Insert Appropriate 80's Reference Here

Well, looky here! No really. Look. And then cheer very very loudly. In honor of this (and because its due in a couple hours), I'm writing my thoughts about Jesus as Teacher. Here are a couple snippets of my draft thus far:

The Incarnation is a physically specific idea – the scandal of particularity is that Jesus had specific parents, a specific hometown, specific friends. He was not afraid or ashamed of how he lived, or how those around him lived. Rather, he used his surroundings as the starting point for his teaching, as illustration for his stories. This did not mean Jesus accepted the given context as unchangeable or ideal, but his ministry and teaching were inspired and intertwined with the context of Incarnated life.

Jesus message was fundamentally one of hope. Jesus shared not only a vision of a world-to-come, but demonstrated that the kingdom of God is breaking in all around us.

As a teacher and preacher, Jesus knew the power of words. He knew that words matter, how we use them matters, and our silence matters. Teachers are communicators. Jesus was able communicate the vision of God’s life and love so clearly that we are clinging to it nearly two thousand years later.

Congratulations, Dr. Yamada!