Matthew 4:12-23 recount the start of the public ministry of Jesus. Matthew has recounted the private experience of the temptation in 4:1-11 and will soon record the public discourse we know as the Sermon on the Mount in 5-7. The start of the ministry of Jesus will contain the seeds that characterize his ministry for the rest of his life. What I hope to capture is the pivotal launch of Jesus' public ministry, doing so with warmth and theological depth, bridging historical context, scriptural fulfillment (especially Isaiah 9:1-2), and urgent contemporary application. I emphasize Jesus as the dawning "great light" in Galilee's shadowed region, the call to repentance amid the kingdom's nearness, the radical summons to discipleship, and the church's ongoing mission to "fish for people." I hope a pastoral tone shines through The pastoral tone shines in tying personal darkness to Christ's illuminating presence, as well as in the extended section on modern evangelization challenges (drawing from Avery Dulles). Although I could condense that discussion at another time, I think it adds provocative relevance for mainline traditions like United Methodism.
Matthew 4:12-16 has the theme of Jesus moving to Galilee in fulfillment of scripture. After the arrest of John the Baptist, explained in 14:1-12, Jesus returned to Galilee, and made his home in Capernaum, in fulfillment of Isa 9:1-2, where he began his proclamation, his teaching in the synagogues, his healing of diseases, and his calling of his first disciples, Simon/Peter and his brother Andrew, and then James and John, the sons of Zebedee. In verse 12 (Mark 1:14) although he made his home in Capernaum, Jesus made statements concerning his own rootless lifestyle (e.g., "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head," (8:20), as well as his frequent warnings against the captivity of possessions (19:21; Luke 12:15, 33; 14:33). Thus, what Matthew means that Jesus makes his home in Capernaum is not clear. The only other occurrence of the word used here for home is 2:23, where Joseph made his home in Nazareth. Capernaum (Village of Nahum) was an ancient and important farming, fishing, and trading center on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, about five kilometers from the sea's entrance into the Jordan River. Inhabited already in the third millennium B.C., by the time of Jesus, Capernaum covered an area of approximately 15 acres, a significant village in the region. In verses 12-16 (unique to Matthew), Matthew will connect the region with the prophecy in Isa 9:1-2. Matthew wants to identify the noteworthy events in the life of Jesus with fulfillment of scripture. John preached in the wilderness and people came from cities and villages to hear him. Jesus departed from the wilderness to go to a certain part of Israel, land given by God to these people, so that those who sat in darkness have seen a great light and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. The prophesy has been fulfilled. Despised Galilee has become the place of eschatological fulfillment.[1] Jesus is the great light, the rising of the eschatological Messianic light, doing so in the shadow of death, the sphere of the lostness of the Gentiles to whom only the Messiah can give eschatological deliverance as the great light that has risen.[2] Isaiah was referring to the darkness of oppression by Assyria, and Matthew refers to the darkness of oppression by Rome. Death is not outside our lives, but this end that has yet to come casts a shadow in advance and defines the whole path of life as a being for death in the sense that our end is not integrated into our existence. Rather, it threatens each moment of our living self-affirmation with nothingness. We thus lead our temporal lives under the shadow of death.[3] Yet, Jesus is the one bringing such light into the darkness. Darkness still represents despair and ignorance that need the clarity of light and enlightenment.
Jesus is forming a community. This community will be different from the one formed by John the Baptist, who, like the Essenes, urged his followers to join him in the wilderness, separating themselves from the sinful world of Roman oppression and the corrupting influence of that oppression on Jewish religious leaders. It will also be different from the nationalist uprisings that occurred when Jesus was two and twelve, which the Romans crushed violently. However, a non-violent protest by peasants occurred in Caesarea occurred against Pilate. A few months later, Jesus will come to the Baptist for baptism. It will be the first crucial decision he makes publicly. We can understand the ministry of the Baptist as inviting people to leave “Egypt,” that is, Jerusalem and the corrupt ways of institutional life in Israel and come to the wilderness. The Baptist patterned his ministry after Moses, Elijah, and other prophets. Significantly, however, Jesus does not stay with John in the wilderness. He will return to Galilee.
