I've been meaning to blog the thought on going to this for about 3 weeks now but the busyness of college and family life is taking its toil, so some of my first impressions will not be there but here goes -
Firstly it was great to see an amazing rock opera done with such skill and style by an amateur dramatic group. And with the director being an acquaintance of ours that made it even more fun.
From what I remember neither Andrew Lloyd Webber or Tim Rice were Christians when they wrote this and I know this director isn't which actually makes it an interesting piece to wonder at why they did it. But to me, in that last week of Jesus' earthly life so often in Church we forget that He was fully human as well as full divine. Here was a real man, with feelings, knowing He was going to His death, a death that He had witness probably hundreds of times and so knew how horrid, how painful it could be, and by this point would know what His human body could endure. He knew what the total humiliation was going to be and I do wonder if He feared He would let everyone down, that His humanness would totally take over.
I'm not sure about others, but for me very much the fact that Jesus could go through all that fully human and still obey God, that He did have fears and concerns, that He did wonder what the whole point to it was, why after all His time on earth there were still beggars, cripples, people who needed healing, people who still didn't recognize who He really was, what was really inside of Him, and yet inspite of all that He was still willing to obey God, still willing to go to the cross and die in the hope that He and His Father had got things sorted, that He was doing the right thing.
Sometimes I get upset that people don't know who I am, that they don't see what is inside of me and because of who they are hear things that I say in a different way to what I mean, and yet God knows and actually I am just to be open and to obey God. And if Jesus truly was fully human, as well as fully divine, if Jesus also felt insecure in His mission, and had real human feelings and yet still obeyed then I know I can do it too.
I wonder why so often though we do not want to see the humanness of Jesus. I wonder if that would mean that if we did then we would know that His live and His obedience to God are obtainable, whereas if we accentuate His divinity over and above His humanity then we can keep telling ourselves that we will never attain to what Jesus did!!!
I do remember someone once teaching that if we could get our heads round the fact that Jesus' divinity in His humanness came from the same Holy Spirit that lives in us then we would be so so different.
Hi Diane: Glad to stop by. Thank you for the inspirational post. Thank you for sharing that it's the same Holy Spirit that is in us was in Jesus in His humanness. Sure gives a whole new meaning...
ReplyDeleteWhen you get a minute please stop by for some Coffee with Jesus
~ NRIGirl
This is a great post! It is very intriguing thinking about the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. It's really beneficial to remember this when reading the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan himself for 40 days and 40 nights. It makes me realize that any temptation I face is possible to overcome and conquer with the power of Jesus. Keep your eyes fixed on the reality of Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteHello Diane,
ReplyDeleteHow true it is that the musical so firmly highlights Jesus's humanity - it made it a very moving production (I saw it the same week/weekend as you; the production was breath-taking).
I didn't know that the musical ended so abruptly; somehow it must be made real that Jesus was fully human and fully God. Fully miraculous.
It's good to be challenged by non-Christians :o)