The Christ Shift

 I have been thinking a lot lately about the shift in perspective in the New Testament, what it means to our own journey. I wrote some about this on October 14th of this year. 

It starts with the synoptic Gospels primarily telling about Jesus, teaching and preaching and healing in Galilee. They tell us some of what he taught and did. Then John shifts to add the Greek philosophy element and some Cosmic Christ ideas. Then we come to Paul's 7 authenticated letters (even though they were written first, they come after John). Paul jumps totally to the Cosmic Christ. Paul shows no interest in the historical Jesus, he only mentions Jesus 4 times.

The shift to the Cosmic Christ is one from observation to participation. We are called to participate in the Christ life, to put on and fill with that spiritual energy as we too become alive with the Spirit.

The shift is also portrayed by the Gospels' account of the Pharisees vs Jesus. They represent the legal, the authority, the dogmatic, the outer way to be religious. Jesus represents the Spirit way, the inner way that leads to a different outer way.  As Auguste Sabatier wrote a long time ago - Religions of Authority contrasted with the Religions of the Spirit.

The most meaningful things seem to be invisible to our eyes. From the tether of gravity that holds us in orbit, to the atom and quark, to the microbes, etc, even science finds the invisible the most powerful.

Those who have gone before have set up dogma about the shining light from Galilee. Augustine's dogma of original sin still haunts the hallways of seminaries and churches. As Rufus Jones said, "We have had fifteen hundred years under the dogma of original sin and total depravity, now let us have a period of actually facing our own souls as they reveal themselves, not to the theologian, but the the expert in souls... We shall also find that they are strangely linked up with that unseen and yet absolutely real Heart of all things who we call God."

The aspirational Sermon on the Mount can help lead us out of the prison of dogma. It lifts our souls to a grand vision of who and what we are called to be. It gives us a vision to aspire to, but which can not be totally reached. It calls out the best in us to strive to take on the brilliant teaching and bathe ourselves in the Mission of Christ, to rise up, to shine, to be as Christlike as possible. Matthew 5, 6, & 7 can transform us, if we take it as our way as it was Jesus' Way.