Brian McLaren on the Name of Jesus
Jen had a post yesterday about taking the Lord’s name in vain. From a somewhat different perspective, it made me think of this:
I have a love-hate relationship with “Jesus”. I mean, of course, the name, the word – not the person. To be sure, I keep growing in love for the person behind the name. But the name makes me squirm sometimes. It’s hard here at the beginning of the twenty-first century to say or hear the name “Jesus” without thinking of some or all of the following…
The Holocaust, slavery, the rape of the environment during the industrial era, the subjugation or annihilation of native peoples and/or their cultures, oppression of women, opposition to free speech, politically inflammatory rhetoric (such as “We’re gonna take back this country for JAYzuss!” etc., etc.), the bombing of abortion clinics, the reckless calling down of damnation on anyone and everyone, witch hunts, inquisitions, suppression of scientific inquiry and any one of a dozen other horrors done or defended by somebody somewhere in the name of you-know-who.
If Jesus were to reappear among us today, I wouldn’t be surprised if he would call himself Mike or Sue or Abdul or Nikita or George or Carol. Or more likely, he might remain completely anonymous – anything to distance himself from the image believers like me too often create for him. We Christians have, I am brokenhearted to admit, succeeded after twenty centuries at turning the name “Jesus” into an obscenity for many people in many places around the world.
From A Search for What is Real – Finding Faith by Brian D. McLaren
I’ve felt the same way myself when I see or read what extremists do in the name of Jesus. It’s sick but nothing new. It doesn’t take away from the real Jesus, the one of the Bible and what He truly represents.
I think though that we must consider that Christians aren’t the ones doing this, but those that claim to be Christians. There are so many out there that make the claim, yet do not understand Jesus at all.
On a slightly different note, your post made me think of Morgan Freeman playing God in Evan Almighty. I thought he was perfect. Tough but loving, although I must admit, I’m partial to guys named Morgan
Yet in the same way, the Jews had done to the Law and their own religious views what Christians have done today: Marginalized it, exclusive membership and made the name of their God a byword among the nations.
Jesus came as a Jew, redeemed mankind, showed incredible love and cleaned up the temple of both the physical and spiritual worship as a Jew. We are the cowards who timidly admit to being Christian in the face of criticism. It was Christian man who pushed the abolishment of slavery in England and Christian people did so again in America.
The weeds grow with the grain for an enemy always plants bad seed among the good. Jesus told us this would happen, so why are we surprised when it does.
The squeeky wheel gets the grease yet mainenance gets the hindmost priority. Those of us who believe we need to be a gift to the world not its conscience or rulers must speak out agains those who misuse the name of Jesus for political ends. We need to be more vocal when false prophets appear and refuse to back down to their power or shouting us down.
The only time evil men rule is when good men do nothing.
@ jonnysoundsketch2 – True. What McLaren said could be applied to most any religion. He was writing from a Christian point of view to potential Christians in ths book.
I agree with you TJ, that it is often nominal “Christians” who have done what McLaren describes. But his point, in the context of the book, is that “real Christians” are just as guilty of slandering the name of Jesus. He even includes himself!
When I started 7th grade and studied French for the first time, I learned that “je” meant “I.” Then I noticed that “Jesus” ends with the first three letters of my name, “sus,” and a name which my family often call me. From that day forward whenever I see the name Jesus, even if it is the name of a Mexican busboy, I think, “I Sus, hey that’s me!”
I am a sick, sick person. : )
I understand the context, what I was considering is that I don’t believe Jesus would shy away from the name because someone else misused it. The truth is that He represented God to His generation as well as us, so just because several bad eggs spoil the name doesn’t mean Jesus would worry too much about.
In His discussion with the woman at the well, Jesus never shied away from the fact that salvation came from the Jews. At the same time, He reached out to her in a way which validated and saved her. Instead of entering in to an argument over doctrine, He made a flat statement about the source of His truth and moved on to more important things.
In other words, if Jesus were here today, He would redeem even the name “Christian” and hold up to the rest of us an example we would struggle to follow. I think Psalm 103:13 gives God’s attitude towardsd us: He remembers we are dust and fallen but doesn’t hold it against us.
I get your point. Follower of Christ would be more flattering than Christian (as Christian means Christ-like and I, sadly, am not). And I think Jesus would be completely comfortable being here as Bob… the very fact that He chose to take the form of a man and live and die because of his love for us? What’s in a name after grace like that?
Everyday, I find that I am humbled by the fact that he loves me and would die for each of the rotten petty sins that I commit. Amazing indeed.
I think I will walk through my day different than I started if for having read this post.
In Jesus’ age a name meant everything. There would be the family name then an identitiy name–say a identifying characteristic. The name “Jesus” is the Greek form of the name Joshua or Yeshua, which means “the Lord saves”. It’s why the name was given and if you look at the works of the first famous Joshua, you’ll see that he led the people of God into the promised land, which is also the work of the Messiah.
It’s not for nothing the angel told Mary (Jesus’ mother), “You shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
In our era we give names because they sound nice or fit into a certain political or social network without any understanding of what’s behind it. To take the name of God in vain from Scripture meant to claim the name but misrepresent it as much as it meant using God’s name as a cuss word. We are far too casual about what naming a child or God means.
God’s name in the Old Testement was His identity: “I Am” signified He was the only self-existent one and the creator of all existence.
No, it’s our “modern” framework which has done away with the meaning not the tradition or principle itself. We are guilty of ignoring the identity of God, what it means to take on His name and be like Him in word, thought and deed.
O, and the name “Christian” means: Christ’s men or belonging to Christ (see Acts 11). It signifies ownership, community and a sense of identity not perfection.