). See the accusation in Luke 11:15, “He casts our demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”

But you know something; there is a thin line between one person’s magic and another’s miraculous and mighty works of God. I don’t know about you but it is getting more and more difficult in this hype-hungry age to differentiate between the two. Moreover, It is difficult not to make a judgment call on some of the things I’m seeing these days in some church settings. Is it Magic or power of God?

Look at Christianity today. Some Christians depict a Jesus who looks like suspiciously like a cross between Santa Claus and a skilled conjurer. He has a big bag of material blessings just waiting to dish out on individuals – if they only believe. Poof! God just hands out wealth, wonderful health and peace. Heaven right here on earth!

But this Jesus is very selective. He only blesses the few not the many. Why? Because the many have no faith or they have some sins in their lives blocking the blessings. Somehow whole communities in Africa, and Asia for example never gets community wide blessings. Yet there are the few examples of ‘abundance’ that keeps the dream alive.

And this Jesus seems to be blind to the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, or even the new emerging deadly strains of cancer that seem to target certain groups of people. The lives of bright promising children and youth without a parent named Jairus are being cut off daily. And they are staying dead.

While some make Jesus out to be a selective magician, others prefer the Messiah who is present amidst the suffering, walking with the hungry, the poor, the marginalized, and the powerless. I’m not sure that we his followers, especially those of us who follow in his footsteps in a prophetic ministry, are representing him very well at all. And who we say we are, and how we treat others tell people something about the Jesus we proclaim.

So Peter declared, “You are the Messiah”. I agree.

And you, Who is Jesus to you?

Marvia

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