Inspired by Luther's Table Talk: Jesus, Lawrence of Arabia, and Mister Rogers
I impulse-purchased a cool collection of Martin Luther's "Table Talk" while at Powell's the other day, and while flipping through it this morning I lit upon a cool little snippet that editor Thomas S. Kepler, Ph.D., S.T.D.*, D.D. labeled as #199. The passage reads, in part:
I expect more goodness from Kate my wife, from Philip Melancthon, and from other friends, than from my sweet and blessed Saviour Christ Jesus; and yet I know for certain, that neither she nor any other person on earth, will or can suffer that for which me he has suffered; why then should I be afraid of him! This my foolish weakness grieves me very much. We plainly see in the gospel, how mild and gentle he showed himself towards his disciples; how kindly he passed over their weakness, their presumption, yea, their foolishness. ...Fie on our unbelieving hearts, that we should be afraid of this man, who is more loving, friendly, gentle, and compassionate towards us than are our kindred, our brethren and sisters; yea, than parents themselves are towards their own children.
Luther's passage contrasts intriguingly with most contemporary attempts to capture Jesus "as he was." I'm thinking in particular of filmed accounts of the Gospels, in which Jesus inevitably comes off looking and acting exactly like Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia: ethereal, preternaturally calm, unnervingly prone to long silences, and piercingly blue-eyed (honestly, people, what part of "first century Palestine" don't you understand?). In other words, utterly and completely nerve-wracking. No wonder it freaks us out to consider Jesus as our closest friend!
Instead of Jesus-as-Lawrence-of-Arabia, we should look toward people who display the qualities that make us feel most loved and supported. Jesus is like those people, only more so. (Though often, parts of Jesus shine through those people.) And even when Jesus-with-skin-on examples seem lacking, we can rely upon a Jesus who is more "loving, friendly, gentle, and compassionate" than even our closest human relationships.
In other words, Jesus is a lot less like Peter O'Toole and a lot more like Mister Rogers. And recognizing that Jesus is actually even better than Mister Rogers? Now that illuminates our Savior's true nature.
* Er, the commonplace meaning of these initials has clearly changed.
Passage taken from Martin Luther, The Table Talk of Martin Luther, ed. Thomas S. Kepler (New York: The World Publishing Company, 1952), p. 133.
I expect more goodness from Kate my wife, from Philip Melancthon, and from other friends, than from my sweet and blessed Saviour Christ Jesus; and yet I know for certain, that neither she nor any other person on earth, will or can suffer that for which me he has suffered; why then should I be afraid of him! This my foolish weakness grieves me very much. We plainly see in the gospel, how mild and gentle he showed himself towards his disciples; how kindly he passed over their weakness, their presumption, yea, their foolishness. ...Fie on our unbelieving hearts, that we should be afraid of this man, who is more loving, friendly, gentle, and compassionate towards us than are our kindred, our brethren and sisters; yea, than parents themselves are towards their own children.
Luther's passage contrasts intriguingly with most contemporary attempts to capture Jesus "as he was." I'm thinking in particular of filmed accounts of the Gospels, in which Jesus inevitably comes off looking and acting exactly like Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia: ethereal, preternaturally calm, unnervingly prone to long silences, and piercingly blue-eyed (honestly, people, what part of "first century Palestine" don't you understand?). In other words, utterly and completely nerve-wracking. No wonder it freaks us out to consider Jesus as our closest friend!
Instead of Jesus-as-Lawrence-of-Arabia, we should look toward people who display the qualities that make us feel most loved and supported. Jesus is like those people, only more so. (Though often, parts of Jesus shine through those people.) And even when Jesus-with-skin-on examples seem lacking, we can rely upon a Jesus who is more "loving, friendly, gentle, and compassionate" than even our closest human relationships.
In other words, Jesus is a lot less like Peter O'Toole and a lot more like Mister Rogers. And recognizing that Jesus is actually even better than Mister Rogers? Now that illuminates our Savior's true nature.
* Er, the commonplace meaning of these initials has clearly changed.
Passage taken from Martin Luther, The Table Talk of Martin Luther, ed. Thomas S. Kepler (New York: The World Publishing Company, 1952), p. 133.
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