Marcus opens with an early Celtic Christian prayer, “Christ as a light ilumen and guide me, Christ as a shield overshadow me, Christ under me, Christ over me, Christ beside me, on my left and my right this day be within and without me. Holy and meek yet all powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak in the mouth of each who speaks unto me this day be within and without me lowly and meek yet all powerful Christ as a light, Christ as a shield, Christ beside me on my left and my right, in your name o’ Christ our body and our blood, our life and our nourishment Amen”
Payment Understanding of Jesus
Growing up in the Church, Marcus relates that Jesus was important because he died for our sins, in our place so we could be forgiven and eventually go to heaven. This he calls the “Payment understanding” which he has now come to believe is a deeply destructive notion. This notion was first systematically articulated around the year 1100. Theologically this notion is hurtful because of the idea that God cannot or will not forgive unless somebody is punished and leads to a very legalistic and punitive understanding of God.
Why Jesus Does Matter
- Jesus, for Christians, is the decisive disclosure or epiphany of God’s character
- Jesus is the norm, or the standard to which everything else in the bible is to be judged and evaluated. It is important to understand this standard, without it any comparisons are of no value.
- Jesus is “one of the two most remarkable people who ever lived.” His humanity makes him especially extraordinary to Marcus because he was able to unite so many people and accomplish so much without being an actual super human being his extraordinary accomplishments include
- Towering cultural and historical significance, Today Christianity has influence and plays some party in the lives of 1/3 of the world’s population
- Teaching, Jesus was an incredibly skillful teacher, his content was filled with radical insight, his form was also exceptional with excellent one liners and powerful memorable short stories that stuck in students’ memories
- Passion for the Kingdom of God, his passion for everything and everyone which as Jesus saw it were all pieces of the Kingdom of God meant that Jesus wanted everyone to have access to his teachings
- Courage, Jesus taught knowing that he would likely be killed for how his teachings challenged the dominant systems of power and wealth.
In closing, Marcus reflects on his changing perspectives and what speaks to him in hymns. What does it mean that Christian’s primary historical figure was struck down by the dominant powers of his time? Christianity is about following Jesus in his passion for the Kingdom of God.