The How and Who of Christology: or How to Keep Your Distance from the One Thing that Matters

Bonhoeffer reminds us all that our study of Christ (Christology) begins with the question of Who? Sounds simple enough... but not really. Most followers of Christ, myself included, quickly assume that we have figured out the Who question and now it is time for only the How? We know who Christ is...at least we think we do and then we set off with endless attempts to cover up our humanity. I am victim of this type of faith most every day. I am guilty. I tell people how to have a relationship with Christ. I influence them on how they should live under the direction of God. I explain how Christianity is more supreme, even cool, and doctrinally sound than other religions and faiths. I pray about how I can do more, believe more, pray more, and understand God more. But where in the New Testament does it tell us to be addicted to the question of How?
Shouldn't our faith be more authentic than to spend so much time wondering how we can live our faith? As if our faith is something outside ourselves that we can gain ground or lose ground depending on how much faith we have for the day!
Who? Who are you Christ? Who is this Jesus of Nazareth? Who is the incarnate one who yearns to be connected with humanity? Who is this one who came not as a stategy or influence to win us over...but the one who came to bind himself to the human condition and therefore humanity itself?
You see how the question of How? wrecks things. We now are completely free of knowing the divine being who we refer to as God. We can skip the Who? and return to our strategic ways of trying to impress God long before we even seriously considered him. Bonhoeffer writes, "How?...is the serpent's question while Who?...proves its asker is ready to listen."
It's the season of Advent...or soon to be. We should do ourselves a service and begin asking the right question. How?..will come later but now it is time for us to ask Who? Let's ignore the impersonal question in favor of a personal question. Let's not imprison Jesus behind theoretical questions and dialogue. It is impossible to do such a thing anyway. We must pray that God gives us the courage to ask the question of Who? For to ask it may lead us to answers that are dangerous, risky, and mysterious.
Maybe my job, among other believers, is to take a rest on the tiresome attempt of trying to influence others to follow Christ 'according to my interpretation.' Rather, allow God to give me what it takes to live an incarnational life. Not a life of influence but a life of incarnational relationships.
Jesus is alive and active in the world. Even to write it make me wonder how much I believe it. But my faith can only grow if I realize that I must keep asking the who question much more than the how question. My Christology tells me that the how should take place naturally if the incarnational life exists in me.

Take another look above at Mary in Henry O'Tanner's Annunciation. Her face conveys the right question.

Christ the King Prayer

To Christ our Sovereign King
who exists as the world's salvation,
all praise and glory we bring to you,
and thanks and adoration.
May your authority
seen through the acts of a suffering servant,
be noticed by every land and nation;
For in your kingdom we discover your goodness, our weakness,
and the love for a King who faithfully responds to our needs.
To you and only you we pledge our hearts and minds
until that final day before your throne
as we sing in endless joy.
For Christ the Victor is indeed
Christ our Lord and redeemer.

"I am the President of the Internet"

...proclaimed one businessman back in 1995 while trying to explain the internet to a bunch of French investors. Dave Garrison, who probably is the first person to ever declare himself (and be informally recognized) the President of the Internet. Mr. Garrison didn't know much about the internet back in 1995. I too remember when I was in college and rumors had spread across campus that everytime we opened up an image, we would be financially charged for such a drastic action. Remember the words, "How do I go back?" I'm sure you do if you are at 30+ individual like me.
Basically, Mr. Garrison could not explain the concept of the internet to these older French investors because there was, and is, no CEO who owns the internet. As talks continued, Dave Garrison became frustrated trying to explain something in which he didn't even completely understand. Garrison was simply commissioned by Netcom to encourage investors to jump on board with this new 'thing' that would soon take over the world. It was in their best financial interest. Talks continued, the French investors demanded an official CEO, so Dave Garrison suddenly declared himself the President of the Internet. After that, talks resumed. Everyone was calm.
You're probably wondering why a placed a starfish at the top of this post. What does a ridiculous claim of presidency in 1995 have to do with a five-legged creature who slowly crawls along the bottom of the sea eating who knows what? Furthermore, what do these two things have to do with an encycopedia, a piece of software, a phone company, classified ads, and naked people in the Nevada desert. I correctly chose not to use the last one as my blog picture.
Well, to find out you must read a book called, The Starfish and the Spider. The premise is that if you cut off the head of a spider, the spider dies. Correct. But you cut off an arm of a starfish, it grows into another starfish. Tricky.
And now another strange connection. Millions of teenagers (and young adults) across the globe are more powerful, tricky, and starfish-like than major corporations and CEO's. I didn't say they are smarter...just tricky and more sophisticated at times. The 950 million people on the internet right now are more powerful than MGM. A couple of college students years ago proved this when they created Napster, the online music swapping site that MGM destroyed. Yes, the major record labels with high-priced lawyers brought down a couple of computer geeks but MGM made a major mistake. Bringing down Napster resulted in Kazaa (less centralized), and this gave birth to Kazza Lite (even less centralized), and eventually E-mule (completely decentralized). The primary organizations who wanted to destroy all file swapping networks created a monster and to this day no one knows who created E-mule. There is no CEO of Emule, there are no headquarters, there is no one decision maker. Everyone makes their own decision based on the situation and moves together. In this case, outwitting the best and finest.
So what does this have to do with spiritual things. Well, first of all let me say that I believe Christ-followers must examine the world through a different sort of lens. We are supposed to see everything different now. And I believe what happened in 1995 and eventually with E-mule affects the way we process our faith. Just like we were unable to think about God in any other way but a modern way based on Reason. Times have changed and we now live in a post-modern world and, as a result, we are challenged to think of God in entirely new ways. Culture dictates a lot.
Young adults basically rule our world. They dictate and demand change, they drive the economy, and they are changing the church (for good and bad) right before our eyes. So if the average young person doesn't respect (unless he/she has to) a person in charge, or they don't think a person in control is necessary; it tells me that the natural response is for younger America to see more of themselves for salvation and less of God for salvation. And what I mean by salvation is not necessarily about eternal destiny but the type of salvation that creates a person into who he/she is to become. People will find their salvation and hope somewhere and I see a generation who is suspect of anything outside of themselves. The only hope that I see is thousands who have been surprised at the disappointment of the whole thing. Products, networking, and consumerism may build up the false self but in the end do nothing to save. We can only hope that this young, undefinable generation sees this disappointment and eventually discovers that it is possible to turn to a God who actually promises to come and dwell in the self with a power completely other than what they could have expected.