Eastertime and Being Clear about What Caused Jesus' Horrible Death
Holy week is climactically followed by resurrection. Often we will hear how Jesus "died for our sins." It bothers me. There is one way to hear that phrase that it liberates us from the structures of sin that oppress us across the economy and political spectrum! But there's another way of understanding those words that weigh us down with thoughts of being deeply flawed and of little worth, even though we are good creations of God and even though God is love.
I want to be clear that Jesus did not die for our sins because God was so displeased with us that only the death of his Son would remove his displeasure and permit love toward us to abound. That idea is widely preached, but it misrepresents both God and the humans God created. God's grace is not so limited that it requires the death of a Son. Let me say it again. The murder of Jesus by the powers of Rome was not required by God as a sacrifice on our behalf.
What did happen is that Jesus was executed by the imperial powers and structures because he taught a Way of living autonomous from Rome. To them Jesus was treasonous. And because Jesus had widening impact with the crowds and disregard for many Temple functions, Jesus was a revolutionary threat. So he was sentenced to the death penalty—a horrible, public execution. In Rome's mind, that finished him off. One more revolutionary gone. Are we then to assume that Rome's way of ruling is the final word?
No! A loud "No!" The resurrection shouts "No!" to all the powers that behave like Rome then and today. That "No!" should stop lots of people in their tracks across the U.S., Mexico, and the globe.
But the resurrection has a second shout. It shouts "Yes!" to the way of living that Jesus taught—a Way of resistance to the powers and of full empowerment for all of God's creation. The "Yes!" wins out over the "No!" And that is a joy so great all creatures intent on justice and greater love that ... well, it's simply unspeakable! This is a vital message for us whenever we feel like the forces that are killing and destroying creation are just too strong! Our efforts feel too weak. But the sins of killing and destruction are shown by Jesus to be both horrible and defeatable. Jubilee is possible!
In addition, one more important transformation is offered to us in the death and resurrection. It is the transformation from our Egos to God's nature within us. That ongoing transformation is necessary for each of us to live with greater liberation, consciousness, and capacities. It has to do with our Egos. We want to understand that when we live from our Egos, we live from the structures of our soul that are least capable. This is the part of us that want's to be like Rome rather than like Jesus. When our Egos dominate, we sin against ourselves and those around us. We create educational, economic, and church structures that hurt creation instead of loving all beings according to the ways of Jesus. Our Egos cannot love that way. But, when we dethrone our Egos from control and welcome the greater consciousness of Christ instead, then we are more likely to love one another in the deeper, wider ways that Jesus showed us. He called it a "new commandment." To achieve this change in our lives, his humiliation on the cross was transforming. So also when he rose with resurrected life. Because our Egos need to undergo great humiliation if we are to embrace for ourselves the risen Christ and the new Way of life that allows us to fulfill God's Call to us to be sons and daughters and to love all creation.
In these ways Jesus did and did not die for our sins.
