Meeting Jesus

Who is Jesus of Nazareth?  Some scholars and historians purport that he, like many others of his day, was an apocalyptic prophet who believed that the establishment of God’s kingdom on the earth was imminent, and that it was his mission to proclaim the news and encourage his fellow Jews to mend their ways and adhere to the law so that they would receive God’s blessings. Further they assert that in his attempt to proclaim his eschatology he spoke of the impending downfall of the Roman Empire and the Jews’ assured return to power. In doing so, he enraged those who were in power and they crucified him for being an insurrectionist.

Millions the world over believe that he was the one and only son of God sent to save the world from the darkness of sin; that his mission was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God given for the atonement of the sins of the world. Further, they hold that he died on the cross, resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God, the Father, judging the living and the dead, just as the Apostle’s Creed proclaims. They believe that although he may have exhibited his humanness on occasion, that Jesus, the Messiah, knew his mission and fulfilled it. They profess that he is the savior of the world.

Still others, like those of us in Unity, often see Jesus, as he is presented in the Bible, as a metaphor for the potential within each of us to awaken to our own Christ nature. We believe that the Jesus of the Christian Scriptures was a human being who experienced the conditioning of family, religion and society; similar to what each of us is subjected to, yet through a process of awakening he recognized, realized and revealed his Christ potential. The same potential and possibility is inherent in each of us. We view the Jesus story as a template for our own individual and collective awakening from bondage in the human condition to freedom in our Christ awareness.

From this perspective Jesus’ life is an example of one who was born into the world, and although conditioned by it, realized his true nature and lived from it. In living from it, he was willing and able to relinquish his attachment to the world of form, including his physical form, be reborn into a new creature in his Christ nature, and ascend in consciousness beyond the limitations of this world. His life also serves as an example for us to follow as we live our Christ nature through our thoughts, words and actions.

Jesus, whether viewed as an apocalyptic prophet, or the son of God born to be the savior of the world, or a human being whose life experience can serve as a metaphor for our own evolution of consciousness, was one who knew what he was here to do and gave everything he was in order to fulfill his mission. May we learn from him, and choose to follow his example.

Join us Sunday at 10:00 as we observe Palm Sunday. We will explore the life of Jesus and look at the ways he serves as our way-shower.