Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

The Pastor: My Gift to Little Bradley (vulnerability triggers) - Brad Jersak

I was seven-years-old and in love. To my shame, I've forgotten her name, but my second-grade teacher left a deep impression on me. Nothing sexual at that point, but certainly a longing for her affection. She was young and beautiful and a child of the sixties, complete with rock star boyfriend, brightly patterned mini-skirts and all things "Age of Aquarius." She "punished" disruptive male students by making them sit on her knee but somehow my strategies to that end ever only landed me in the corner. 

I chose to channel my unrequited love into my first work of fiction. My beloved handed out two sheets of fullscap along with a sticker. The assignment was to write a short story on the subject of the sticker--mine was a tiger. I dove deeply into the process, my first effort at creative story-telling and a true labour of love. I remember the room and the desk where I wrote the tale of "Tiger the tiger" and I recall my parents peaking through the doorway, proudly witnessing the artist at work.

I remember the day I strode to Voyageur Elementary School to deliver my handiwork. I remember how cold that Winnipeg winter morning was. I remember my excitement and how proud I felt of the finished product. So proud, in fact, that before entering the school, I attempted a preliminary act of daring. I would tight rope walk along the top rail of the iron boot-scraper. I recall mounting, catching my balance, extending my arms and stepping forward. Alas, the ice! I slipped badly, stradling the bar and landing full-force on my young testicles! Oh, the excruciating pain! The traumatic embarrassment! The waves of nausea!

I gathered the remaining crumbs of my dignity, my shattered pride and my scattered notebooks. Gratefully, few seemed to have noticed the bruised fruit of my arrogance. I limped feebly into the school and down the hall to Ms.____'s homeroom. I reached into my parka pocket to retrieve my Tiger story--and found it was empty. Panicked, I returned to the scene of my accident and scoured the snow for the lost parchment. Nada. Gonzo. And an emotional hole opened in the pit of my stomach. All was lost. 

I had neither the time, energy or heart for a rewrite. My parents and teacher conferred, confirming completion and forgiving the missing assignment. But that didn't heal the wound. I made a vow to myself that day--my promise to Little Bradley. One day, I will complete the work. It won't be about the Tiger and it won't be for my teacher. It will be a gift to that broken-hearted child with the bruised nuts.

I am now 56-years-old. After nearly five decades, through the guidance and generosity of my dear friend and co-author, Paul Young, I have kept my promise. I've finally delivered my first work of fictional truth-telling, miscarried on the icy iron rail in February 1972. The Pastor: A Crisis is my gift to Little Bradley. Even the novel's dedication ("For Jacki") is to one of Little Bradley's very best friends.

Paul and I pray that by reading The Pastor: A Crisis, others like me would experience the healing of bruised and wounded child parts that we recount in its pages. "Trust the ripples," Paul says. I do. I really do.                 

Imbach's Wager - Brad Jersak with Stephen Imbach

PASCAL’S WAGER

Pascal was a genius mathematician and a brilliant philosopher/theologian. He is known in popular apologetics for what we call “Pascal’s Wager.” For a very precise discussion, I would refer readers to this article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. A simplistic summary of the wager might say:   

It is in our best interest to believe in God because if God does exist, the benefits are infinite—and even if God does not exist, our mistaken belief does no harm. But if any possibility exists that not believing leads to eternal punishment, the risk of unbelief far outweighs any of its advantages. I.e. Pascal’s Wager is that your best bet (most rational and most pragmatic) is on faith God, even if we cannot prove his existence.

Since the time of Pascal conceived of his wager in his classic tome, Pensées, numerous counter-arguments have developed. While I could present my own critical analysis, that’s not my point. I only mention it to present an alternative wager that goes “all in” on faith in the goodness of God and represents the real-life leap of my spiritual director, Stephen Imbach.

IMBACH’S WAGER   

Stephen Imbach was raised by God-fearing parents in a fundamentalist Christian environment where he internalized a shame-based conservative gospel. He eventually bottomed out in the presence of his spiritual director, who saw the torment Stephen endured by clinging to that old system of fear, condemnation and moralism. The spiritual director suggested a risky proposition: denounce God as you have come to conceive God.

Denounce is a strong word. It means to formally declare that we are abandoning something—in this case, every conception Steve ever assumed or adopted concerning the “faith of his fathers.” Stephen tells me that after pondering this challenge, he embarked on what I’m calling “Imbach’s Wager.” He said to God,

I am letting go of everything I have ever learned about God. God, if you want, you now have a chance to work and you can come to me however you want to.

That was it. He was not calculating the odds of reward or punishment based in rationalist or pragmatic faith. He had already found transactional, performance-based religiosity bankrupt. There was nothing left to lose. He would simply pin all his hopes on the possibility that God is good.