Let us be clear about the Christian mission and message. Jesus certainly was. As Jesus begins his ministry, Matthew is clear that the mission of Jesus receives its interpretation through scripture, and he focuses on the prophecy of Isaiah. For Matthew, Jesus moves to Capernaum by the sea so that the people sitting in darkness can see a great light. He begins his ministry with a focus on replacing the shadow of death with the light of life.
We need this light today. The clarity of light still needs to replace darkness of despair. Ignorance enlightened by insight. Addictions overcome by self-control. Illness overpowered by healing. Isolation eliminated by community. Each of us has some dark corners in our lives. Places where we feel hopeless, sinful, lost, overwhelmed and alone. However, when the great light of Christ begins to shine, we move from darkness into a new day.
Unfortunately, many churches fail to be clear about the Christian mission and message. Many denominations and many local churches, and many pastors, are less convinced of Jesus than they used to be. Some of us have gotten so used to its light that we have lost the joy that comes in discovery and sharing the news with others. They put Christ's light under a bushel, ignoring the fact that he says,
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Rather than focusing on this light, churches offer messages that push social justice, or something less confronting, like being helpful. These are not bad things, in and of themselves, but we should never divorce them from Jesus as the light of the world. Churches must make a strong link between the life we live today and the life of Jesus. We struggle with sin and forgiveness. We struggle with wandering and losing our way. We struggle with whether we can get a second chance at life. We need the insight and clarity that Jesus brings.
Matthew 4:17-11:30 is the second major division of Matthew, dealing with his message, ministry, and disciples. In fact, Matthew is being quite clear about the mission and message of the church, as he describes content of the good news in Chapters 5-7 and the healing and exorcism as signs of the Messiah occur in Chapters 8-9, and Chapters 10-11 focusing on the nature, difficulty, and danger of discipleship.
Matthew offers a summary of the Kingdom proclamation of Jesus (Matthew 4:17). 17 From that time one of two temporal references in Matthew, signaling the actual beginning of the public ministry of Jesus. The other, at 16:21, signals the end of that ministry, as he prepares for his suffering and death. Jesus began to proclaim (κηρύσσειν), “Repent (Μετανοεῖτε, to turn one’s entire self and identity from one direction to another), for the kingdom of heaven (βασιλεία τῶνοὐρανῶν) has come near (ἤγγικεν).” A summary of the proclamation of Jesus, which turns out to have the same theme as that of John the Baptist. First, he proclaims that the people of God are to repent. To repent in this context consists in following Jesus. To repent meant to acquire a new identity, with both new relationships and the restoration of existing relationships to their rightful condition. With his call for conversion, Jesus continued the message of John, a message in line with Hosea in 12:6 and 14:1-2. The prophet called the people of God to turn again to its God. II Chronicles 24:19 understands prophecy in Israel as motivated by calling people to conversion. Yet, all of us who have asserted our autonomy against God and turned aside need conversion to God if we are to experience redemption from our falling into bondage to the power of death. Therefore, Christian mission has taken to all nations this summons to turn or convert to God.[4] Like John the Baptist, the reason they are to repent is that the kingdom of heaven is near. The use of “for” immediately after the call to repent suggests that this is the true emphasis of Jesus.[5] It implies the irruption of the reign of God into history is imminent. It means the eschatological hour of God, the victory of God, the consummation of the world, is near.[6] Its coming will assert the sovereignty of God. It contrasts sharply with the claims of Rome and its sovereignty over the land and its people. Yet, there is a subtle notion of the presence of the reign of God. We see this in Matt 12:28, where Jesus says that if he by the Spirit of God casts out devils, the reign of God has come upon you. The question of John the Baptist as to whether Jesus is the one for whom they have been looking receives the answer of the healings and exorcisms, suggesting the reign of God is already present. The salvation promised for the end is a present reality. Luke 17:21 puts all of this beyond doubt: the reign of God is in your midst. In Matt 13:16-17, this generation is “blessed” because it has seen and heard Jesus, and Jesus says in Matt 11:12 that he beheld Satan falling.[7] Jesus conceived of God's rule as all around him but difficult to discern. God was so real for him that he did not distinguish God's present activity from any future activity. He had a poetic sense of time in which the future and the present merged.
