Wednesday, May 16, 2007
What is the Gospel? -- Part Two
Since we have begun to study Paul's letters in our class the topic of the gospel has inevitably come up again.
What is the gospel?
"Simple question," says my evangelical friend with feet firmly planted in a forensic model of salvation, "Read John 3:16..."
Not so fast says an insightful emergent pastor, "The gospel is not an 'it' that can be merely explained in abstract, intellectual propositions. The message must be contextualized and actively applied in each community and situation."
When Jesus talks about the good news He uses the phrase, "The Kingdom of God is here." But, more often He shows what that means.
Paul on the other hand says in effect, "Jesus Christ is Lord and everyone is invited to be a part of the family of God."
My traditional Adventist grandparents told me, "As Adventists we follow Christ's example in all things." So, that is why accepting Christ includes keeping the Sabbath. This idea of Christ plus something else brings down the same vitriol from evangelical and former Adventists that Paul showered on the Galatians for adding legalism to the gospel.
Yet another pastor responds by preaches that the gospel is, "Christ is enough." Enough for what I wonder. Enough to get my sinful backside off this currupt earth and through the pearly gates? Enough to transform my troubled heart? Enough to do justice on the earth, show merciful love to others, and walk humbly as a community with God?
I don't know about you, but that simple question has my head spinning. So, forgive me if I muse a bit.
I am beginning here by proposing ideas. Therefore, there does seem to be a propositional aspect to the gospel. However, if the gospel begins and ends in abstract concepts, it really is not good news at all. To be good, the concepts must bear fruit. The gospel is a word spoken ('The Kingdom of God is here,' 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' Christ is enough') or a deed done (the blind see, the lame walk, the lonely are loved) which opens minds and hearts and leads to freely chosen responses which verify the spoken words and gracious acts.
Some will say, "you are making this too complicated." My response would be to quote Oliver Wendell Holmes, "I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity."
An overly simplistic description of the gospel with a one size fits all mentality might lead to an interaction like this. A preacher comes upon a woman crying in the street and proclaims to her, "God loves you so much that He gave His Son Jesus for you," pressing a tract into her hand. Confident this will help he goes on humming "I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see...."
A more nuanced view of the gospel which takes into account the local context and personal issues might lead to a simple but more appropriate response like this. A homosexual man comes upon a woman crying in the street and asks her if she is okay. The woman dries her blind eyes and says that she was just mugged and lost her cane and bus fare in the process. The man retrieves her cane out of the gutter and as he helps her to her feet he slips a few coins into her hand saying, "This is all I have, I hope it is enough."
Which of these displays the gospel? Obvious, yes? But, what is really cool is imagining them coming together. That would be some really good news.
What is the gospel?
"Simple question," says my evangelical friend with feet firmly planted in a forensic model of salvation, "Read John 3:16..."
Not so fast says an insightful emergent pastor, "The gospel is not an 'it' that can be merely explained in abstract, intellectual propositions. The message must be contextualized and actively applied in each community and situation."
When Jesus talks about the good news He uses the phrase, "The Kingdom of God is here." But, more often He shows what that means.
Paul on the other hand says in effect, "Jesus Christ is Lord and everyone is invited to be a part of the family of God."
My traditional Adventist grandparents told me, "As Adventists we follow Christ's example in all things." So, that is why accepting Christ includes keeping the Sabbath. This idea of Christ plus something else brings down the same vitriol from evangelical and former Adventists that Paul showered on the Galatians for adding legalism to the gospel.
Yet another pastor responds by preaches that the gospel is, "Christ is enough." Enough for what I wonder. Enough to get my sinful backside off this currupt earth and through the pearly gates? Enough to transform my troubled heart? Enough to do justice on the earth, show merciful love to others, and walk humbly as a community with God?
I don't know about you, but that simple question has my head spinning. So, forgive me if I muse a bit.
I am beginning here by proposing ideas. Therefore, there does seem to be a propositional aspect to the gospel. However, if the gospel begins and ends in abstract concepts, it really is not good news at all. To be good, the concepts must bear fruit. The gospel is a word spoken ('The Kingdom of God is here,' 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' Christ is enough') or a deed done (the blind see, the lame walk, the lonely are loved) which opens minds and hearts and leads to freely chosen responses which verify the spoken words and gracious acts.
Some will say, "you are making this too complicated." My response would be to quote Oliver Wendell Holmes, "I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity."
An overly simplistic description of the gospel with a one size fits all mentality might lead to an interaction like this. A preacher comes upon a woman crying in the street and proclaims to her, "God loves you so much that He gave His Son Jesus for you," pressing a tract into her hand. Confident this will help he goes on humming "I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see...."
A more nuanced view of the gospel which takes into account the local context and personal issues might lead to a simple but more appropriate response like this. A homosexual man comes upon a woman crying in the street and asks her if she is okay. The woman dries her blind eyes and says that she was just mugged and lost her cane and bus fare in the process. The man retrieves her cane out of the gutter and as he helps her to her feet he slips a few coins into her hand saying, "This is all I have, I hope it is enough."
Which of these displays the gospel? Obvious, yes? But, what is really cool is imagining them coming together. That would be some really good news.
Labels: Galatians, gospel, Jesus, religion
Sunday, May 06, 2007
A Moment of Clear Spirituality
This past weekend our class met in the boat house at Aldridge Botanical Gardens next door to the church. I arrived early and reflected on Galatians with terms of 'justification' and 'gospel' swirling through my mind as red-eared sliders, bluegill, and carp rippled the glassy surface of the pond. The morning sun burned away the early haze and things became clearer. The sharper focus revealed a beautiful unity in the vibrant pond community and for a long moment I enjoyed becoming part of something greater than myself.
Justification and gospel are generally preached and conceived in modern terms of personal intellectual salvation. Recently, theologians such as N.T. Wright have insightfully proposed that Paul would have viewed those concepts in a more experiential communal way -- as a description of the unified and active community made possible in Christ. What if these perspectives are two of many integral facets in the complex concepts of justification and gospel? Perhaps our comparison of the modern and ancient perspectives should be both/and rather than either/or. Things are taking shape and a pulse quickening picture is appearing, but there is no one to share it with.
Disrupting the calm surface, a stone sinks to the bottom and stirs up the mud. The fish scatter. The turtles dive. I turn back to Galatians and the momentary clarity is replaced by muddled questions. What is the gospel? What does it mean to be justified? These are spiritual things we must discern together.
Justification and gospel are generally preached and conceived in modern terms of personal intellectual salvation. Recently, theologians such as N.T. Wright have insightfully proposed that Paul would have viewed those concepts in a more experiential communal way -- as a description of the unified and active community made possible in Christ. What if these perspectives are two of many integral facets in the complex concepts of justification and gospel? Perhaps our comparison of the modern and ancient perspectives should be both/and rather than either/or. Things are taking shape and a pulse quickening picture is appearing, but there is no one to share it with.
Disrupting the calm surface, a stone sinks to the bottom and stirs up the mud. The fish scatter. The turtles dive. I turn back to Galatians and the momentary clarity is replaced by muddled questions. What is the gospel? What does it mean to be justified? These are spiritual things we must discern together.
Labels: community, Epicenter, Galatians, nature, religion, spirituality, unity
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