I had one of those moments while reading an excerpt from Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich's best-selling book about the working class in the United States; one of those moments where one must lay down their book for a sacred moment of silence. The kind of silence one must give oneself when they have been heard. When their own experience is writ large as if the author has taken a piece of one's own journal and printed it; there it is, right in front of you.
The excerpt is about her experience of going to a revival meeting attended primarily by poor people at which the preacher emphasizes the good news of escape; of going to heaven by believing that Jesus's death served as a payment to Yahweh, Israel's God, for wrongdoing committed by humanity--otherwise referred to as substitutionary atonement theory.
In this theory, the primary purpose of Jesus' death is not directed toward restoring humanity or prevailing over evil; instead, it was primarily for the sake of satisfying Yahweh's justice. And our theories of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection have enormous implications on how we live our lives.
Hence, in her words
"It would be nice if someone would read this sad-eyed crowd the Sermon on the Mount, accompanied by a rousing commentary on income inequality and the need for a hike in the minimum wage. But Jesus makes his appearance here only as a corpse; where the living man, the wine guzzling vagrant, and precocious socialist, is never once mentioned, nor anything he ever had to say.
Christ crucified rules, and it may be that the true business of modern Christianity is to crucify him again and again so that he can never get a word out of his mouth.
...I get up to leave, timing my exit for when the preacher's metronomic head movements have him looking the other way, and walk out to search for my car, half expecting to find Jesus out there in the dark, gagged and tethered to a tent pole."
Dear reader, the powers crucified Jesus. Rome demanded his blood, not Yahweh. "None of the rulers of this this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
While indeed he was unique, he died a very normal death for many in time and history who courageously follow Yahweh and refuse to participate in their Empire's unjust and violent systems.
And they continue to crucify him:
Pax Romana, Pax Americana; peace through violence
Christ crucified
Semi-automatic weapons for all
Christ crucified
Kill the enemy
Christ crucified
Thoughts and prayers to the innocents lost
Christ crucified
In the dark
Gagged
Tethered to a tent pole.
"You have heard it said,' You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:43-45
References
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed (New York: Henry Holt, 2001, pp. 68-69.
1 Corinthians 2:8
Photo found here: http://doghouseministries.blogspot.com/2005/08/jesus-outed-in-megachurch-_112309322764885884.html. I have no connection with this blog or author.
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