What Paul might say today
While we still have vestiges of Paul’s world in that slavery still exists in places and differences still divide Jew and Gentile, male and female, these divisions are not as stark in the Western world today. We might ask, “If Paul was writing to us now what groups might he include as having barriers that need to be torn down?” What groups need to reconcile their differences to live as one family of God’s children? Would he write “In Christ Jesus there is neither gay nor straight, neither Christian nor Muslim, neither sheltered nor homeless, neither rich nor poor, neither fundamentalist nor progressive, neither Republican nor Democrat; for we are all one in Christ Jesus?” Today, Christians, what walls do we need to tear down? “Being one in Christ Jesus” is still a challenge for all 21st century Christians. But it is how we can be justified by our faith. BCT-FC p. 14-15
About Jesus
Here we have a young Jesus prepared for ministry, literate, well-educated and with some degree of financial resources and a following, many of which were women caring for his needs. Next follow two mystical experiences with God. The first of many was his baptism by John in which he experiences God’s approval and receives the Holy Spirit. The second is during his time in the wilderness as he works out his approach to ministry. His understanding of God is not of a distant almighty figure, but rather as a compassionate, loving abba, i.e. daddy. That is, a God that had a vision for what humanity was intended to be. Jesus undertook that role of becoming fully human and through his life and teaching gave us the blueprint for doing the same. BCT-FC p. 18-19
Jesus died for our sins?
I believe Jesus was an atoning presence - not in the cultic sense it has been portrayed, but rather in the sense of John Duns Scotus’ acceptance theory. It was God’s intent to more fully reveal divine nature through the incarnate life of Jesus, not to get payment, restore honor or to be appeased through a cultic blood sacrifice. As Fiorenza as put it, “The suffering and death of Jesus, like that of John (the Baptist) and all the other prophets sent to Israel before him, are not required in order to atone for the sins of the people in the face of an absolute God, but are the result of violence against the envoys of Sophia (i.e. Wisdom) who proclaim God’s unlimited goodness and the equality and election of all her children[1] (italics added).” Jesus’ death was brutal, and we still play a role in it to the extent we focus inward on our own self-absorbed concerns and ignore his call to live in love for one another and the common good. As we pursue a self-focused life style, out of fear or for seeking advantage, that clings to outdated thought processes, submits to bullying, knuckles under to injustice, and seeks to gain or retain power and advancement at the expense of others, we are guilty of his death surely as much as those who two thousand years ago brutalized and crucified him. It is in Jesus’ understanding of the God he called Abba that we get a true insight into a Deity of unconditional love that wills for us to become fully human as Jesus was fully human. When we accept this understanding and pursue a compatible lifestyle we can be in tune with God and at-one-ment with the Divine.
Our Father in heaven?
This perspective has implications for our social pact within and between nations. It is a true prolife agenda. By prolife I do not mean to stray into the realm of antiabortion rhetoric, but rather to redirect our human and material resources to those institutions and practices that build humanity and create opportunities for all peoples to live a life of transcendence and value. This is a life not just for themselves, but for their brothers and sisters of every distinction, everywhere. There is no definitive uniqueness that overshadows our common divinity. Our task is to move past the ordinary and to be drawn to experience the divine in the depth of ourselves and others and thus worship not a distant God, but the one that lives within and among us all.