By the One, I include God, the central order of the Universe, the world of Nature provided it includes Man, the brotherhood of man, the Rule of Law so long as one is prepared to fight for what is right; even global warming, (though I distrust the official propaganda). In this spiritual world there is little room for Christians to have much influence, unless they are superbly good at their chosen trade or profession, or lead manifestly better lives than those round about them. And if they happen to think they are part of the Incarnation, the best thing they can do is to forget it, and get on with doing something useful. They can console themselves with being the leaven of society, in Jesus’ metaphor.
It follows that Christianity is only going to have a revival, if its members show that they are outstanding. That means having the courage of Jesus, in a very different environment. That means reviving New Testament style healings, not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. And if Christians demonstrate that they have not the courage to attempt this, I fear they may find that the God, whom they claim to worship, will desert them, at least for the time being.
Where one must not criticise Jesus is in his claim to have had a close communion with God, and a clear understanding of what God had in store for him. The legitimacy of our inspiration depends on the legitimacy of his. If the Transfiguration happened, as I believe it did, it happened six days after Jesus had asked his disciples whom they thought he was? So six days after Peter had confessed that he believed Jesus was “The Christ”, Jesus took three disciples up a mountain to demonstrate to them that he was indeed the Christ. That must have taken tremendous courage: the sort o.f courage that Columbus showed when his ship passed the point of no return, and he had to continue sailing West, because his food and water would not have lasted if he had turned back. And what greeted Jesus on his return to the valley, after this tremendous experience? An unseemly squabble due to his disciples’ failure to heal an epileptic. No wonder he felt weary.
Even if the Transfiguration was only a vision in their imaginations, rather than a truthful window into another world, it was still pretty good proof that he was the Christ. And frankly it does not matter which it was. If you can create a vision in the imaginations of three sober men, you probably can give them a truthful window into another world. And the scene that follows in Mark’s Gospel, where they are all arguing over the disciples’ failure to heal the epileptic, is as graphic and down to earth as you could wish. That was not invented, and gives credence to the transfiguration story that went before. It does more; it gives us a window into another world, into the Majesty of Jesus. To be able to see in one’s minds eye the Majesty of Jesus is a priceless vision to have. It is worth following him to the edge of the known world, in order to have it! And if one ever does have it, it is worth going back into the known world to do something about its deplorable condition.
Of course Jesus had his blind spots. We all have our own shadow, as Jung called it. Even God has His shadow. To achieve his magnificent purposes, great suffering is involved on the part of Mankind, and as the crucifixion showed on God’s part too. That you learn through suffering is a universal rule. So it was inevitable that Jesus did not see the many practical difficulties in bringing his kingdom of heaven down to earth, difficulties that lesser men see with crystal clarity. But that is no excuse for lesser men to put their own careers and wishes before the welfare of the Church, and so reduce its stature until it is ignored and despised, and a candidate for terminal decline. Surely to attempt to do something about this deplorable state of affairs, it is worth-while risking one’s own life, not only in this world but in the next too? Even if one made a mess of things, and a fairly good mess of one’s own life, I cannot help thinking that Jesus would commend one’s courage for trying.