That’s Imbach’s Wager: with nothing left to lose, what if we let go and found out that God is good—good enough to come find us.     

GENUINE PEACE

I asked Stephen how God came to him. It isn’t the same for everyone. Even though the Christian community might have judged him as a backslider and equated restoration with returning to the fold, God had his own path for Stephen. How did God come to him? In Stephen’s words,

A genuine peace came over me. Peace that everything is going to be okay. That God was saying, “I am not letting you go” and peace because, “Finally, you are being honest with me.”

When you let God come to you, it will be in a way that is most significant to you. I needed God to come in peace because my life is generally inner turmoil.

The peace that came I could not find for myself. It was peace with my own sense of self and peace that I’m really okay with and before God. And so eventually, I let him find me.  

I wonder: for those who have undergone some measure of deconstruction, rather than clinging by a final fingernail to a faith that requires clinging to, what if we took the huge risk of letting go (so different than walking away) and said, “I will not manufacture pseudo-belief for even one more step. But I will consent to watching for and welcoming Divine Love’s approach, wherever and however She chooses." I wonder. No, I might even bet on that.  

The Bruderhof - "Another Life is Possible" - Review & Reflections by Brad & Eden Jersak

Another Life is Possible – Insights from 100 years of Life Together

Another Life is Possible (Plough, 2020) arrived on our doorstep not long ago. Eden picked up the package and felt its physical weight, but we no idea how its physical size would be outweighed by the contents within the book’s covers. In this reflection, both Brad and Eden will respond. Eden first:

Another Life is Possible is possibly the most stunning book I (Eden) have ever worked through.

I (Eden) grew up in a Mennonite community (though not living “IN” community), and I feel a strong affinity to the Bruderhof. I resonate with the spirit of peace and pacifism, and the desire to work together to make change, instead of being lone agents. Having family close, eating together, working hard and sharing a purpose all tick the imaginary boxes in my heart.

All the technical components come together in this book. The pictures are breathtaking, capturing not only the form of each subject, but the very essence of them. The history and timeline of this community are laid out in a very clear and understandable way. The personal reflections allow you to enter into individual stories, their history, passions, paths to the Bruderhof and more. It is very nearly like being invited into each of their homes, or at the very least sitting across the table from them with a cuppa in hand.

Imagine if you could live your life at the intersection of your calling and vocation, and not have to feel the constant tension our culture generates to go in one direction after another to prove yourself. It is entirely possible to know your neighbours, to live your life in an environment where peace is a priority, and there are no “Jones” to keep up with.

The community has found a way to separate themselves from the “world,” while entering right back into it as agents of change, bringing practical hope, life and love to those who are vulnerable to being lost in the cracks of our society.

What is most moving to me (Eden) is the seamless way the gifts, callings, and ministries dovetail together.

This tribute to 100 years of The Bruderhof is a fantastically beautiful volume of photos, stories and glimpses into a life that this community has toiled to create. Their stories are authentic, relatable and help to demonstrate that another way is not only possible but the potential to thrive is plausible!

The Pastor & the President – Reflections on the Implosion - Brad Jersak

The Pastor: A Crisis

Paul Young and I have just released our novella, The Pastor: A Crisis (Capella Books 2020). The story features the dramatic meltdown of a fundamentalist pastor whose ministry of condemnation and moralism turns out to be a mask for his own deep wounds and their shameful consequences. Forced to face his ‘demons,’ the question is whether this tragic figure can yet find redemption.

When asked if the central figure represents Paul or I, the answer is No. The Pastor is actually a fictional composite that reflects real situations we’ve encountered, but we can certainly both relate to the damage done by religious abuse, harms we’ve experienced and the hurt we caused others in our own unique brokenness. And really, doesn’t that describe the human condition? In the great cosmic bus crash, we were all on board—it’s just that some folks (like me) found themselves in more privileged seats as others went through the proverbial windshield face-first.  

Back to our story: egoism and self-will love to flow through religiosity, inevitably expressed in the oppression of others. Of course, that’s contemptible. What’s less obvious in the headlines is how perpetrators may be projecting and paying forward their own traumatic backstory at others’ expense. That doesn’t make it okay, but neither does ignoring that reality solve the problem. Cycles of abuse aren’t arrested through retribution—true justice that restores lives and societies only comes via the hard work of pursuing restorative paths for everyone involved.    

The President: An Implosion

By unhappy coincidence, The Pastor is being released the same week as Jerry Falwell Jr.’s scandalous implosion splashed its way across the front pages of every news outlet in America. The parallels to our story are significant – fundamentalist religion, moral hypocrisy, sexual deviance—the juicy stuff that feeds our craving for karmic blowback. The sad truth is that while you can make this stuff up, it’s a gut-punch when fiction is revealed as truth. But what is the truth? What are we meant to see through the swirling haze of another tabloid-worthy scandal? Here are a few takeaway reflections viewed through my study of the Gospels, my experience as a pastoral burnout and as co-creator of The Pastor.

