Neutered Saviour
Human culture has a great way of disposing of one of its greatest threats.
Not content to execute the Nazarene prophet at the drop of a religio-politico hat, the world of men has come up with a double-barrelled tactic post his claimed resurrection.
Simply put, culture either makes him into a transcendent Other, One who fits easily into the tempting, but ultimately unsatisfying, world of religion, or alternatively, covers him with such pseudo-sickly sweetness that nothing really changes in the power structures of mankind.
Let’s face it, human culture loves religion. It uses it for all sorts of endeavours all of which keep things ticking along as they’ve always been. The Nazarene has become a Lord of all earthly lords, one of us, if only a little bit more benign. Taking his place at the top of our heavenly-earthly power structures he is a threat to no man. Just an occasional nod of the head and the continuance of sacred hoop jumping seems to satisfy him. Religion has adopted the Nazarene as its figurehead and in so doing has made him an idol, one easily controlled to which the devout masses will bow down and continue to sleep walk their way through life.
The other tactic of human society is to embalm the Nazarene in a treacle of sickly sweet sentimentality. Forgotten for much of the year he is allowed out at Christmas and Easter by our largely secularised society and looked upon with pity, before being smothered in the insincerity of a world only to willing to emasculate both him and his message. The poor, unfortunate victim who was just too good to be true for this cut throat world of frenzied skewed desire and its violent undercurrent. We sit him in the corner of our consciousness for the hallowed few weeks, occasionally turning our heads to gaze at naivety in the flesh. Like some sort of rapidly declining grandfather, we momentarily sent him our flashes of sympathy as we prepare for the next round of ego battles. ‘Too innocent for this world,’ we patronisingly conclude with our quickly forgotten flicker of admiration and pseudo-affection.
Thankfully, the risen Nazarene doesn’t play our religious or sentimental cultural games. Echoing through time and reverberating in the Silence of our inner Being, they expose us to the Darkness of the human condition and awaken us to radical but ultimately worthwhile solution that leads to Divine realignment and contentment. No the Nazarene isn’t neutered by a long shot. Let’s go within and encounter him in all his wild freedom.
Very good Dylan. As a prophet, Jesus is universal in his message of liberation. As the founder of a religion he has become its servant, emasculated and kept under control, or elevated far above us all to return on that final Day of Judgement when He returns to gather His Sheep to him and send all the rest of us to Perdition. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks George. Yes indeed, the Christ of religion and the Nazarene, who speaks freely to the forces of earthly power.
Blessings
Dylan
thank you Dylan. you are very much appreciated and loved.
Thanks Tom. Your encouragement, birthed in your own trials is much appreciated and valued.
Blessings be upon you and those whom you love dearly.
Dylan
Thank you for these words, Dylan. The last two lines – “No the Nazarene isn’t neutered by a long shot. Go within and encounter him in all his wild freedom” echo what I am hearing from the Lord: Western-acculturated religion sees an “omnimpotent” and tame god. But Creator is not tame – He is wild!
When we disconnect Jesus from his humanity we also neuter the message. The Nazarene offers us a pattern for living. It is not in the ignoring of the physical requirements for life, but a reminder that we are more than the flesh and blood bodies that we inhabit. His message was that our true heritage was as souls inhabiting bodies in a world that is a part of the Creator’s universe. This then brings us to the understanding that we have a relationship to God and all that was created which means we should love one another unconditionally as siblings of our Creator. Our presence on this planet then is neither accidental or isolated. We are here to learn how to love in a world that challenges us from death, illness, separation, and our projected fears.
Therefore, it is in these day to day events we meet the Christ. The Nazarene’s message conveys a strength of purpose and direction in those moments when we doubt our connection because of adverse events. It reminds us to always reach out and connect with one another, because it is an active message. A neutered master teacher and message neither asks nor offers anything to its adherents. The message is inert which can not be synchronized with the understanding of the expression of a Living God: energy and movement.
Good thoughts Nicholas. Thanks for dropping by and sharing them.I see the Nazarene’s exposure of cultural religious and political violence and his antidote to it to be one of the most vital aspects of ‘salvation’ or Divine realignment. Yeshua, flushed out the hidden ‘powers’ of human violence through his life and death. No longer can they hide under the respectable coverings of politics or religion.
Blessings ~ Dylan