Verses 18-22 (Mark 1:16-20) relates the story of the story and the memorable saying of the calling to follow Jesusof the first four disciples. The theme, based upon I Ki 19:19, is the sudden summons of business to following. It portrays an ideal scene with a focus on the Lord who calls.[8] The call to repent and the proclamation of the imminent rule of God leads to the formation of a community. The call occurs in an ordinary way. Jesus is walking along a lake. Some people are engaged in their occupation of fishing, and Jesus calls them to fish for people. Such a calling is not like that of the dramatic vision of the Lord Isaiah had (Isa 6). To Peter and Andrew his brother he said, “Follow me, thereby forming a new community who seeks to be faithful to God,[9] and I will make you, in the sense of shape or train, fish for people.” Fishing for people occurs in Jer 16:14-16, where the days are coming are when the Lord will send anglers who will catch the exiled and scattered people of God from among the nations and bring them home. The image refers specifically to God's restoring the scattered Israelites to their land (albeit with punishing recompense for their misdeeds). Jesus intended the focus of his statement to be on the dramatic difference between the old life his disciples as those consumed with worldly pursuits, and their new life as his followers engaged in the supremely important business of gathering the scattered people of God. In other words, the important word in the verse is the noun "people," not the verb "fish." Jesus calls them during their work of catching fish. As fishers of people, they have an eschatological task to bring home the people of God, and this task does not allow the smallest delay.[10] To the ancient reader, the summons to follow Jesus was an extraordinary disruption in a person's life. It might even seem offensive. Simon is a married man (1:30), responsible for support of his wife and children (unless he is widowed but see I Cor 9:5) and his mother-in-law as well. His family, friends, and community would have regarded his response to Jesus as irresponsible. Successfully calling two disciples, Jesus calls James and John, sons of Zebedee, as they were mending their nets with their father. A society in which the father was head of a household, it is unusual for sons to a leave a father like this. The point is to show the impact Jesus had upon the first followers. The exalted Lord is present in the actions of the earthly Jesus, as Matthew portrays him. Many scholars consider this story “ideal,” in that it shows true discipleship as hearing the invitation of Jesus and leaving behind a former way of life to follow Jesus. The call to discipleship is the initiative of Jesus. Simon and Andrew renounce their belongings and follow Jesus with little psychological preparation. This heightens the focus on Jesus. In what way does the episode have typical significance? The basis of this call story is in I Kings 19:19-21, describing Elijah finding Elishia plowing in the field, casting his mantle upon him, and Elishia following Elijah after he respectfully returned to his father and mother and kissed them. One should note that following on the part of the disciples does not distinguish them from the people who are sympathetic to Jesus, but the people, by following, belong together with the disciples. These features try to bring out the authority of the command and the completeness of obedience. The story is "ideal" in that it embodies a truth in a metaphorical situation. It condenses history into one symbolic moment. This calling always had the purpose that Jesus needed witnesses who see and hear. They are to go along with Christ on his way through Galilee and later to Jerusalem. They are to accompany Christ, whether they understand or not. It suggests a commission to their future speech and action. They attach themselves to him and tread on his heels. Jesus noticed them, selecting them from among many, and thus deciding their faith. Why should they follow? They will have to give up any further exercise of their previous calling, with no respect to what they were doing. Christ is the savior of people, and it is to people that he calls them. Their calling is to win people for Christ.[11]
In verse 23 (Mark 1:30), Matthew offers a summary of the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus. His summary distinguishes between the teaching (διδάσκων) in the synagogue and proclamation (κηρύσσων) of the good news (εὐαγγέλιον) of the kingdom (identified in Matthew 5-7) and curing every disease and every sickness among the people (Matthew 8-9). Such a formulation represents the central theme of the proclamation of Jesus from the frequency of the occurrence of the kingdom in the synoptic says of Jesus, which forms a striking contrast to the sparse number of examples in contemporary Judaism and the rest of the New Testament. It denotes the rule of God in action that opposes earthly monarchy, as God is realizing the ideal of kingly righteousness, constantly longed for but never fulfilled by human rulers. This rule of God is eschatological, denoting the time of salvation, the consummation of the world, the restoration of the disrupted communion between God and humanity. In announcing the nearness of the rule of God, Jesus is announcing that God is near, God is coming, standing at the door, and is already there.[12]
