I haven’t blogged in the last few months as I have been busy finishing up my thesis, but I’m hoping to get back into it soon. For now, here’s a post I wrote for Tabor’s blog “Manna” last week …
I teach Old Testament and one of the things students often struggle with is how foreign and distant the text can seem from us. There are huge gaps between us and the Old Testament’s original readers: gaps in terms of time, location, and culture. And that means it can be quite a bit of work to try to bridge those gaps so we can interpret the Old Testament well and discern its relevance.
But every time a student raises this issue, I’m reminded about a wonderful and profound truth those gaps teach me about our God.
The reason the Old Testament seems so foreign and distant to us is, of course, because it wasn’t spoken or written to us. It wasn’t written in our language, or through our worldview. It was written in Hebrew, through an ancient near Eastern worldview, because that is how the people to whom it was…
It has often been observed that our culture worships the “cult of celebrity.” The idea is that there are certain people we look up to, want to know about, want to be like, and want to meet. Whether that is because of certain abilities they display (sporting stars), or attributes they have (good looking actors), simple due to their visibility (Kim Kardashian) or even because of their family connections (Kate Middleton), the idea that would could in some way “get to know” these people drives a multi-billion dollar gossip magazine industry and results in large crowds gathering wherever these people go.
There’s an awful lot that could be said about that from a cultural-analysis perspective, and there’s a lot to dislike about it, but the reason I’m thinking about this today is entirely different. I’ve been listening to some of my favourite Christmas carols and wondering how these two thoughts connect.
The cult of celebrity seems to suggest to me that there is something deep within us as human beings that wants to connect with those whom we look up to or admire. That somehow we feel like getting “close” to them elevates us in some way. A famous person who takes time to hang out with a sick child in hospital is universally admired. Throughout history there has been prestige ascribed to having any kind of connection with royalty. Associating with those who have status and value seems to bring a kind of status and value of its own. Perhaps it overcomes our insecurities: if they like us, well then, we really must be likeable and everyone else will know so.
Imagine if a really famous person joined one of the groups or clubs you belong to. Suddenly your whole group would be elevated by their presence. Your status and value would somehow go up.
What on earth does all this have to do with Christmas?
The incarnation of God as a human being elevates all of us. It brings us status and value.
At Christmas, we celebrate the miracle of God choosing to become a human being. The creator of the universe chose to become part of His creation. And not just any part but our part. God became one of us. The Godhead for all eternity now includes a human being. The ruler of all things is now a member of our group.
That is a truly incredible, astonishing, surprising, mind-blowing, shocking thing to believe.
And it changes everything.
It tells us that God loves us. Immensely. Enough to become one of us.
It tells us that we are loveable. There is no need for insecurity. The One of ultimate worth has found us worthwhile.
But even more than that, it calls us to love one another because every single other person we share this planet with is not only created in the image of God, but is a being whom God has chosen to become like.
One of the implications of the incarnation is that God becoming human elevates us all. The refugee and the billionaire, the inmate and the Kardashian, the lost child and the superstar … each and every one is one whom Jesus chose to become like.
I’m in Atlanta this week for the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. It’s an amazing opportunity to meet and hear from thousands of scholars who share similar passions and interests. I previously blogged about how inspiring it is to participate in a gathering of people who love what you love.
But I’ve also had the chance to do a small amount of sightseeing in Atlanta this week and it’s two places in particular I visited that I want to share about today. Two places and the two people they honour, who inspire me greatly: Martin Luther King Jr and Jimmy Carter.
MLK was born in Atlanta, grew up here, pastored a church here, and is buried here. The King Historic District is today a National Park and well worth spending a few hours at. Jimmy Carter is from the state of Georgia and his Presidential Library is here in Atlanta, along with the Center he established which works for peace.
What have I loved about visiting the places dedicated to these two people here in Atlanta?
The King District includes Martin’s birth house, which has been lovingly restored and so provides a fascinating glimpse into what daily life was like for a relatively well off African-American family here in the 1930s.
The church Martin’s maternal grandfather and father both pastored before him is a beautiful place of worship as well as a moving insight into his funeral which was held here after his assassination at just 39.
The museum tells his story, one I am familiar with to some degree, and which last year’s excellent film Selma gave me a helpful entree into. His dual commitments to justice and non-violence are powerfully portrayed.
The Carter Library likewise provides an overview of one man’s life, from humble background, to Naval Officer, to peanut farmer, then Senator, Governor, and President. I find it fascinating to explore the life of a man my grandparents’ age and the ever changing times he lived through.
And of course insights into occupying one of the most powerful roles in the world are always intriguing.
Reproduction of Carter Oval Office
But Carter’s story is moving and inspiring in many ways more because of what he has chosen to do since his “involuntary retirement” from that office. His commitments to justice and peace, from the Middle East to free elections in Africa, to the mistreatment of women around the world. He has tried to use his influence to do what he thought right and fair.
Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize
What have I learned from spending time “with” these two men in Atlanta?
Born just 5 years and 250km apart, as far as I can discover, these two men never met. (Although MLK Sr became a great supporter of Carter’s, and Carter credits MLK Jr’s work with opening the door to make his presidency possible).
The two men differ, most obviously in race and longevity, but also in career paths and the paths by which they came to their shared views. I’m sure if you dig deep enough you could also find some topics on which they would not always have seen eye to eye.
But they share not only this city and their Nobel Peace Prizes, but more importantly, a commitment to justice and a willingness to stand up for what they believed to be right no matter the cost. One paid a high price professionally and reputationally for a time. The other paid a far higher price, his life.
They also share an underlying source and motivation for their passions and convictions: a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. I feel some sense of pride that I am part of the same faith tradition as these two great men.
And as I face a world struggling with fear and hatred, tempted to build walls between races and communities, I want to keep being inspired by the example of these two men. I do not have the influence or recognition that they have, but in whatever opportunities I do have, how can I live and speak justice, peace, truth and hope, no matter what it costs me?
Thinking Out Loud ... 
