Day 22: Realness

Feb 04, 2020

#RethinkChurch did a 22-day journey for self-reflection based on John Wesley’s 22 questions. I composed short blog posts addressing each question. I used these posts to encourage Christians, especially Progressive and Mainline Christians to reflect deeply on what it means to be Church in a world marred by oppression and violence. This is the last post of the series.

Day 22: Is Christ real to me?

When I was a Fundamentalist Christian, it was easy to claim that I “knew” who Christ was. Christ was literally both human and divine, was God’s Son, and was crucified and resurrected so that humanity could avoid spending an eternity in hell fire. Anyone who disagreed with this interpretation was an unbeliever, a heretic, or an apostate.

Now, however, I understand that throughout Christian history and into the present day there are numerous viewpoints regarding the nature of Christ’s divinity and/or humanity outside of the singular view I had been taught. To be honest, I am not that interested in getting into Christological or Soteriological debates regarding the human or divine nature of Christ (is the ratio 50/50 human to divine, 10/90, 100/0, 100/0? Is the language surrounding the nature of Jesus, mainly metaphors) or the meaning of the crucifixion. At least, not in this post. In the future, maybe.

Instead of saying, “Christ is real to me,” in order to avoid an eternity of hellfire, now I say:

Christ is real to me when I affirm the beloved status of me and my fellow human beings.

Christ is real to me when I am feeling alone, abandoned and overwhelmed with despair.

Christ is real to me when I am laughing with my friends.

Christ is real to me, when I finally am able to be vulnerable with other about my pain and my weaknesses.

Christ is real to me when I join in with others in advocating for a more just and equitable society.

Christ is real to me when I fail spectacularly and need to find a way to start over again.

Christ is real to me when I am lost.

Christ is real to me when others show me compassion.

Christ is real to me when I manage to put aside my selfishness for just a little bit and care for others.

Christ is real to me when in the midst of the darkest night, hope somehow and unexpectedly springs out of nowhere, letting me know that I am not alone.

Christ is real to me when I see those who put their careers, status, bodies, and lives on the line to protest against injustice.

Christ is real to me when I am enjoying a lazy day, resting.

Christ is real to me when I am sharing communion with others and when I am enjoying a good meal with friends.

Christ is real to me every single day as I try to navigate this unpredictable, scary, painful, joyful, beautiful, journey called life.