Often where our understanding of Jesus and his teachings goes awry is simply in our beliefs about God. We have half-formed thoughts based in systems of thinking or popular culture that do not adequately respond to Jesus' teachings.
Jesus is remarkably consistent about God the Father, or more properly Abba, throughout all four Gospels. God is Abba, "daddy", and loves "his" children. [a brief aside about sexism in language: the primary image of God in the New Testament is male and parental. This does not exhaust the person of God and should not be seen as limiting who God is. We cannot and should not expect a two thousand year old writing to reflect our current recognition of the limitations people have now of responding to images of other genders. This is a new recognition, and maybe a new problem, but it is not the Bible's problem. We have to choose how we are going to reflect the Gospel in our day. That is our problem, and a wonderful one to live into.] God is merciful, quick to forgive, slow to anger, of great kindness, compassionate; God is a god of love. God is creator and larger than the creation itself. We live with a God who is more than us.
Jesus teaches us how to be with God, neither bowing and scraping with a flurry of words and titles meant to appease God nor carelessly blathering in God's presence. God is God. And so we are to be direct and love in response to God.
The consistent, sneaky image of God as a mix of Santa Claus and Zeus is pagan and deeply disturbing to healthy discipleship. Santa Claus is always watching and judging, waiting to reward or punish. Zeus is all powerful, fickle but angry, always trying to teach a lesson when not blinded by rage. These images of God do not sit comfortably in the New Testament picture of Jesus.
They are destructive to the relationship that Jesus teaches and encourages in his disciples. But, it is these pictures that often underlie our practices and pieties. We are scared of God, and who wouldn't be? A God just waiting on a slip to release punishment, to send cancer, hurricanes, or invading armies is not a God to put trust in, the real meaning of belief. Further, neither Santa nor Zeus is about justice, fairness, or equality. They have a standard or pleasure to guide them, but not the justice and care for the least and less that the God of Israel and Jesus so consistently hold up as our standard.
This brings us to the other side of Jesus' picture of God. Jesus teaches us that God loves us and our neighbor, but God also demands that his children live up to his love. We are required to show love and pursue justice by that same love that we lean into in trust. In fact, that is the way that Jesus teaches that we can lose God's love, mercy, and forgiveness: by not loving, being merciful, and forgiving sins. It is remarkably consistent, isn't it? God is here with us in Jesus' teachings, the meaning of Emmanuel. We are to walk with God and to grow up to be like our Dad, loving and just. It is the Rule of Grace.
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