The Gospel in Practice, Part 1: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict on the Road to Emmaus
I don't know about you, but I've had quite enough of the abstract, theoretical discussion about what the gospel is, whether justification by faith is part of the gospel or results from the gospel, whether Christ's righteousness is imputed, imparted, or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I'm as fascinated with these topics as the next amateur theologian, it's just that when I read the Bible, and specifically the New Testament, I find very little abstract, theoretical musings about "the gospel" and a whole world of real-life, on the ground, flesh and blood discourse about the the gospel in practice. One of my favorite stories by N.T. Wright is his recounting of how, during a theatrical presentation of the life of Jesus, there was a man in the audience who had never heard of Jesus, and he sat enthralled during the production. As the story approached the climactic scenes, the man stood up and shouted, "They're not going to kill him, are they?"
The New Testament, at its core, is not a theological or philosophical discourse, nor is it a set of propositions about God, salvation, etc. At its core, it is a political story about the clash of conflicting ideologies, the Kingdom of God versus the Kingdoms of this world, about the Truth of God clashing head on with the "truths" of this world, and ordinary women and men struggling to absorb it all. And at the end of Luke's Gospel, we get this fascinating story about the Risen Jesus meeting two dumbfounded disciples on the Road to Emmaus, crestfallen precisely because they have misunderstood the entire narrative. They had been following this man because they had hoped he might have been Israel's redeemer, but had "realised" that they were wrong because he was executed on a Roman cross, and they knew enough "truth" to understand which Kingdom had prevailed.
But the Risen Jesus does not bring them to truth by an abstract, theoretical analysis of the issues. He instead retells the story in such as way as to bring them a fleeting glimpse of understanding that they are wrong, that this is how the whole thing had to play out. He retold the story they were living from God's perspective, and the disciples felt the light as their hearts burned within them, which was the impetus for them to see the light when they finally sat to eat with this stranger and He broke the bread.
"As the Father sent me, so I send you."
So, today, with fear and trembling, I want to begin a series about the world on the Road to Emmaus. I want to examine stories that are being told in the world today and to try to retell them in light of the truth of the gospel, that is, in light of the fact that the crucified and risen Messiah of Israel now sits as the Lord of the world, with every little detail that is incorporated within that overarching statement.
The Story the World is Telling
Today, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resumed, seeking to resolve issues such as Palestinian claims to east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War, as the capital of a future independent state, the final borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees whose families lost properties during Israel's 1948 War of Independence. But the talks got off to a shaky start, with the Palestinians lambasting Israel for a new construction project planned in disputed east Jerusalem and Israel accusing the Palestinians of creating a "tense atmosphere."
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
The New Testament, at its core, is not a theological or philosophical discourse, nor is it a set of propositions about God, salvation, etc. At its core, it is a political story about the clash of conflicting ideologies, the Kingdom of God versus the Kingdoms of this world, about the Truth of God clashing head on with the "truths" of this world, and ordinary women and men struggling to absorb it all. And at the end of Luke's Gospel, we get this fascinating story about the Risen Jesus meeting two dumbfounded disciples on the Road to Emmaus, crestfallen precisely because they have misunderstood the entire narrative. They had been following this man because they had hoped he might have been Israel's redeemer, but had "realised" that they were wrong because he was executed on a Roman cross, and they knew enough "truth" to understand which Kingdom had prevailed.
But the Risen Jesus does not bring them to truth by an abstract, theoretical analysis of the issues. He instead retells the story in such as way as to bring them a fleeting glimpse of understanding that they are wrong, that this is how the whole thing had to play out. He retold the story they were living from God's perspective, and the disciples felt the light as their hearts burned within them, which was the impetus for them to see the light when they finally sat to eat with this stranger and He broke the bread.
"As the Father sent me, so I send you."
So, today, with fear and trembling, I want to begin a series about the world on the Road to Emmaus. I want to examine stories that are being told in the world today and to try to retell them in light of the truth of the gospel, that is, in light of the fact that the crucified and risen Messiah of Israel now sits as the Lord of the world, with every little detail that is incorporated within that overarching statement.
The Story the World is Telling
Today, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resumed, seeking to resolve issues such as Palestinian claims to east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War, as the capital of a future independent state, the final borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees whose families lost properties during Israel's 1948 War of Independence. But the talks got off to a shaky start, with the Palestinians lambasting Israel for a new construction project planned in disputed east Jerusalem and Israel accusing the Palestinians of creating a "tense atmosphere."
The Story on the Road to Emmaus
Today, the representatives of two proud peoples began yet another destined-to-fail attempt to fabricate a bandage to apply to the fault line of their centuries-old dispute. This attempt is destined to fail, as have been the countless others that came before, precisely because the parties and the brokers are, whether known or unbeknownst, attempting to do battle with one of the primary manifestations of Evil in the world today, and are attempting to do so by playing Its own games, only slightly more cleverly than It. They have, for centuries, failed to recognize that the only way to defeat Evil is by its polar opposite, Love. And try as one might, it is difficult to recognize a single ray of the light of Love within this conflict. Where is the leader that has come forward, in self-giving sacrifice, to take the brunt of the Evil upon himself? Where is the representative from one or the other side that so shines the light of Love that the darkness is overcome by it? Where is the disciple of the Lord of the world in this morass? Where is the Bishop Tutu of the Middle East? Absent that individual, that one who will step up to embody the full Spirit of the Lord of this world, to burst that Evil-defeating light into the darkness that has made its home there, the great project of peace in the Middle East will forever stall on the issue of this or that construction project, to all our great shame.Grace and Peace,
Raffi
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