HEAD OF THE LIST (42 OF 52)
Scripture: Mark 12:28-34
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Head of the List (42 of 52)
Lectionary, Year B, Proper 26
Christopher B. Harbin
Mark 12:28-34
What heads the list of things important to us? What overrides all else? What does our society view as central to all we hold dear and precious about God, Jesus, and the gospel we proclaim? When Jesus was asked about God's central commandment, he was pretty succinct and direct. From what I hear from so many spectators commenting on the church, the answer we share with the world does not align with Jesus' answer. How well are we keeping Jesus' priorities at the head of our list? Does the world see what we want them to see in us?
I came across C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, while I was house-sitting in junior high school. It is a great story of fantasy that has enthralled many Christians over the years. Lewis' writings have become very important, especially in the Evangelical camp. Unfortunately, all too many have fashioned Lewis' fictional tale into Orthodox doctrine. Many have transposed Lewis' writings into the essence of popular Christian thought. Without debate, we embrace a battle of good versus evil being fought with the tools of violence and force. We have imported Greco-Roman notions of a hero's sacrifice that others might live and draped it over our interpretations of the cross.
Lewis did not intend his children's stories to be read as theology, yet they are steeped in his personal theology just as we would expect. They are products of the way he thought. They communicate something beyond their narrative arcs. They convey what he deems important, how he sees the world, and his understanding of human nature and social interaction. When Lewis presents us with Aslan, a lion who in so many ways openly portrays Christ, we are all too quick to accept his portrayal as an accurate theological description of Jesus. When his tales show us Aslan giving up his life in substitution for Edward's, we are quick to embrace this as essential teaching ...
Lectionary, Year B, Proper 26
Christopher B. Harbin
Mark 12:28-34
What heads the list of things important to us? What overrides all else? What does our society view as central to all we hold dear and precious about God, Jesus, and the gospel we proclaim? When Jesus was asked about God's central commandment, he was pretty succinct and direct. From what I hear from so many spectators commenting on the church, the answer we share with the world does not align with Jesus' answer. How well are we keeping Jesus' priorities at the head of our list? Does the world see what we want them to see in us?
I came across C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, while I was house-sitting in junior high school. It is a great story of fantasy that has enthralled many Christians over the years. Lewis' writings have become very important, especially in the Evangelical camp. Unfortunately, all too many have fashioned Lewis' fictional tale into Orthodox doctrine. Many have transposed Lewis' writings into the essence of popular Christian thought. Without debate, we embrace a battle of good versus evil being fought with the tools of violence and force. We have imported Greco-Roman notions of a hero's sacrifice that others might live and draped it over our interpretations of the cross.
Lewis did not intend his children's stories to be read as theology, yet they are steeped in his personal theology just as we would expect. They are products of the way he thought. They communicate something beyond their narrative arcs. They convey what he deems important, how he sees the world, and his understanding of human nature and social interaction. When Lewis presents us with Aslan, a lion who in so many ways openly portrays Christ, we are all too quick to accept his portrayal as an accurate theological description of Jesus. When his tales show us Aslan giving up his life in substitution for Edward's, we are quick to embrace this as essential teaching ...
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