To Center Yeshua We Must Honor the Margins

Yeshua of Nazareth centered people who were on and from the margins of society in his life and ministry. For him, this was the ordinary. For those who loved him, it was extraordinary in its ordinariness until they grew into following his way. As a Jewish Palestinian man living under the dominating and oppressive presence of Rome, his lived experience was as a person on the margins. Born in a cave, the margins were his home. Like most of us, he was insignificant to those in positions of honor, power, privilege and wealth.

In a brutal system, Maryam and Yussef raised him in love to know YHWH, and the wisdom of his own humanity. Through his wholeness, he saw the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of the status quo as many have and do. Aware of the life-threatening risks, he discerned and chose to mercifully liberate the downtrodden and outcast so that they too recognized their own humanity. The very humanity denied by Cesar and his empire.

This expression of his love of YHWH, self, and neighbor revealed his embodiment of the greatest commandment. Whether or not they shared his Jewish faith, he also offered liberating acts to those who worked for Rome. Yeshua’s affirmations of humanity were acts of resistance.

His death sentence was based on lies and distortions of the truth to serve the interests of powerful systems. His killing by the state was used to stop his movement, and to instill fear in those on the margins who dared to experience liberation through him. They were expected to forget him and his words as they fully acquiesced to Roman authorities.

His body hanging from a cross was similar to a billboard proclaiming the omnipotence of Cesar. The stone securing his burial site was to be a permanent dead end and the last word on Yeshua, the Nazarene. Obviously, the powers that be had a profound misunderstanding of both the signs of the times and the mission of this man.