Principle vs. Person

At our last Sunday gathering we continued our look at the Gospel of Mark and made a simple observation. As we read the second chapter and part of the third, we noticed that Jesus kept insisting on the primacy of person over principle. Even when the principles were good—and sometimes Scripturally mandated—Jesus demoted them to submission. He viewed the religious statutes as servants rather than masters. Jesus did not devalue those religious principles but rather insisted on the unique nobility of the human person, a nobility which found its apotheosis in him. “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

As someone remarked that morning, “That’s so hard to remember!” And it is. What starts out as a vibrant relationship so easily devolves into a vague collection of numb obligations. Our intentions may be upright, but we so often drift from the dynamic of engaging the resurrected Christ. Rules are easy to take hold of, but a person eludes categories and quantifications. We are often left with a chronic, low-grade sense of absence.

That’s why it’s so good to gather together as believers. We remind each other that the whole Christian reality is founded on personhood, each of us encountering the others and all of us encountering the living Christ. The church, as a collection of redeemed people, objectifies our faith; we experience each other as others (along with all the hassles that entails) and are reminded that salvation is in knowing Someone Else. This is personhood as both the saved and the saving. Principles serve to guide our relationships, but they have no real substance in and of themselves. This Jesus knew full well.

It’s funny how the simplest truths are often the most profound and easiest to forget. Jesus himself is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the First Principle, if you like. And it is into fellowship that we are invited. At U-Church, at least, we have to remind ourselves of this over and over again.

Explore posts in the same categories: Chûrch, Mark Series