Mission today
Cecil Frances Alexander (1852) wrote a wonderful hymn that builds on this text. “Jesus calls us” over the tumult of the wild sea of our lives with a sweet voice, saying, “Christian, follow me.” She refers to our worship of this world, from which Jesus calls us, “Christian, love me more.” She invites Christians to hear the call and serve and love Him best of all. Fanny J. Crosby (1875) wrote, “All the way my Savior leads me.” Through my life, he has been my guide. From the perspective of eternity, we will look back and see that Jesus led us all the way. Mary Louise Bringle (2004) wrote that from the nets of our labors, the noise and confusion of city or seashore, Jesus summons us all. Its refrain is the encouragement that we will rise up and follow, Christ before and beside us, loving pattern to guide us as we answer the call. We may be weary. We see the stranger and the neighbor. We hear words of hatred that cry out for challenge. We have moments of courage and see the need for justice. Like disciples before us, risking selfless compassion, Jesus summons us. Cesareo Gabarain (1936-1991) wrote that Lord has come to the lakeshore, looking for neither wealthy nor wise, but only that I humbly follow. Chris Tomlin wrote the praise song, “I will follow,” suggesting that if Jesus goes or stays, I will follow. Finally, the chorus “I have decided to follow Jesus,” says that there is no turning back. If none goes with me, I will follow. The world is behind me, the cross is before me, no turning back.
The acts of announcement and invitation as two of the most characteristic aspects of Jesus' ministry. Jesus not only announced the coming of God's promised kingdom, he also invited people to come forward and to be part of that kingdom. The challenge of Jesus was not simply the intellectual one of, "Do you agree?" Rather, Jesus pushes us toward a spiritual question of, "Will you join up?" [13]
Just like these sons of Zebedee, you and I have been called to help Jesus catch people, to throw out the wide gospel net and bring people into the rule of God, this new family that Jesus is forming. I want to offer a couple of things in which we can be confident as we engage in our mission of fishing for people.
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Section 167, had some words worth pondering.
Every form of catechesis would do well to attend to the “way of beauty” (via pulchritudinis). Proclaiming Christ means showing that to believe in and to follow him is not only something right and true, but also something beautiful, capable of filling life with new splendour and profound joy, even in the midst of difficulties. Every expression of true beauty can thus be acknowledged as a path leading to an encounter with the Lord Jesus. … Each particular Church should encourage the use of the arts in evangelization, building on the treasures of the past but also drawing upon the wide variety of contemporary expressions so as to transmit the faith in a new “language of parables.” We must be bold enough to discover new signs and new symbols, new flesh to embody and communicate the word, and different forms of beauty which are valued in different cultural settings, including those unconventional modes of beauty which may mean little to the evangelizers, yet prove particularly attractive for others.
First, I want to re-affirm that people are searchers. Whether they have an intense or a casual approach to seeking, we need to look beneath how they search and see the longing within them. I have that assurance every time I preach. You can have that assurance when you seek to share your faith with a friend.
Houston Smith did a public television survey of the world’s great religions, calling it “The Long Search.” Some people think we give ourselves far too much credit in thinking that our lives are long a search for God. That may be so. Human nature is one of searching. Usually, our search involves a longing to become our best self. Yet, as wrong as we may become in our search, whether we are aware or not, God is what we seek. Even if we are at this point, we must confront a danger. We often find little more than a reflection of ourselves in the god we find. We find a god that pats us on the back and tells us we are all right. The true God needs to destroy that idol. Yet, the true God has placed a desire in us to have a relationship with God. We are made in the image of God, and our hearts remain restless until they find rest in God. True, we take detours. The often cynical response of atheism is always available. If you think your search in life is for power, prestige, stuff, pleasure, or just barely getting by until you die, I can assure you, satisfaction and happiness will not belong to you. At some level, searching is wired into what it is to be human. True, we look for love in all the wrong places – is that not how a popular country song puts it? We are hungry for love, for tenderness and caring, for a sense of belonging and embrace. Yet we seek love through sexual promiscuity, pornography, and a series of illicit affairs. We will do almost anything to get people to like us. We will sell our souls, compromise ourselves, and make fools out of ourselves, all in a vain attempt to get people to love us.
