McLaren suggests, in chapter 10 and following, that the way we understand and frame Jesus' ministry while he was on earth changes everything about how we seek to follow Jesus! He suggests that the traditional ways of framing Jesus' purpose on earth are limited, and do not include the fullness of Jesus teaching and acting... and that we need to consider an emerging set of interpretations of the gospels. I highly recommend that you read his treatment of these topics for yourself! For this space, allow me to summarize just one of his key points:
As McLaren points out, the traditional understanding of Jesus' purpose is that he "came to solve the problem of 'original sin', meaning that he helps qualified individuals not to be sent to hell for their sins. In a sense, Jesus saves people from God, or more specifically, from the righteous wrath of God, which sinful human beings deserve because they have not perfectly fulfilled God's expectations, expressed in God's moral laws. This escape from punishment is not something they earn or achieve, but is rather a free gift they recieve as an expression of God's grace and love." I think all of us find this understanding of Jesus' purpose quite familiar, and maybe even comfortable.
The emerging perspective (which is coming from a very careful reading of the gospels) that he names goes like this: "Jesus came to become Savior of the world, meaning he came to save the earth and all it contains from its ongoing destruction because of human evil. Through his life and teaching, through his suffering, death and resurrection, he inserted into human history a seed of grace, truth and hope that can never be defeated. This seed will, against all opposition and odds, prevail over the evil and injustice of humanity and lead to the world's ongoing transformation into the world God dreams of. All who find in Jesus God's hope and truth discover the privilege of participating in his ongoing work of personal and global transformation and liberation from evil and injustice. This is not something they earn or achieve, but rather a free gift they recieve as an expression of God's grace and love."
Clearly, McLaren is calling us to consider a shift away from an emphasis on individual salvation for the sake of protection from eternal damnation to hell... to an empahsis on the salvation of the entire planet through individuals and groups of Jesus-followers working together to bring heaven on earth. This is not a denial of the reality of heaven after death for believers. Rather, it is a turning away from personal, individual salvation as an end-point... and turning towards the idea that our moment of faith in Christ is the beginning of a lifetime of heaven here on earth, as we come alongside Christ in bringing hope, love and justice to all persons!
How do you respond to this shift in focus???
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2 comments:
This is right on target with what I have been feeling lately after attending the quadrennial event in Florida. They got us all pumped up in Florida to come back and lead our churches in reaching out into the community. After being back for a few weeks, I realized congregations won't be open to reaching out into the community unless they allow an inner transformation to take place. And by "inner" I mean both in their own personalities and faith journeys and in the church building. A decision needs to be made that church is not for or about them, but for the purpose of transforming the lives of individuals and communities. I have always felt Salvation is here and now and we make it happen right in front of our own eyes (and churches!). The church needs to leave the building to accomplish what the church is here to do! The church is not a country club where people come to hang out, but a breathing organism that should offer others a breath of life!
I grow concerned not when people are concerned for the planet or for others but when that concern becomes an excuse to said its not me its the rest of the world. For most of us there is a tremendous amount of work to do on ourselves. Jesus "framework" was new and is new because it was and is relational, new systems through which to view Jesus and his message are still systems, when I was in college the first time, I heard the professors rail against the system and I believed that they wanted and brought something new but I lived and watched long enough to see that it was just another system "theirs" that was being promoted, tenure-401K's-Union negotiations- price of college 1.8 times what it was in 1976, the system may change names but they are transformed into what they sought to replace. Jesus can't and shouldn't be framed at all' Jesus in the Gospel of John was called the "Truth" and the truth by definition stands in and of itself, even if no-one believes it even if no-one understands it. We "frame" the truth to make it more palatable for us, it does not make it "Truer"
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