James Kelly

Why Christ? James Kelly

WhyChrist?ByJames Kelly, OSB "Ifthere are, as we know there are, so many beautiful souls among the variedreligions of the world. If all men andwomen, not just Christ's followers, who reflect God's own love will one dayshare the divine life they now mirror. Why proclaim Jesus Christ? Isthere any advantage in knowing Jesus Christ?" Inhis discussions over the years, especially with young people, Fr. Kelly hasfound that many do not know the life of Christ or perhaps have turned away fromthe Gospels as stale or out of date. Heproposes to tell that story in a form and idiom that will bring Jesus to lifefor them. Hisinteresting device is to adopt as narrator "the rich young man" of Matthew19:16 now grown old but wiser for living with the guilt of having refused thatcall. Fr. Kelly imagines him to havebeen so moved by Jesus that, even though he could not make the full commitmentof a disciple, he nevertheless became a follower of Jesus. So he knew Mary and Joseph and the apostles,and he heard from them what allows him to complete what he had observedhimself. Theold man tells his stories to a young, Jewish Christian - of the First Centurybut clearly a prototype of the young people Fr. Kelly wants to reach today. Hisparents had taught him the essentials of their faith in Jesus, but he had notpaid much attention. He does not knowwhere to look to satisfy his longing for meaning and purpose. Walking in the Holy Land, he finds himselfon the wide path leading up the Mount of Olives from the Kidron valley thatlies between the Mount and Jerusalem. And there he meets the old man who sets out in a series of personalrembrances the story of Jesus and the impact he made on those around him. Fr. Kelly lived several years in Jerusalem asa biblical scholar. But he tells us: "Ialso learned from the Land itself, from the people Jesus knew, His ownpeople. They are still there, in theirdescendants." This familiarity with the land and its people allows Fr. Kelly tograce the stories of "the wise ol