Evolve to Survive: continually incorporate and embody information to ensure enduring performance
Have you ever heard someone say Jesus was a Christian? (Facepalm.) Jesus Christ was a Jew. Also, just in case, Christ was not Jesus’s last name and H wasn’t his middle initial. Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah which means anointed one. How have we gone from a story for the Israelite people to one that could be so misconstrued as to have people believing Jesus was a Christian?
Maybe it is time for a Biblical history and Jesus’s genealogy lesson; I know I need one. While writing this I had to ask myself if Jews, Hebrews, and Israelites are synonymous. They are not. Hebrew is a language and Hebrews is the term used for those who trace their roots back to Abraham in Genesis.
Abraham’s son with Sarah was named Isaac.
Isaac and Leah bore a son named Jacob. Israelite comes from Israel, formerly known as Jacob. His name change was a result of wrestling with God (Gen. 32:39). Jacob’s/ Israel’s twelve sons are also the patriarchs known as the Twelve Tribes, and those descendents are called Israelites. The fourth son/ patriarch was named Judah and Jew comes from the Hebrew word for Judah. Jews are considered an ethnic or religious group and you are Jewish if you can trace your lineage back five generations on the maternal side. (I wonder why Jesus’s lineage starting with Judah in Matthew 1 is listed through the men with the exception of 5 incredible women?) If you have heard Jesus referred to as the Lion of Judah, this is where the term comes from. (Also, if you are unfamiliar with the story of Judah and Tamar it is worth reading in Genesis 38 and remember the context: a patriarchal society.)
Whew, now, back to our regularly scheduled program.
Nope.
I forgot one.
Gentiles.
No, two.
Christians.
Chi Rho
Gentiles are defined by who they are not, and they are none of the ones mentioned above. The Biblical story, originally for the Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish people, evolved to include the Gentiles when Jesus, the Jew, appeared. After Jesus’s death and resurrection, the disciples spread out to preach and minister to the people. They were first called Christians in Acts 11:26. Those who believe in Jesus are called Christians, Χριστιανός in Greek. Notice the Χρ? Those first two letters are often superimposed to represent Christ. (You may recognize this as an ornament on a church’s Christmas tree or the Χ in X-mas.)
The Biblical story evolved as an invitation from God to all people. I believe the Bible is to teach us about God, but we read it with a human-centered perspective and leave out the “theological vision of the community of God’s creation in relation to its Creator.” We are so disconnected from that vision that you may not have even included yourself as part of creation in that statement. It’s time to evolve and begin reading the Bible to learn about God and God’s relation to creation.
DivineSite
Find a comfortable place surrounded by creation. Regulate your breathing as you take in your surroundings. What do you hear, see, smell? Give thanks for God’s creation.
As you continue to observe, in your mind’s eye remove any clouds, sun, moon, stars. Keep observing and breathing evenly. Now, remove any water along with fish, reptiles, frogs, and birds. Keep observing. What does your area look like now? Remove animals. Remove grass, plants, flowers, vines, and bushes. How do you feel looking at creation with these pieces missing? Now, remove trees and soil and anything else that is God-made. Maybe there are still buildings or cars around you. How do you feel? Do you feel like Joni Mitchell where:
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
How do you experience God when you remove all of the God-made?
We have a tendency to ignore the God-made in the Bible or think of it as only settings in the Bible, but it is so much more than that.