JESUS DIDN'T DIE FOR MY SINS

Well, another Easter season has arrived and the familiar themes have been part of the familiar hymns and reflections. So, often we hear language like: Jesus' death on the cross was "a sacrifice for the sins of humanity". It is the dominate theology, in fact. But it is almost certainly does not date back to Jesus' time, but is a result of later attempts to try and understand the crucifixion.

The notion of a loving God looking beyond our mistakes and providing us with deep forgiveness is a central image of the God of the Bible - this theme is found throughout the old and new testaments. But the notion of the utter sinfulness of humanity making us detestable to God is not clearly supported, biblically. This belief was not really expressed much before the 3rd or 4th century.

And so, to simplify Good Friday as Jesus sacrificially dying for the inbred sins of humanity and to view Easter as only an act of proof of Jesus' divinity is to sell our central story far too short.

To many 21st century-minded people, the idea of a needed sacrifice for sin is problematic. It is inconsistent with a God who is love.

Here's where the sacrificial language comes from. The roots of Christianity are in the Jewish tradition and culture. From some of the earliest days of the Hebrew people, there developed the practice, when the harvest was brought in, to bring some of the first fruits to the centre of worship (eventually the Temple). A small portion of the food was ceremonially burned on the alter - symbolizing that as the smoke rose up into the heavens, this offering was being shared with God, who made the harvest possible. This was an act of appreciation with hopes that God would continue to bless the people. The vast majority of the food, was used for those who needed it: priests, temple workers, widows, orphans, foreigners.

As the society's acts of worship continued to develop, there was a sense that one needed to ritually prepare one's self to enter the sanctuary. This often involved ceremonial washing or acts of contrition (sometimes a grain or animal offering, which was burned on the alter as a means of symbolizing giving it to God). Depending on the activities of one's life, what was expected varied. It is during this time, that this activity became associated with the idea of righting one's self before God. We can see how it makes sense that over time the act of "killing" the bird or other animal by burning it on the alter was directly related to the notion that the person was now "Right with God".

Move ahead to the first century - forty years after Jesus was crucified. An uprising against the Roman occupation in Jerusalem results in the destruction of the Temple. This forced a change in how the religious leaders practiced their religion. Because Christianity itself and many of the early Christian leaders had Jewish roots, the destruction of the temple had a major impact on the growing Christian Church. Save for the letters of Paul, virtually all of the New Testament was written after 70AD into a world with no Temple in Jerusalem - into a world where the old ways of becoming "Right with God" were no longer applicable.

And so, almost half a century after the crucifixion, when temple atonement sacrifices were no longer possible, the Christians began to speak of the lack of any need to sacrifice. Jesus had taught about a God who loves beyond expectation, who forgives those thought to be unforgivable. Because of Jesus, atonement sacrifices were not necessary.

This is where some early preacher came up with the sermon illustration that the crucifixion (i.e. the death of Jesus) is a metaphor for the out-dated sacrificial rituals. I like the style - I use metaphoric language and sermon illustrations all of the time.

The problem is that too many of the listeners to that sermon took it literally. They developed a belief system to match this literal interpretation.

Jesus didn't die for my sins, or for your sins. He was executed as a minor inconvenience to Roman order. the crucifixion means little more that the tragic end of the earthly life of Jesus.

Easter, however, is where the focus belongs. When the tomb is discovered empty, the disciples discover the mystery that not everything ends with death. Cutting of the head should have killed the Way of Jesus. But just days after the horrifying crucifixion, the disciples were proclaiming that they were as empowered by Jesus' enduring spirit as ever - maybe more so now. Some claimed to have seem him or talked to him, but most didn't. These few amazing experiences were so powerful that they changed fear into faith, despair into joy, mourning into dancing. The disciples just felt that they were not alone - that the death of Jesus didn't kill what they believed. Jesus showed people a Way to experience the love of God that was not destroyed on the cross. This spirit did not need breath to survive.

What do we know? Jesus was a travelling preacher, healer. His words and actions were so compelling that he developed a devoted following. So compelling was the Spirit within Jesus, that people expereinced God through him. He would be called Son of God and God's Annointed One. His methods and ideas ran afoul with some of his religious leaders. This conflict within the population (perhaps highlighted by the mini-riot at the temple over the place of money changers and sellers or more likely claims of Kingship swirling around Jesus) got the attention of the political leaders. Jesus was used as an example of what happens to those who promote disorder within the Empire, even the far reaches of the Empire. And so, Jesus was one of thousands of people who met their death on the cross at the hands of Roman officials. His followers were devastated. They were fearful - the desired reaction anticipated by the authorities. And then "something" happened. "Something" turned their despair, mourning and fear into joy, dancing and faith. That something is the mystery of resurrection. And that has nothing to do with sin.

Hallelujah! Praise the God who doesn't need me to be perfect to believe these things.

BLACK RIBBON

I've been called to celebrate several funerals over the past week (and next). Today, we honoured a man whose life was a highway, literally - a big rig, truck driver. I found this poem by Daniel Audet to read at the Memorial Service: Black Ribbon.

