I often go and visit my Grandma. She was raised a
Catholic, but lately she has come to question both the teachings she received,
and her own faith. We often have long conversations about it together. Last time we met, she asked me this:
“What did Jesus’ death change, exactly? People still kill
each other. There are still wars, there is still suffering. So what did his
death achieve?”
This is both a simple question, and a deep, rich
theological one; one that is not easily answered. But I keep thinking about it
since she’s asked me, and about what Jesus’ death means to me.
Something strikes me: not only did
Jesus know it he was going to get himself killed, not only did he do nothing to
prevent it, but he talks like it’s all part of a plan. He meant to die. If this
is the case, his death must have had a purpose.
Jesus is well-known for the Beatitudes, which give an
idea of happiness that runs contrary to the way things work in the world:
blessed are the poor… the meek… the merciful. This rings beautiful, but not
quite true, does it? The poor suffer, the meek see their right denied, and the
merciful are taken advantage of. Those who assert their rights and forcibly
take what they want seem to be the ultimate winners. Harder still, Jesus said
we should love our enemies, pray for those who harm us, and not resist evil
people.
Ad he certainly lived by those words. As I said in
Friday’s post, he came to serve; and when he was arrested, not only did he not
resist, but he rebuked those who wanted to defend him. He lived out his teachings to the very end.
Jesus’ death demonstrates the depth of God’s love. If you
believe, like I do, that Jesus is God made flesh, then his death is the
ultimate sacrifice of love – giving his very life to us. Some people are
willing to die for a cause (or even to kill). God certainly doesn’t kill for a
cause, and he doesn’t die for one, either: he dies for people. He dies for
us. As St Paul puts it, one could possibly die for a good
person; but God loves us so much he died for us even though we turn our backs
on him and on everything good. He shows us how far he is willing to go in his
love for us. He demonstrates that God and humanity don’t have to be enemies.
Scripture indicates that sin (the evil inclination to
look after our own interests at the expense of everyone else) causes alienation.
It separates us from God, it causes conflict between us and within us, and it
separates us from nature as we damage and destroy it. Jesus takes
humanity’s sin upon himself in all its ugliness and horror (and fully identifies with our humanity, even though he never sinned). By doing so, he sets us free from the
dominion of evil. This is redemption: not only are we forgiven for our wrongdoings, but we are free to serve good instead of evil.
However, as my Grandma pointed out, evil still seems to have the
upper hand in our world. I think part of the answer lies in the fact that redemption starts
in individual hearts. Jesus frees us, individually, from the grip selfishness
and evil have on us, so we can strive to do good instead, and be his co-workers
to transform the world – to redeem it. But he doesn’t force himself on anyone.
If we choose to remain in sin, selfishness and hatred, he will not force his
love on us. It is ours to accept – or reject. And as long as people reject love and goodness, there will be evil in the world.
Yet the story is not complete if we stop at Jesus’ death,
and we cannot fully apprehend the meaning of it if we don’t take into account
what came next.
Death is the ultimate alienation, isn’t it? When one is
dead, one is no longer able to have a relationship with anyone – not with God,
not with others, and not with the world. Death is presented by the Bible writers as the final consequence of sin. But what if Jesus defeated death?
His early followers claimed that the tomb was empty, and
that they saw Jesus again – alive. If this is true, then he truly has defeated
death. He has shown us that his death indeed changed something: he has reversed
the very power of death. He claimed that whoever believes in him will live, even if they die… His resurrection demonstrates that this wasn’t an empty
claim.
Jesus’ resurrection also gives us hope of a life to come,
not just for us individually, but for the world. Today, as St Paul said, the whole world is suffering in birth pains – but this means new
life is coming. The work is in progress, but one day it will be completed. This
is our hope and our faith.
In this hope we were saved. But hope that is
seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for
what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In this dark world, it's not only because I
believe in Jesus' life that I have hope: it's because I believe in his
resurrection, and thus, I believe he has defeated death and evil.
