WAS JESUS AN AUTHENTIC PERSON? - Don Hanley’s blog #79

One of my favorite sources of wisdom is Martin Buber, an early 20th-century philosopher and college professor. I first ran across his thinking about 60 years ago, and this story has stayed with me: As a young professor, Buber was asked to be available to students as a personal counselor, as needed. One day, a student, about 20 years old, came to see him. The student was very depressed. Two or so hours after he left Buber’s office, another student rushed into Buber’s office and said the depressed fellow had hung himself – had committed suicide.

Buber spent many days and hours reviewing his hour with the young man, wondering what he could have done differently and perhaps really helped him. He thought he had been an adequately good counselor; he had listened well, had not been authoritarian in his answers to the boy’s questions, and had been friendly and warm. So, technically, he had been a good counselor, but Buber kept ruminating about the boy and his role as a counselor; he was even losing sleep.  Finally, after many days, Buber had an ‘ah-ha’ experience. He may have helped the fellow if he, Buber, had been himself rather than remaining in the role of counselor and professor! It was what he called an “I = It” or a role-to-role encounter rather than a Martin – Joe (or whatever the student’s name was) encounter. It was not what Buber called an I – Thou experience - a meeting of two authentic people.

As a counseling supervisor, I always asked my interns to be authentic when meeting their counselees. Fortunately, I (with my fellow administrators), managed to attract natural I–Thou candidates. I believe we nurtured an I – Thou kind of counseling center. 

I wanted to discuss this with John and Mary in Nazareth and how it fits with Jesus’s message.  And, John gets a bit impatient with me on this, but I still want to know more about Jesus's relationship with Yahweh. If you, dear reader, are a Christian of some kind you think of Jesus as a God - one of the three persons of the Trinity. If Jesus was this kind of 'sort of god-man, then I could not have an I-Thou relationship with him because he could not be like me. So, I wanted to talk with John and Mary about this.

That evening, I arrived in Nazareth and found my three friends enjoying a nice breeze in Mary’s flower garden. The one good thing the Romans had done was to build an aqueduct for Nazareth so that Mary would have water for herself and her flowers. Joshua had remained in their tiny house to watch the children, and Ruth was visiting with Mary and John. I told them about Martin Buber, who was also Jewish, and his ideas on the I–Thou concept and how that might fit with Jesus’s message.

John spoke, “I would say that my relationship with Jesus was an I-Thou one. And I believe Jesus was always his authentic self – he never played a role for anyone.  And, he added, he was NOT God playing the role of a human person. You were here when the Roman soldiers came to this house, right?” I nodded, and he continued, “If Jesus had also been here, he would not have liked the group captain, but he would have been as polite as possible. He would not have screamed like little Julie had done, but he would have been a bit cool toward him. The Buber fellow would not have expected us to have an I-Thou experience with everyone, would he? It takes two open people, does it not?”

“Yes, it does, and the only one I can control is myself. I have worked nearly all my life to be an open and I-Thou person. I hope I have succeeded most of the time.”

Mary surprised me by saying, “Well, Don, you have succeeded quite well. I felt close to you that first time you appeared with us here in this garden.” Hearing Mary say this made me feel wonderfully grateful and joyful. I wished I could have stayed longer, but I could not control my coming and going in Nazareth, and again, I disappeared. Now . . .

Now, pay attention to your encounters this week and stay I-Thou. Don’t just think about it; do it.