26/50: Reimagining Salvation
This song was sung at my ordination service. It’s an invitation to thing about where our theologies lead us — to love or condemnation? Unity or division?
“So much is unfolding that must
complete its gesture,
so much is in bud.”
A few years ago, I found a list that I wrote when I was a teenager of what I wanted in a husband. Top of the list: “Must believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.” (Yes, that was at the top of my list.)
“Jesus dying on the cross for our sins” was the definition of the gospel in my mind. It held everything you needed to know about how Jesus saved us. Just say a prayer and believe this in your heart and you’re on the list.
But when I was in seminary, I learned that there are many ways to describe how we are saved and what happened on the cross. The idea of Jesus paying the price for our sins on the cross (known as penal substitutionary atonement) is not the earliest theological construct of salvation. There have been many iterations in the last thousand years. (I recommend my professor and friend,Dr. Greg Love’s book on atonement for more background.)
Which in my mind, means we can play with these questions: How did/does Jesus save us? Or, some would ask, does Jesus save us? Do we need salvation at all?
These questions were at the core of my academic work in seminary. It was one of the hot theological topics of the day for those of us who were transitioning out of evangelicalism. I’m not sure that they are still trending. After all, we have had to worry about the rise of fascism, a global pandemic, wildfires and floods, and racial injustice. Who has time to think about Jesus and the cross?
But I think it still matters. How we put words to the mystery of God effects how we see our world, who we are, and the meaning of our lives. Much of what we think of as “gospel truth” was constructed from the spaces of empire, not from the margins. As poet Denise Levertov wrote, “We have only begun to imagine the fullness of life.” The intersection of voices across identities and experiences in this time gives us fresh invitations to deconstruct and reconstruct theology.
Over the next few days, I’ll share the way I constructed an understanding of Jesus, what he did and why it’s important. Working on this in seminary was some of the most satisfying work that I have done.
I don’t offer it as the only way to think about this, just one way. If nothing else, it may give you freedom to play with Scripture, the tradition and human experience to see what lens helps you grasp what it means to be in relationship with God and how we track God’s work in the world.
Stay tuned.