1. “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1-2 KJV).

Jesus’ ominous warning (doubly so in ye olde English) should have been sufficient to humble his followers for all time. We should note that he is not issuing a divine threat so much as describing the nature of reality and the structure of society. In other words, I don’t read these verses as Christ’s intention—as in, “I’m going to pay you back in kind, you rotters.” He’s already rejected eye-for-an-eye payback earlier in this very sermon.

Rather, I hear Jesus talking about what typically happens in real life to those who are heavy-handed in their condemnation of others. Those who apply harsh standards inevitably break their own standards and then get judged by those same standards, whether by the culture or their conscience.

In the world we live in, the same activities Falwell is being condemned and cancelled for are continually normalized and even glorified on my Netflix menu. So, in our post-monogamous, anything-goes hook-up culture, why should he be singled out for condemnation?

Jesus explains it perfectly—Falwell was not so much judged for his actions but for his judgments and by his judgments, in the same measure as his judgments. That indicates to me that authentic repentance could start with his judgments and hypocrisy, rather than the ways he embarrassed his school or church’s image.

The irony is that our first temptation is to pick up the same stones Mr. Falwell has just dropped and feel justified in our heady new role as his judges. I stand warned by the same words of Christ. Which leads me to my next reflection.   

2. I need to examine my schadenfreude

^3 “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ⁴ Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? ⁵ Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”

Schadenfreude is a German term that literally means “pain-joy.” It is the odd feeling of satisfaction people derive from seeing someone else’s misfortunate—usually someone we hold in contempt. It’s that twinge of pleasure we feel when the proud man falls.

My son Stephen told me about a scientific study that suggested all but two of our emotions are experienced in one region of the brain: the exceptions are envy and schadenfreude. It made us wonder if they are emotions at all—and how the two vices are related.

I found myself instantly face-to-face with schadenfreude at the news of Falwell’s demise. I also knew from hard experience the importance of immediately resisting it. My greatest failings have been consistently treated with empathy and mercy—how dare I play the role of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35). But I also felt it necessary to examine the temptation instead of burying it in denial. Whence comes the schadenfreude? What is it about? What is it up to?

I saw how my truest self—“the better angels of my nature” or my true self-in-Christ—instinctively prayed, “Lord, grant Mr. Falwell the same mercy I’ve received.” After all, I can’t expect to live in the land of grace while consigning him to the land of the law. I can’t expect God to correct me with a feather while demanding the hammer drop for the other.

Simply and selfishly put, “Release him with the kindness I want for myself.” Or in a more Christlike vein, “Father, forgive him. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” But Brad, his sins were not in ignorance. They were deliberate. Deliberate yes, as are mine, but do we truly know what we do? We rarely understand the breadth of shrapnel and depth of damage we inflict when we entitle ourselves to transgress others and imagine we’re getting away with something. And no, that doesn’t disqualify us from forgiveness or exempt us from forgiving. But I won’t impose forgiveness on others who must live with pain they continue to endure. I’m only examining my own beam here.

I wonder too if schadenfreude is the shadow side of something right gone wrong. Is the satisfaction somehow also related to the exposure and expulsion of something we already intuited as rotten? When we know fundy-guilt-alism is a toxic counterfeit of authentic faith that has sabotaged millions of ex-vangelicals, we feel in our bones a certain rightness when the curtain is pulled back and the fraud is revealed.

The Psalmist, inspired by the Spirit, invokes curses against such men, even beseeching God,

¹² Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children… ¹⁵ Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Are these verses a revelation of God’s heart? Christ rejects cursing our enemies when he calls for blessing and prayers for them. Maybe the true inspiration here is that in God’s presence, David’s schadenfreude is honestly expressed so it can be thoroughly expunged, and all malice neutralized. Nevertheless, we are grateful when deception is finally seen for what it is and comes to a terminus.

3. “Moral outrage is a form of confession.” –Archbishop Lazar Puhalo

Finally, for a seasoned confessor like the monk Lazar Puhalo, nothing that went down with Mr. Falwell and Liberty University (as a multi-generational fundamentalist system) was a surprise. To Lazar, the moralizing message and ministry of condemnation is the surest sign and symptom of deeper, repressed passions Mr. Falwell was suffering. Those briefly released IG photos and videos were a confession dying to happen—‘dying’ because Falwell’s sloppiness signals the wear and tear of chronic guilt. Beneath the licentious behavior, Lazar saw (years ago) a soul who was suffering the corrosion of his own corruption and who projected his affliction in escalating xenophobia. The secret pain that energized his attacks is now public.

