In the Christian calendar, Easter is the holiest of days, for upon it rests the proclamation of the Church, the hope of the disciples, and the conclusion of the "greatest story ever told." Or does it?
When Jesus speaks to the disciples, saying, "whosoever wishes to save his life will lose it, and whosoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel shall save it" (Mark 8:35, italics obviously mine), it is still long before his death. So what, precisely, is the gospel? It must be something Jesus had mentioned prior to that point in time.
I argue that the "gospel" (or "good news") is, in fact, the announcement of the coming of the kingdom of heaven, and those trappings which accompany it (such as the beatitudes). The kingdom of God, which is coming "and is now here," is a time in which God's will shall be done "on earth, as it is in heaven," a time when the meek shall inherit the earth and the pure of heart shall see God. The gospel of which Jesus himself speaks is not the resurrection, or the theological "defeat of death" which has been attached to it. The gospel is not that God will save you from your sin, or that God will save you from hell, or that "you shall not taste death;" it is that you shall see the kingdom of God on earth, the glimmer of hope that we are not striving to better ourselves and our societies in vain - the appearance of humanity as it is meant to be.
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20)
1 comment:
Kelly, I know it is June and we started the "long green season." But I am still thinking about Easter. To me, Easter is real. I am ressurected with Christ, therefore I shall not die, but live. Of course, you have heard this before. But this give me the good reason to live my fullest and not to be afraid of anything. It is Incarnate. Christ has been there and I can go with confinance that "all shall be well."
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