College is often a journey, years of searching and discovery. In fact, in that setting, if you say that you have found what you were looking for, you have stopped the journey to an unknown destination too soon. In fact, the skepticism of our age, present in all ages is whether there is anything to find. We are on a journey, yes, but to nowhere. Quite sad, I think.
Second, the church offers an open invitation to follow Jesus. The church is not an exclusive social club. It brings together an often-weird mix of people into a community of followers. It offers radical hospitality. Frankly, to look at most mainline Protestant churches, one would think it has gotten out of the fishing business.
In some ways, Matthew begins his account of the ministry of Jesus in an ordinary way. Jesus is walking along a lake. Some people are fishing. He calls them to fish for people. Yet, if you will think about it, I expect your entry into life with Christ occurred in an ordinary way. Of course, some may have had the blinding flash of light, a mountaintop experience, or some other dramatic moment. Many of us, however, came in less spectacular but in means that were every bit as divine. Loving parents put many of us here. A friend who sat next to us at a desk in the office, or someone we talked with at school, or a friend in a club, invited others of us here. Maybe you just wander into a worship service on some random Sunday morning. The preacher invites you to join up with Jesus. Then, the Holy Spirit works on you, and you say yes to God.
If you are already a Christian, you may object that you cannot fish for people because religion is a private matter. Well, religion might be private, but a relationship with Jesus Christ is not. If you read the gospel story, you will see that walking with Jesus is a public matter.
You may say that you cannot fish for people because you do not want to force your “religion” on someone else. Yet, following Jesus is not just a compartment of your life that you enter, say, when you come to a church building. If something is profoundly important to you and to those you love, you will want to share it, not impose it. You cannot do that anyway. Yes, it is a risk, and we may move out of our comfort zone, but followers of Jesus are like that – those who engage in risk taking mission and service.
You may say that you cannot fish for people because you do not have the right words to talk about your faith. I note that Jesus does not call them to preach. Not today. Listen to his invitation, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." He builds on something they already know how to do. Along the way, he will undoubtedly give them other gifts, but for now, he just tells them that he will transform what they already know how to do. He turns their common fishing abilities into a great adventure for the kingdom of God.
“Your search is over!” proclaimed the billboard along the highway. What search? What glorious discovery have we happened upon at last? Underneath the large letters, we could read the words, “Perfect yogurt at reasonable prices.” We have scaled down our search, have we not? Please do not do that.
We think we know our problem, so we conclude that we do not have enough stuff, a good enough job, are not attractive enough, do not have enough pleasure, and do not have the power we want. Yet, in all our doing and thinking, we are trying to satisfy our longing for the divine, which we have just by virtue of being human, with finite and material things. The search reflects something good about us, that we are made in the image of God. Yet, our search is often misguided and misdirected. The reason we search from one thing to the next is that we have not found the true God.
Matthew is excited to share his good news of Jesus returning to Galilee, a movement that sheds light on a people who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death. He saw this as fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.
Matthew was excited to share a summary of the message of Jesus, to repent, for the kingdom is at hand or near. It is the tendency of people to turn from God, the source of light and life, and therefore to turn toward darkness and death. Even the people of God, the Jewish people, needed this message of repentance. You and I need it as well. To repent is to turn around. We need to turn around because we have turned away. We need to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near or at hand. The kingdom is here, so enter its light and life.
Matthew is excited to share the fact that Jesus needed people needed to accompany him in order to be his witnesses. We are not dealing with a scientific or mathematical discovery, but human lives, with its hope, dream, fear, and anxiety. He needed witnesses to what God was doing in his life. Jesus first found such witnesses among the many fishing families around Galilee. He viewed this as a dramatic moment as these young men left the family business in order to accompany Jesus. Matthew is excited to share the story of changed lives. Jeremiah 16:14-16 refers to the Lord sending out anglers who will bring those in exile home. Elijah cast his mantle upon his follower, Elisha, and Elisha followed in I Kings 19:19-21.
Matthew is excited to share the summary of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee, as Jesus taught, healed, and cast out demons, a story he will relate in the next few chapters of his Gospel.
