Our relationship with the man, the God, we call Ihu Karaiti—Jesus Christ—is so thoroughly mysterious we struggle to describe it. We reach for metaphors like, ‘I asked Jesus into my heart’. When I was a child, I really thought I had a tiny Jesus living inside me—which, when you think about it, is quite beautiful. We can know Jesus so intimately that it is like he is within us, a constant companion.
Yet, he is so much more than our ‘tiny Jesus’, he is the God who embodies the universe. The real mystery is that Jesus is big enough to bring his restoration to every corner of the cosmos. But intimate enough that I can talk to him as a friend.
In my twenties, I spent a year reading the Bible accounts of Jesus, putting myself into the stories and reflecting on my own reactions. In that year, Jesus became so much more than a concept or set of values, he became a real human being—compassionate, lively and extraordinary. I wanted to know him more and more. And yet, this Jesus was also obviously God.
How can this be? Tom Wright says that it’s quite right we find this bizarre—when Jesus rose from the dead he appeared as thoroughly human, but could do things like walk through doors. Wright says that in this unique event, heaven was meeting earth, interacting and inter-locking. Jesus is the ‘firstfruits’ of a new creation (1 Corinthians 15:23)—a new life we are all invited into.
This is what we celebrate during these sacred days of Easter. But it is Day One—and it’s just the beginning …
Ingrid Barratt
Editor
John 19:30
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Hoani 19:30
Ā, nō te inumanga o Īhu i te winika, ka me ia, ‘Kua oti’: nā ka tuohu tona matenga, tukua ana tona wairua.