Christology of struggle: Understanding the Christ in the context of struggle

Abstract

This study is an attempt to respond to the question of Jesus to his disciples at the beginning of his ministry, "Who do you say I am?" (cf. Mk.8:29; Mt.l6:15; Lk. 9:20). Like Peter and the other disciples, the writer affirms the faith that Jesus, indeed, is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But who is Christ today? And where is the Christ be found? This study tries to show that the Christ is the Christ of struggle. And that Christ is found where people are struggling to be truly free and have fullness of life. God in Christ identifies with the struggles of people. With this as a perspective and guiding principle, the writer tries to re-read the Christologies of the Church Fathers, the Sixteenth Century Reformers, of Feminist Theology in contemporary times as well as the Asian and Philippine contribution to Christological thinking. By locating these Christologies in their own respective historical contexts, this study discovers that people's understanding of the Christ is shaped by their own life experiences as they struggle with the issues, problems and difficulties they encounter in life. Life is a struggle. And it gives a great amount of hope for people to realize that Christ is right there at the very center of struggle, at the very center of life itself.