The Bible reflects the human search for God. However, the Bible is also the amazing account of the extraordinary lengths to which God will go to search for us. The search is by God, and the search is for us, to help us find our way to our spiritual home. You are here because you have been sought, called, summoned. You are here because God has reached in, grabbed you, put you here, or, enticed, wooed, and allured you here. If you doubt this, reflect upon the little coincidences in your life, the strange happenings and thoughts, which have enticed you toward “something greater.” So keep looking over your shoulder as you go through life. Keep being attentive to the strange unimportant things, the odd, glorious things that happen to you. The long search is over. You have been found. This is the good news. We should certainly be willing to share our excitement about being a follower of Jesus. And why should we not be excited?
- Jesus shows us the grace and truth of God like no other person who has ever lived (John 1:17).
- Jesus brings the kingdom of heaven into the very middle of human life (Matthew 4:17).
- Jesus teaches us how to love the Lord and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).
- Jesus demonstrates how to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
- Jesus offers his own body and blood to bring us forgiveness of sin (Matthew 26:26-28).
- Jesus promises to prepare a place for us in the house of his heavenly Father (John 14:1-7).
- Jesus gives us so much, in this life and the next.
We need to be loyal disciples -- people who follow Jesus faithfully and invite others to do the same. We can each be clearer about the Christian mission and message. We can make efforts to connect Christ more closely to real life. We can offer more thoughtful answers to life's difficult questions. And we can take the Bible seriously and invite others to follow Jesus.
The light of Christ has come into our lives, and we should never hide it from others. Jesus has called each of us to follow him, and to "fish for people" as well (Matthew 4:19). We are being complacent, and even cruel, if we do not share our excitement about Jesus and the life of discipleship with others.
I have been reflecting on some of the challenges presented to the churches today in sharing the good news and witnessing to what God has done in Christ and continues do in the church and in the world. I share this reflection as a United Methodist pastor who enjoys theological and biblical study. The following is a matter of thinking along with Avery Dulles, in an article he wrote, "Evangelizing Theology" (First Things, March 1996, pp. 27-32). This Roman Catholic theologian enumerates the reasons why he thinks evangelization is difficult for contemporary Catholics. I have found that his reflections affect United Methodism as well.
Dulles says there are certain theological factors, common theological viewpoints that achieved ascendancy in the past few decades that have made evangelization peculiarly problematic for us. He recalls a time when theological triumphalism, with themes like “A Million More in ’84,” were prominent. However, he thinks that in this time we are in danger of theological defeatism. He thinks that Christians have reduced the actions of God in the world to a way of being helpful, rather than focusing on God. He thinks the church will attract few people with that message.
The first theological trend that Dulles cites is the contemporary trend to regard "faith" as some a universal, innate, human quality found in many different forms among the world's religions, shared by everyone who cares deeply about anything. Theologically, he identifies the notion in Paul Tillich of "ultimate concern" as consistent with this view. Faith in this view exists without any definite set of beliefs, without gospel. The Christian faith is merely a human construction that many people throughout the ages have found helpful. Every religion is only a particular expression of that deeper, more universal, and more important disposition called "faith." However, Dulles notes that such a notion of faith is quite different from the faith proclaimed by Paul:
"We thank God constantly for this, that when you receive the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of man but that which it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Second, Dulles lists "metaphysical agnosticism" as a theological deviation that hinders our evangelization. Anything we say about the divine is always metaphorical, and therefore unreliable. What can we know about God anyway?
All statements about the world have a degree of inexactitude about them. Everything we say about the world, even the world of things, is also a statement of faith. When we say things about the supernatural world, we speak through analogy; but analogous speaking can still be truthful speaking. The Bible asserts that our God is a God who hides. Now we see through the mirror dimly; however, Christians claim that through the gift of Christ and his Holy Spirit, we do know God. Faith is not a vague experience of the ineffable. Faith is also a realistic confidence in what God has revealed to us.
Dulles' third obstacle to evangelization is the "pragmatism and utilitarianism" that infects our theology. We have been guilty of presenting the Christian faith as if it were some helpful means to some humanly desired end. We have reduced the Christian faith to a technique for getting what it is we wanted before we met Christ. In this view, the Christian faith is justified based on its effects - the promotion of self-esteem, inner peace, liberation of the oppressed, economic progress. In this view, it is not so important whether or not God is real, but whether God is helpful.
Next Dulles lists the problem of "cultural relativism." We have found, through the modern social sciences such as anthropology, that various cultures have an integrity of their own and cultures ought not to be destroyed by Western imperialism.
