Following Jesus to the Christ, Part 3

Following Jesus to the Christ, Part 3

At its core, authentic spirituality is not about beliefs. It’s about behavior. Martin Thielen[1]

Following Jesus to the Christ involves moving our conscious awareness from the specific – the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth – to the universal – the Christ – and carrying that expanded awareness back into the specifics of our lives. To follow Jesus to the Christ is to encounter the Christ because ultimately they are One. We see this throughout the gospels where people are transformed by encounters with Jesus. Their eyes open to a new way of living and relating to others. In Jesus, they catch a glimpse of their own universal, divinely-connected nature, and they simply cannot return to the ways formed under the assumption of themselves as separate, mortal individuals. Once we have seen the Truth, we cannot unsee it. Nor do we want to unsee it. What was once important to us pales in comparison to what is revealed before, around, and within us. Jesus told many of the folks he healed to go and sin no more. It wasn’t a call never to behave poorly again but a call never to forget one’s unbreakable connection to the Christ, to God, and to all of life around us. By so doing, we take our place, spiritually and physically, in the body of the Christ of God.

In the words of Brian McLaren, “If we want to be (Jesus’) disciples, we won’t be able to simply coast along and conform to the norms of our society. We must choose a different definition of well-being, a different model of success, a new identity with a new set of values….”[2] In other words, and as we read in the gospels, we are consciously transformed from a mortal, physical being to an eternal, spiritual being in a physical body. We realize the foundation from which we arise is infinitely larger and interconnected with all of creation than we could ever have imagined prior to our awakening. There is no longer us and them, only us. There is no more good and bad, only good and that which is not good yet. There is no absolute evil, only that which is still immature. Everything and everyone is redeemable. We become our brothers’ (and sisters’) keeper, and it becomes our purpose to encourage others to find unity in diversity with us, to join us in working toward a greater and more inclusive good, and to grow with us toward higher levels of maturity. And that transformed perspective changes everything: our priorities, our values, our politics, and most importantly our behaviors. All it takes is one eye-opening encounter with the Christ.

In his novel, Jayber Crow, author Wendell Berry creates a seemingly simple character with a mundane life who arrives at a profound realization: “…as I have read the Gospels over the years, the belief has grown in me that Christ did not come to found an organized religion but came instead to found an unorganized one. (Jesus) seems to have come to carry religion out of the temples into the fields and sheep pastures, onto the roadsides and the banks of rivers, into the houses of sinners and publicans, into the town and the wilderness, toward the membership of all that is here.”[3] One of the dire sins of current Christianity is in over-intellectualizing the simple (not to be confused with easy) message of the gospel, which is to love God and love our neighbor. When we complicate our mission with over-analysis and lavish worship spaces we deplete our energy and resources in ways that limit and distract from our ability to act. Jesus and the Christ call us to an active love, which only manifests in our behaviors. Certainly, time in silence, prayer, and meditation are vitally important to guide and fuel our behaviors, but we don’t need fancy, man-made temples and sanctuaries to do so. Nature is the original sanctuary, but sitting in the corner of a closet works well, too.

The intellectualized brand of Christianity practiced today is overly reliant on buildings, creeds, lengthy sermons, and other hallmarks and practices that turn serious seekers away. That form of Christianity must be crucified before the Way of and to the Christ can emerge. Again, the crucifixion of today’s Christianity does not mean its annihilation but its transformation through death and resurrection. Yes, Christianity needs to be born again. It is not that today’s Christianity is evil or bad, but it is immature and has lost its Way. As Jayber Crow says, we must get “out of the temples and into the fields”; and as Martin Thielen writes, “authentic spirituality is not about beliefs. It’s about behavior.” There is simply too much worshipping of Jesus and too little following.

This is the 36thin a series titled Crucifying Christianity, Resurrecting the Way.Life Notes are my explorations into mysteries that interest me. They are invitations for readers to explore more deeply into life’s mysteries. Engage with me or explore contemplative spiritual direction at ghildenbrand@outlook.com.

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[1] Martin Thielen, Doubter’s Parish.com, The Bottom Line About My Religion, May 6, 2025.

[2] Brian McLaren, Daily Meditations, www.cac.org, June 22, 2025.

[3] Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow, Counterpoint Press, 2000, p. 321.