Monday, October 03, 2005

What Color is Jesus?--A case study in jazz theology (part 3)

Let's let one of my favorte jazz theologians take a solo. In 1975 James Cone, the father of black theology, wrote, "If twentieth-century Christians are to speak the truth for their sociohistorical situation, they cannot merely repeat the story of what Jesus did and said in Palestine, as if it were self-interpreting for us today. Truth is more than the retelling of the biblical story. Truth is the divine happening that invades our contemporary situation, revealing the meaning of the past for the present so that we are made new creatures for the future." Cone is describing what I think the essence of jazz theology is--Theomoments! When our hunger for God, the song of God, our questions, joys and pains, converge with Jesus "the divine happening that invades our contemporary situation." Cone asserts that our Christology must know Jesus as He was, as He is AND also as He will be. So what color is Jesus? Well, we know what color he was (a middle-eastern man with all the telltale characteristics); we can only imagine what color he is (with feet like brass and eyes like fire...Rev. 1) but what color will he be...to you...to me...today? (quotes taken from, "God of the Oppressed" by James Cone)

4 Comments:

Blogger Stephen A. Bess said...

Hi. I really like your blog. Have you ever read "God In The Ghetto" by William A. Jones?

8:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

MCD,

I'm stickin' with my last answer: kind of blue. Even North Dakota can see that the fix is in.

-lsn

1:01 PM  
Blogger jazztheo said...

Stephen,
I've not read "God In The Ghetto." Tell me about it.

5:03 PM  
Blogger Stephen A. Bess said...

My copy of "God In The Ghetto" should arrive any day now from Amazon. I'll give my review after I read it.

5:53 AM  

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