Christianity has shown a genius for adapting itself to many of the world's cultures. It has proved supremely adaptable in a wide diversity of cultural expressions; however, there is no denying that Christianity always brings with it a collision of cultures. Each day each one of us moves easily between any number of different "cultures." Christianity is one of them. The mission field is always full of debate, asking ourselves "Can we baptize this particular cultural expression as our own or not?"
However, as Dulles says, to be a Christian means to be someone who affirms that the culture that is Christianity is that which is true, that which is the light of the world, that in which each culture finds its best fulfillment.
Dulles then lists the problem of the relativism enjoined by religious pluralism. Having discovered the diversity of religious expressions on our globe, some say that humanity should allow each of these expressions to stand alone, unhindered by dialogue with, engagement with, and conversion by others. This is what Dulles calls "soteriological relativism." The impression one gets is that Jesus is the Savior, which is helpful for us, but not for the entire world. Each religion has its own path to salvation, and no path is truer than any other is. This is not a new proposal, but it is a wonderfully attractive proposal for avoiding the conflicts between the competing truth claims of religions. Unfortunately, it will not work. Most all religions claim to be true. They are not all saying the same thing. To imply that they are all equally helpful, all equally true, is not to take them at their own word. There is no way for religions to avoid bumping up against each other. One cannot smooth over the conflict by denying that there are true differences. Rather than take the differences among religions seriously, the underlying argument is that no religions makes any basic difference anyway, so why take them at their word.
It is of the nature of our religion to want to share its joy with whomever will listen. Christianity is not unique in this. As Christians, we ought to be intensely curious about the faith claims of others; we ought to listen to them, both to understand our neighbors better, and also to understand ourselves better. At some point, however, we long for the opportunity to witness, in word and deed, to the truth that we have found, or more properly, the truth that has found us, in Christ.
The sixth obstacle that Dulles lists is, "the false concept of freedom that pervades contemporary culture and frequently infects theologians." Here, Dulles is pointing to our modern infatuation with choice. The significance of my life lies solely in the choices I make. I choose, therefore I am.
Of course, this is an inheritance from the European Enlightenment. The Enlightenment invented the notion of the individual, the individual whose existence is constituted through his or her choices. No wonder that, under this construal of humanity, religion became a purely private and personal matter, something that I had chosen. When one thinks about it, it is odd that during the same era in which the social sciences showed us how caught our lives are in webs not of our creation - our parents, our histories, our economics - we brag so much about our freedom of choice.
The gospel in not a mere human contrivance, a "lifestyle option" among others. We believe that the gospel is something given to us by God, an act of God
Finally, Dulles lists the seventh theological aberration, which he calls "anti-authoritarianism." Many of those who reject the gospel do so because they believe that it violates their human autonomy (autonomy: literally, "self-law"). They are not about to submit to some external authority; they want to be free.
Submission to the gospel gives us the means to lay hold of our lives, to say no to our better selves, to turn our lives into an adventure; as we are fond of singing in our hymn, "Make me a captive Lord, then I shall be truly free."
If we are willing to pay attention, the gospel story of Jesus invites us to have joy and confidence in our journey with Jesus in a way that we want to share with others.
[1] Conzelmann, TDNT, VII, 440-1.
[2] Schulz, TDNT, VII, 397.
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[13] Tom Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Fortress, 1996)
Enjoyed this. Like the concept of being the light pf the world and sharing Jesus. also liked the Dulles summarily. I have been reading in this area and find this helpful. It is a open question for me as to how I personally evangelize. I have a friend whose son is in med school. He openly shares the gospel with everyone he meets and starts bible studies where ever he goes. He is deeply involved in Crusade. Is this how we are all suppose to be?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I am wondering if even our stage in life will change the way we share. Your friend is one way among many. I am thankful for the many quiet witnesses I have seen as well
DeleteI agree about the quiet witness. Here in Florida when we were working with our real estate agent we observed him dealing with conflict a couple of times. Both times he was kind and in both cases accepted financial loss in order to resolve the conflict. I commented to Jeanne he acted like a christian. We later found out he is a member of the church that we are now members. We knew he was a christian without him saying a word about Jesus. It might be that each of us has our own method of evangelizing.
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