The glimmering black ribbon stretches before me,
reaching into endless darkness far ahead, begging I follow -
follow unspoken promises of returning into new born light.
On its' back I run.

Fearsome, ancient mountains, pushed outward from her raging host,
deep scars slashed in her earthen flesh, never healing,
open wounds parting the landscape upon which black ribbons lay.
Her silent agony grants me passage.
On her back we run.

Wood and steel stabbed through bloodless shoulders.
Words and pictures speak of destinations, renewal.
Towers of glass and stone shield the roving masses.
Reaching, seizing, always more.
False prophets of light fracture the sky, pushing back a hidden night.
My black ribbon a refuge from the void of souls.
On its' back I run.

Hearts exiled,
infinite returns to the end of our beginning,
witnesses to meaningless, faceless seasons.
Tortured whispers, embraced by loves tears, fall.
The black ribbon.
On its' back we run.

The glimmering black ribbon stretches before me,
reaching into endless darkness far ahead, begging I follow,
follow unspoken promises of returning into new born light.
Until I can run no more.
On its' back I run.

LOST AND FOUND

Over the past week and a half, the church has been receiving a few phone calls and emails looking for items that may have been left behind after the Youth Rally held at St. David's on March 14th. So far, everything someone has been looking for has been found. However, there are still some items laying around the church office that may have simply been forgotten (clothes, books, items created during the rally, etc.). Maybe people haven't noticed they are gone. Maybe people didn't realize that they were left at the church. Or Maybe, people can't be bothered.

I'm reminded of the scene in Toy Story 2 (yes I have kids), where Sarah McClaughlin sings over Jessie's story of being forgotten and discarded by a young girl. It explains Jessie's hard exterior and refusal to let herself be loved again. Some to think of it, that's a pretty mature theme for a kid's movie.

We live in a disposable society. Most often, the things we have are not intended to last. It may be coffee cup that is tossed once the rolled up win tells us to "please play again/réessayez s.v.p.", or the computer that is obsolete before we plug it in, or the appliance that is cheaper to replace than fix. There is an increasing number of us, who are trying reuse things as long as possible - but it takes a lot of effort to not just give in to giving up on things.

And yet, Jesus said that the Realm of God was like someone who wouldn't let go of the hope that the lost would be - could be - found. Sheep, Coins, People. There is value in the well-treaded. New is not necessarily better. I'm telling myself that maybe we shouldn't be too quick to replace just because it's harder to seek and find the value that still exists.

A ROARING GOOD TIME

I had the priviledge of helping host the 2010 Junior High Conference Youth Rally, this past weekend. It was a tonne of work - most of it rewarding, some quite frustrating. My joy is that I suspect that this rally was a wonderful experience for the youth and adults, alike. It was moving, fun, exhausting and spirit-filled.

OPEN MY EYES

I just got back from the eye doctor.

I have kept up with family tradition and have come to need reading glasses in my mid to late forties. It was exactly the same with both of my parents. A week from now, I can ditch the cheap pharmacy 1.5+ glasses for my own prescription.

I suppose I have been a bit of an anomaly going almost five decades with only my God-given eyes to help me see the world. I certain was a bit odd, not seeing an optometrist for more than three decades.

Vision is such a key sense. And those of us who know good vision can too often take it for granted. I went through a few weeks as the year was changing where my eyes were messed up - trouble seeing distances and then bouncing the other way to having trouble up close. They finally settled back to "normal" which is my new normal of having reading glasses.

Vision is also a powerful metaphor: not just physical sight, but insight and imagination - of dreams and hopes and plans and possibilities. I pray that my eyes may be opened in this metaphysical sense, even as I begin my walk with corrective lenses. I hope to see the call of God, the ministry of Christ, before me.

Open my eyes, that I may see!

LYRICS

Beyond Belief from "Open Hand"
Jesus - called me hypocrite.
When I said that I believe
He said, how can you follow me
Without a willingness to leave

Leave the gates and the passwords,
Known by just your kind
Walk beyond the divisions that religions always finds
And BE the mercy, my people need the peace
This fight over faith won't bring them relief
I love them beyond belief

Jesus - called me a hypocrite,
When I said I'd spread the word
He said, how can you teach of love
Unless you live what you have heard

Hear the hearts of the people, crying out in pain
Pain caused by dominion, and fighting in my name - my
So, BE the mercy, my people need the peace
This fight over faith won't bring them relief
I love them beyond belief

Jesus - called me a hypocrite,
When I said that I was saved
He said, how will your soul be judged
With all the judgments you have made

Faith can't be your fortress, arrogant with pride
Come walk here beside me with the humble ones outside
And BE the mercy, all my people need the peace
This fight over faith won't bring them relief
I love them beyond belief

Jesus called me to be the mercy

Credits: David Wilcox 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f514o3GuxzA

LENT

Longing for the Spirit
Enriching my faith
Nourished by God's living water
Trying to walk Jesus' Way