re-member-ing example no. 3
some people like to remember Jesus like this…
He died on the cross to make it possible for us to go to heaven. We (humans) have all sinned and angered a righteous God. God is (presumably) not able to forgive us in the way he forgives numerous people throughout the previous ages - by just saying “you’re forgiven”. A payment must be made. A suitable sacrifice must be offered to placate all this pent up anger (that would send us all to a deserved place in eternal punishment). So Jesus dies, takes our sin upon himself, and in so doing, frees us from guilt and shame thus enabling intimate relationship with God again. Most importantly, with such forgiveness secured, our eternal place in heaven is assured. Good news!
Usually people who present this summary have a fairly strong committment to the authority of scripture, which they usually regard as THE vital and inerrant revelation of God’s message to people on this earth. So as I read said scriptures it seems to me that this sumamry is not properly in line with all that is said about Jesus in the Bible. It’s not that forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God is not mentioned. Of course it is. The difficulty I have is that forgiveness of sins doesn’t seem to be top of Jesus’ agenda. In fact, he is so busy dishing out assurance of forgiveness (Mt 9:2-5, Mk 2:5, Lk 5:20, 7:48) that he seriously ruffles the feathers of the religious types of his time, who spent their energy (surprise!) carefully clarifying what EXACTLY was required to please God and earn sufficient atonement. They are so offended by this generous display of absolution that they accuse him of the highest offence in Jewish Law (breaking the first commandment) - blasphemy. see Mark 2:7 and John 10:33. I would argue that it is on these very grounds - with this kind of self-righteous motivation - that the religious leaders of Jerusalem did whatever was required to have Jesus “eliminated” (to use a euphamism more common in political circles…)
Jesus’ great preoccupation was with trying to proclaim that Kingdom of God (Heaven) was already here/near/amongst you (some translations even render “within you”). “To proclaim release for the captives, sight to the blind, good news to the poor…”
The greater evil in our world is not people who have not repented and confessed their sin. (Many of them have, they simply don’t want to have anything to do with religion - an interesting distinction that religious groupings will need to consider carefully…) The real evil is people who claim to have repented - who are openly religious - and yet continue to live without grace, perpetrating some of the greatest acts of injustice, hatred, oppression, cruelty and blindness.
Christianity (and I think Islam as well) must answer for how it has failed to honour the teaching of it’s own scriptures… “do not judge”, do not condemn”, “do not resist an evil doer”, “love your enemies”, “pray for those who persecute you”…
Religious people (so easily, and regularly, it seems) feel the need to delimit the boundaries of God’s forgiveness, allowing the “story” to beomce about who’s IN and who’s not. Re-member-ing the story of Jesus, and the glorious good news that the Bible offers to a hurting and broken world, requires a re-reading of scripture, seeking to open ourselves to all that Jesus is about. Jesus’ agenda is contained in John 10:10, life (in all it’s fulness). Heaven is not so much the goal as it is the measure. the measure of how well we are grasping and living the life that God has intended. Eternal life is not worth considering draggin ourselves through until we’ve allowed God’s Spirit to bring us to life - to know what it means to really live! Then eternal life will be something to look forward to…
if only we could forget all the limiting stuff we’ve heard about Jesus and be able to read the Bible again, as if for the first time…
if only we could forgive people as willingly, and quickly as our heavenly Father seems to…
if only we could catch a glimpse of the earth/world/universe transforming vision that motivated and guided all that Jesus said and did…