Fr. Longenecker on the "Elusive Solitude of Christ"

"In reading the gospels I am always struck by the elusiveness of Jesus Christ. It is extraordinary how realistic the portrait of Jesus is in the gospels. On the one hand he is incredibly complex, but then on another glance he is totally simple, straightforward and clear. You can't figure him out, and then you realize he doesn't need figuring out. He is what he is. Nothing false. He doesn't play power games. He doesn't manipulate. He's not on an ego trip.

"The scholars who have tried to write their biographies of Jesus have invariably failed because they have all tried to figure him out. They've tried to put him in a box, pin him down, give him an agenda, and turn him into some sort of campaigner or rebel with a cause. So they paint him as the religious revolutionary or the wise rabbi. They portray him as a country apocalyptic preacher, a healer and a Jewish guru. They cast him as a proto communist, a liberator or a Brother Sun, Sister Moon hippie.

"Their portraits always reveal their own agenda, not his. The biographies reveal their own hang ups, not his. Their books reveal their own obsessions, not his. Their books are self portraits, not portraits of Jesus Christ.

"More than any other man, he defies their categories, their agendas, their ideologies and their man made theologies."

In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Greenville, SC) reflected on the heart of Jesus and His intimate union with the Father.

To access Fr. Longenecker’s complete post, please visit:

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: The Elusive Solitude of Christ

Background information: 

Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author