Book 2: The Illumination of the Gospel of John
Part 4: Christus Incognito
This episode concludes our 4-part overview of the Illumination of the Gospel of John. We focus our attention on the curious manner of several of the Resurrected Christ's appearances - he appears in disguise, first to Mary Magdalene dressed like a gardener, then later to the male disciples, as an old man cooking fish by the sea. We also consider related passages in Luke and Matthew's Gospels.
We consider the questions: why does he appear in disguise? What do the scenes of re-cognition in John's narrative teach us? What is the inner structure of Christianity, as opposed to the superficial form?
I introduce the idea of the Johannine (Liberal/Psychodynamic) age of the church, wherein it is posited that Christ feels quite free to appear without being recognized as such. He is not to be recognized in his superficial appearance, but in the very deeds and signs which distinguished him in life.
In this episode:
0:00 - Charting course: focus on the resurrection accounts
2:05 - The enigma of Christ's resurrected body
3:53 - The question: why does Christ like to appear in disguise? 3 stories
4:35 - #1. "Were not our hearts burning in our chests?" (Luke)
5:55 - The moment of recognition: He breaks bread
6:25 - #2. She mistook him for the gardener
7:10 - The moment of recognition: He speaks her name
8:35 - Correction from last episode! Phileo vs. Agape
10:15 - The reading: John 21:1-14
12:40 - #3. "None of them dared to ask, 'Who are you?'"
14:00 - The moment of recognition: The miraculous catch
15:30 - Fishers of men, fishing for souls
16:43 - Pragmatism - what is true is what works
17:40 - Liberal Christianity: Substance > Form
18:29 - Jesus' prophetic warning about nominal Christianity
19:56 - Erik's response: Intuitive and experiential knowing of Christ
23:20 - The book of Acts & the tragicomic issue of franchising Christ
24:36 - What is the essential inner structure of Christianity?
25:32 - Matthew's 'simple' answer in parable of Sheep and Goats
27:50 - Eyes of Christ, eyes of Love (Agape)
31:07 - The 3rd (Johannine) Age of the Church & Psychodynamic therapy
34:50 - Schleiermacher and Religious Liberalism
36:32 - Romanticism, Existentialism & the structure of Christianity
37:13 - The big picture: total integration of theology and psychology
38:46 - Erik's diagnosis of general populace: Disconnection
41:54 - Christianity as a How rather than a What
43:05 - Christ and reconnection to Love in the present
45:04 - The ongoing work of incarnation: on earth as in heaven
47:43 - Concluding the present series on John's Gospel
