IMITATIO JESU: YESUS DI DALAM MARKUS 1-3 SEBAGAI PEMBAHARU AGAMA & MASYARAKAT
Keywords:
Imitatio Christi, imitatio Jesu, membaca Injil “dari atas”, membaca Injil “dari bawah”, missionaris, mendahulukan yang lemah, miskin dan terpinggirkan, Pembaharu Agama, politics of holiness, politics of compassion, kepribadian Yesus, meniru YesusAbstract
Although the term “Imitatio Christi” is familiar to Protestant Christians in Indonesia, they are reluctant to use this term. The reason is that for them Jesus is Lord and God; you follow Him but you do not imitate Him. When they read the Gospels, they focus on Christ as the One who comes “from above”. Here another approach is attempted, which tries to look at the Gospels concerning Jesus “from below”. Both dimensions form the Gospel narrative concerning Jesus Christ, and it is precisely to appreciate the fullness of the Gospel, that Indonesian Protestant Christians have to learn also about Jesus, “from below”.
This article looks at Mark chapters 1-3, where Jesus is pictured as a missionary who proclaimed the coming of the kingdom, and because of that, challenges the status-quo. He emphasized on mission towards the weak, the poor and the marginalized. And as the established religion at His time tended to accept the status-quo, Jesus is pictured in the first part of the Gospel of Mark as a religious reformer. Lastly in this part of the Gospel we also have a picture of Jesus as a missionary with a strong personality, who is not afraid to be alone.
Even if Indonesian Protestant Christians are reluctant to imitate Christ, they can imitate Jesus. That is why the term “imitatio Jesu” is offered here as an alternative. It does not mean that imitating Jesus is less difficult than imitating Christ. It is difficult, in view of the tendency of the present Protestant Churches in Indonesia to conform to the status-quo. But it is not impossible, and Mark chapters 1-3 challenge the readers to re-evaluate his/her priorities as ministers or would-be ministers of God.
