If Easter means Jesus Christ is only raised in a spiritual sense - then it is only about me, and finding a new dimension in my personal spiritual life. But if Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world - news which warms our hearts precisely because it isn't just about warming hearts.
Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things-and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all.
Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems of the material world. Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish-fulfillment. Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps.
N.T. Wright, Simply Christian (Harper 2006), p. 110.
4 comments:
I don't really follow this...
To me, the resurrection has a much stronger message of "there's more beyond this world". It's the sacrifice of Jesus that indicates God's feelings about what's going on here on earth -- that he would be willing to die to free us from the results of our waywardness.
Craig... thanks for comment. To be honest, I am not sure if I understand what you mean by "there's more beyond this world." I agree that there's more beyond this world, but only AS IT IS NOW.
God's plan of redemption through Jesus' death and resurrection includes more than the future promise of heaven. It is much bigger than that. God's plan includes redeeming this world.
The message of the resurrection is victory for every part of his creation. Injustice and suffering will not have the last word in this world. Death will not have the last word in this world. One day Jesus will come back and set up his kingdom in this world and everything will be as it should be.
So until he comes we live in light of this victory. We confront injustice and the pains of this world with the life of Jesus.
Hmmm...too many thoughts to simply reply to this blog. Maybe I'll send an email.
everything is a little clearer this morning.. particularly with the help of this sentence from your comment:
"So until he comes we live in light of this victory. We confront injustice and the pains of this world with the life of Jesus."
I was being a bit spiritually cynical yesterday, and was thinking about how Jesus left [to prepare a place ...] after he was resurrected. In isolation, that thought can condemn this present world -- which is what Paul speaks against when he talks about not selling everything and waiting for Christ's return.
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