REDEMPTION

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I do not consider redemption synonymous with salvation.  Although I suspect there will be a number of theological cross-overs, I see redemption based theology significantly different.  What I am offering here is an introduction to this theological perspective. A fuller explanation will evolve in future posts.

JUDAISM - THE WORLD IS GOOD

Redemptive theology is rooted in Judaism; in God consistently bringing his people, the people of Israel, back to the promised land, back to their origins, back into relationship with him. This notion of redemption as returning is easily applicable to the Christian experience.  Applied to Christianity, redemptive theology, as in Judaism, does not see the world as something to reject but something to embrace as God's creation; to embrace its beauty, goodness, and potential along with its brokenness. As such, redemptive theology sees the ministry and teachings of Jesus as his attempt to bring the people of his day back to the their roots as God's people; to bring them back to the prophetic vision of Israel as a light to a good world that has lost its way.

LIFE WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN

Redemptive theology in Christianity, therefore, does not work from the premise of original sin.  The need for redemption is based on the realization that humans tend to go off track and lose sight of who we are and what our purpose in being is.  We have a tendency to see ourselves and the activities we're involved in throughout our daily lives as "all there is" and lose sight that, in all of what is, we are connected to each other, connected to the world around us, and connected to all creation as part of something greater than the here and now.

This distraction is natural and to some degree necessary.  We could not function on a day to day basis without paying attention to ourselves and to what is currently happening in our lives.  The reality is these things matter very much to us and they shape how we see ourselves and the world around us.  If we didn't care, we would open ourselves to danger in the form of fatalism. The fact is the vast majority of us care so much, at times, that our concerns can take on the form of fear leading us to become self-isolating and to lose sight of the other; to lose sight of how our thoughts and actions can lead to the very things we worry and fear most about in our lives. 

Redemptive theology takes this into account. In fact, a redemptive perspective calls us to be aware; to pay attention, to be mindful and involved precisely because what affects me affects those around me; affects the world in which I live. And what affects me most, is my perspective, my thoughts and interpretations of the events that take place in my life.  A redemptive perspective imbues me with a sense of responsibility, not for the wrongs or problems that occur, but rather it imbues me with a responsibility to help alleviate them. 

BEING AN INDIVIDUAL COUNTS

In my understanding of redemptive theology, the individual counts.  While being able to see the bigger picture is important, one must realize that the bigger picture is pixelated, made of individual pieces, things and people.  Jesus addressed the bigger picture by paying attention to the details, to the individual.  Jesus once said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."  (Luke 9:23)

Think about what Jesus is saying. In order to deny yourself, you have to know who you are.  Think about who you are; who you really are.  Do you know that person?  Most of us don't. Maybe none of us do.  What I see in Jesus' teaching is that he is telling us to put aside one's unrealistic aspirations in order to see one's self for who one truly is, to be one's true self.  After all, the only cross we bear each and every day is "ME". 

Finding who one is can be a life long journey.  As I age, I have come to see myself differently along the way.  I am coming to see some things as constant and other things as transient.  I'm getting better at accepting and appreciating the nuanced me that I am.  Getting to know myself  has allowed me to see there is more to me than me.  I find this liberating and redemptive.  As a result, I find myself far more appreciative of all life. 

Finding myself started with the realization that the things I am attracted to and desire do not represent who I am as much as they represent who I want to be or who I think I should be or who I think others think I should be.  Once I became aware of this process, I realized I am unique just as I am and that I'm not alone in my uniqueness.  I am surrounded by a world of uniqueness, in people and in things.

For example, I'm an introvert and I like solitude. Much to my wife's and my daughters'  frustration, I am not fond of travel.  I have to admit that at times, especially in the past, it bothered me that I am not more outgoing, more gregarious and wanting what every "normal" person seems to want, to travel, to see the world and meet new people. I find myself feeling guilty that I don't feel the way others do, but I've come to learn that I can travel (because I love my wife and daughters) even if its not my favorite thing to do. Once I'm some place, I can enjoy being there with them, seeing the world and meeting new people, but I always prefer home over every other place. 

I like people as individuals, rather than crowds. I enjoy music and the theater, but I prefer listening to music at home. Ironically, I prefer going to a live theatrical production to see a play or a musical as opposed to seeing a movie or watching it on television because the "personal" experience of live theater can only happen on a live stage where I feel more involved and connected even if I'm sitting in the last row of crowded theater on Broadway. Ironically, while I don't like being in a crowd I enjoy teaching and speaking to large groups, but I like to visit and have conversations with only a few people at a time, and only periodically.

I like solitude.  I like silence.  I don't feel alone or bored, hardly ever.  I have come to be patient with myself, to observe myself and enjoy the smorgasbord of my thoughts.  I have come to love who I am and love that I am part of the whole of creation that I can view in solitude and listen to in silence.

THE IMPERATIVE OF LOVING ONE'S SELF

Jesus said, "Love you neighbors as yourself."  (Mark 12:31) The first step in facilitating redemption  is staying grounded in the goodness of creation and seeing one's self as a child of God as Jesus did,  or, if not of a theistic bend, to see one's self as having emerged from and being part of a good and greater universe.

One might ask what this has to do with redemptive theology?  Once one is able to see all life and one's self as intrinsically good, one is enabled to view that which is bad, evil, and ill not with despair but with understanding and a desire to solve our mutual problems. 

We live in world where we are exposed to evil on daily basis and on a global scale.  For better or worse,  we know in real time the problems taking place throughout the world.  We also know that what we hear and see is only the tip of the iceberg; that if this or that event is making the news how much other tragedy isn't.  There is a limit to what can be reported, a limit to what can be addressed at any given moment and, knowing that, can lead to a numbing sensation about life in general.

The good (and there is a lot of good in the world ) can  be easily overshadowed by the terror and devastation we see. This can be so overwhelming that it is easy to succumb to a fatalism which says nothing can be done, nothing will be done, and all attempts at doing something will surely fail; that evil and tragedy must always be.

Perhaps. But even if that were so (and I do not believe it has to be so) I have a choice on how to react to these things. I believe we all have a choice because most of what happens, happens because of us, because of people.  Even in the face of evil and tragedy, life is good and its goodness is worth redeeming every moment of every day; in spite of all the ugliness it comes clothed in.

REDEMPTION BEGINS WITH FORGIVENESS

It's at times such as the times we currently live in that I think of Jesus.  I think of what he must have faced on a daily basis living in Roman occupied Palestine with its many different voices and different groups in conflict with each other over how to live with or remedy their situation.  Jesus could have done what so many tried before him; to rally some followers into a militant group in order to effect change by rooting out the evildoers in their midst. I believe Jesus understood how pointless those efforts were. 

Instead Jesus, like his contemporary, John the Baptizer attempted to affect change one individual at a time, with one very important difference.  John's approach to bringing people back, to redeeming them, was to preach repentance and offer baptism as sign and symbol of their commitment to return to the basic goodness of life and God.  The problem with this approach is that it requires one seeing a need to do so.  Jesus took a different approach.  Instead of making repentance the starting point for change, Jesus started with love in action, love in the form of bestowing forgiveness on those he met as the primary approach upon which change and redemption occurred.

Until next time, stay faithful.