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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Turning Jesus Into a God
Dishonors Him and Us
return to main-page of the "Jesus" article
Do you remember at school when kids would talk about the star students: "Oh, he's a brain," or "she's a genius"; meaning, "it's easy for them, they were born that way, no big deal - so, don't expect much from me."
But, as Elvis sang, that was just a lie.
The collective-ego of the classroom body-politic tried hard to minimize the academic achievement, the hard work and sacrifice, of the better students in order to elevate, and save-face for, those who hardly opened a book.
And I recall, even as a child, listening to my teachers about the super-hero exploits of Jesus and being left with the detached, somewhat unimpressed, silent assessment - "Well, of course, he was sinless; of course, he was perfect - he was God!" And with that, my deeper-self responded dismissively, "All that perfection is fine for Jesus, and I'm sure he never made a mistake. But that has nothing to do with me."
To turn Jesus into a god is to devalue his hard work and spiritual accomplishment. It's like the kids at school jeering, "yeah, but he's a genius - so what!"
The life of Jesus of Nazareth was not meant to create a one-of-a-kind spectator sport, with onlookers passively offering perfunctory deference. What Jesus did is what every son and daughter of God is called upon to do. Yes, it will take some time - but nothing that a thousand years of open-eyed and sincere effort won't cure.
Each of us is to live a life consecrated to the Truth. Each of us is called upon, in his or her own way, to live a life of self-sacrifice in promotion of the greater good.
All of us are to be "Christ figures." As we've discussed, the word "Christ" simply means "agent" or "representative": We are all meant to honor and reveal the goodness of God.
We are all to demonstrate in our lives what it means to rise above the animal nature and to exhibit the excellent spirit of Evolved Humanity. This mission will play out differently for each individual. Most will not be required to endure physical torture; however, many in history have valiantly suffered such, willingly and bravely. Jesus was not the only one, and to say that he was makes mockery of the stalwart lives of so many of his brothers and sisters.
To turn Jesus, the Highly Developed Man, into a god not only takes away from his stellar achievement, his hard work of self-development, but, even worse, turns us into sideline victim-mentalities, waiting for a hand-out from the Divine, as we perceive ourselves to be helpless and impotent.
And this is the mindset hoped for, and sedulously inculcated for the masses, by those who would make merchandize of our lives as they piously crown Jesus as god - with themselves, of course, as toll-keepers and Earthly arbiters of the "atonement grace."
We need to rise above this age-old propaganda and take our places as maturing adults in the Family of God.
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