The Ultimate Muse (Part Two)
The way I see it, G-d had a number of reasons to re-visit the whole Covenant thing with humans. He'd given them a second chance with Noah and his ark and yet, things barely seemed to change all that much. Even as His chosen people, the Jews, slowly began to trickle back to Israel from their late captivity in Babylon, it was evident that they were bringing a lot of the old feuds and jealousies back with them. Moreover, I don't think He was very happy with the way His Word (aka, The Law) was being kept. It wasn't just a matter of The Ten Commandments anymore; G-d wanted people to be able to internalize the notion of right and wrong, to be able to reduce it to a kind of situational ethics that can't be written in stone, but, rather is flexible enough to govern the unforeseen and the improvisational.
He would need a jazz approach to Right and Wrong.
And, since He was the only being who knew exactly what He wanted, He would either have to descend from Heaven and teach humanity Himself or He would have to send His Son. He decided to let His son do it. Good thing for us He did. Because, if we know anything about fathers and sons, it's usually the son who is a lot more lenient and easy going.
Not that Jesus doesn't have His moments of impatience and despair. All of that is on display during the weekend of The Passion. At 33, He is already a confirmed bachelor and a little bit of an outlier for his cohort. In another few years He will be considered an eccentric nomad like the late Baptizer, John. Jesus realizes this and it informs a part of His reasoning behind embracing the Old Testament prophecies surrounding His death and resurrection: He realizes that in another few years, no one will care very much whether a childless, wifeless, middle-aged man lives or dies. The time to strike is Now while He is still relatively young and handsome.
He would need a jazz approach to Right and Wrong.
And, since He was the only being who knew exactly what He wanted, He would either have to descend from Heaven and teach humanity Himself or He would have to send His Son. He decided to let His son do it. Good thing for us He did. Because, if we know anything about fathers and sons, it's usually the son who is a lot more lenient and easy going.
Not that Jesus doesn't have His moments of impatience and despair. All of that is on display during the weekend of The Passion. At 33, He is already a confirmed bachelor and a little bit of an outlier for his cohort. In another few years He will be considered an eccentric nomad like the late Baptizer, John. Jesus realizes this and it informs a part of His reasoning behind embracing the Old Testament prophecies surrounding His death and resurrection: He realizes that in another few years, no one will care very much whether a childless, wifeless, middle-aged man lives or dies. The time to strike is Now while He is still relatively young and handsome.