We find God made known in Jesus of Nazareth,
and so we sing of God the Christ, the Holy One embodied.
We sing of Jesus,
a Jew,
born to a woman in poverty
in a time of social upheaval
and political oppression.
He knew human joy and sorrow.
So filled with the Holy Spirit was he
that in him people experienced the presence of God among them.
We sing praise to God incarnate.
a commonwealth not of domination
but of peace, justice, and reconciliation.
He healed the sick and fed the hungry.
He forgave sins and freed those held captive
by all manner of demonic powers.
He crossed barriers of race, class, culture, and gender.
He preached and practised unconditional love
love of God, love of neighbour,
love of friend, love of enemy
and he commanded his followers to love one another
as he had loved them.
Because his witness to love was threatening,
those exercising power sought to silence Jesus.
He suffered abandonment and betrayal,
state-sanctioned torture and execution.
He was crucified.
But death was not the last word.
God raised Jesus from death,
turning sorrow into joy,
despair into hope.
We sing of Jesus raised from the dead.
We sing hallelujah.
By becoming flesh in Jesus,
God makes all things new.
In Jesus life, teaching, and self-offering,
God empowers us to live in love.
In Jesus crucifixion,
God bears the sin, grief, and suffering of the world.
In Jesus resurrection,
God overcomes death.
Nothing separates us from the love of God.
The Risen Christ lives today,
present to us and the source of our hope.
In response to who Jesus was
and to all he did and taught,
to his life, death, and resurrection,
and to his continuing presence with us through the Spirit,
we celebrate him as
the Word made flesh,
the one in whom God and humanity are perfectly joined,
the transformation of our lives,
the Christ.
Thanks for posting this. I read the full statement and I am surprised (pleasantly) with how in agreement with it I am. It must mean that as an Evangelical I am less narrow minded then I used to be and that my appreciation for Brian McLaren’s proposal for a Generous Orthodoxy is bearing fruit (good fruit!). I think I’ve passed through spiritual puberty. Is this maturity? ☺
I meant to also say that I really appreciate the United Church’s “poetic” expression of the beauty of the Gospel. It’s very refreshing.