Many have pondered - just what is the central quality or thread running through the Gospels? The short answer is Jesus. It's obvious to most Christians that Jesus is the whole point of the New Testament. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us is a powerful witness to God's persistent and everlasting love of humankind. So, just who was this son of a craftsman who came of age, challenged the hierarchy of his day, healed the sick, ate with sinners, touched the untouchable and founded a whole new religious movement? Jesus identified himself as one who had come to teach the way of God, yet what he taught was so radically different from the generally accepted way of the religious elite that he was soon identified as a heretic and a dangerous man. Heresy is simply defined as the belief or practice of that which is contrary to the usual accepted, orthodox practices. Guilty as charged! The thing that draws me to Jesus is the fact that he was so different. He took a faith that had practiced for centuries and invited it to a new way of knowing God. For that he was crucified, and through his crucifixion God chose to raise him from the grave to say for all who would hear, to show for all who would see, to demonstrate once and for all that there was a better way to love God. That way is what drove those early believers to form communities that were so different from the rest of their culture that they became islands of grace and beacons of hope to all who watched and pondered them. Oh but could the Christian church today be such a place? I believe it can. It takes steps of faith. Small steps at first that lead to the possibility of a giant leap later. We begin when we turn from our seemingly natural desire to be better than others to a much better desire to be with each other in our shared journey of faith. That means that we must stop judging our fellow Christians who believe differently than we do. Once we have truly taken that step in faith it's amazing what lies ahead. Free from the bondage of our own ego we can truly seek Jesus and his call upon our hurting hearts and yearning souls. The focus of religious practice in Jesus time came from Leviticus 20:26. It was to "be holy as God is holy." That led to the many rituals, sacrifices and prayer that guided their everyday living. Yet Jesus was not holy, at least not by the common definition, because he departed from those practices and instead exemplified in his life the compassion of God. Luke 6:36 says, "Be merciful, just as your father is merciful." Merciful can also been translated "compassionate," which is my preference as I believe it says much more about the heart of both the believer and of God. Jesus' entire ministry was about showing compassion. Where Jesus used the word compassion, Paul used the word love, thus Paul's great "love chapter" in 1 Corinthians 13 is about the kind of love that comes from having compassion for another. Want to hear more? Attend the church of your choice this Sunday. I pray that God will touch your heart.
-- Pastor Pete Nelson of Carson Valley United Methodist Church is a member of Carson Valley Ministers' Association.n Pastor Pete Nelson of Carson Valley United Methodist Church is a member of Carson Valley Ministers' Association.