At least that’s how Abp. Lazar would diagnose him from afar (because who in his inner circle is up to it?). I’d call his assessment generous, because he’s seeing past the acting out behavior to the troubled heart of a real person. In confession, Lazar never asks, “What sins have you committed?” He always, always begins, “What is troubling you?” And his agenda is to bring the gospel to the heart of that trouble. That’s the mercy I’ve known throughout my own troubles. I hope that kind of love will penetrate Jerry Falwell Jr.’s heart and extend to all those damaged by the same system he both propped up and that became his cruel millstone.

In that sense, though Paul Young and I wrote the first drafts of The Pastor: A Crisis some years ago, I do see our book directly addressing both the dark shadows of this moment and, Lord willing, shining a healing light into it.

Q&R with Brad Jersak - 2 COVID 7:13? - 2 Chronicles 7 and the Pandemic

Question

I have a question regarding the scripture in 2 Chronicles 7:13,14 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

 

So many churches, pastors and leaders are quoting this OT scripture regarding the current pandemic and asking people to pray to have God stop this pandemic, and these are leaders of denominations and movements here in Australia.

 

In my mind, the premise of this interpretation of this text is that God has sent this plague because of our sin and so it is a punishment from God. Wouldn’t it be a more appropriate interpretation to understand this text in light of the author's perspective and mindset of their understanding of what God was like?

 

I would love to hear your thoughts or ask that you would be able to point me in the right direction regarding this particular scripture and how we interpret in light of prayer and this current pandemic.

 

Response

Good and timely question! 

 

I would begin by saying that Christians have no business in this text without reference to Christ and his gospel. That is, we are not welcome to read it as if we were Jews who had never heard of Jesus, his ministry and his teachings. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our invitation is to read the OT (Moses, the Prophets and all the Scriptures) as they prefigure Christ. Jesus must be our Rabbi and Sponsor into 2 Chronicles.

 

Most importantly, it is ultimately Christ alone who reveals the true nature of God, especially on the Cross, showing us that God IS self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering love. God-in-Christ also shows and tells us how he relates to 'wrath' in ways more nuanced (and still developing) than in the OT writings. The characters, narrators and authors of the OT anticipate and foreshadow Christ but John 1:18 and Hebrews 1:1-3 indicate that only in Christ do we see the fulness of God's nature and ways.

 

All of that informs how Christians came to read the OT. Early Jewish worldviews describe God directly blessing and cursing our virtues and vices by sending health, good weather and abundant crops on the righteous and sending disease, droughts and plagues on the wicked. This kind of direct intervention into secondary causes comes through in the Deuteronomic Covenant (e.g. Deut. 28). The OT prophets were typically and simply 'covenant enforcers.' observing their culture and applying those covenant passages to the situation as the voice of God. 

 

But already within the OT, various authors are challenging that worldview. They understand that it doesn't always work that way. The foolish friends in the book of Job who see the world that way are rebuked for saying things that very much echo those covenants. David loves the law but also asks, "Then why do the wicked prosper? And why are the righteous afflicted?" 

 

By the time you get to Isaiah and Ezekiel (for example), you still have this type of covenant enforcement lingo, but they also begin to distance God from direct wrath. Instead of "if you sin, God will destroy you," you get "if you sin, Babylon will destroy you." Where is God in that? First, his wrath becomes indirect: "He will give you over to your sin" or "He will give you over to Babylon." The idea is that God is not the destroyer. But God warns them that he will consent to their defiance and the consequences that naturally follow. Second, God becomes their co-suffering deliverer from the wrath (which gradually becomes a synonym for Satan). In Romans, Paul will make the same clarification: the wages of sin is death while the free gift of God is life. God is not the death-dealer. In chapter 1, he defines wrath as 'he gave them over' three times. So wrath is now a metaphor for the self-destructive consequences of our own defiance and God in his love both consents to our waywardness and participates in our salvation.

 

And now this brings us to Christ, who gets the last word. Christ has come into a world where people are already perishing (John 3:16-17) with an agenda to save. He IS the image of God in this world. And as God, he addresses the problem of direct wrath (as cited in Chronicles) on two major occasions. 

 

1. John 9 - "Who sinned that this man should be born blind? Him or his parents?" Implication, Sickness, disease and disability are God's punishments for sin. Jesus denies it. Wrong question. Wrong worldview. His response is that when we see sickness, disease and death, we don't know for sure if sin was involved except in the sense that we've all been part of a cosmic bus crash and some people had worse seats. You just can't judge and individual as righteous or wicked, blessed or cursed by God, based on their struggles. Rather, we should see human maladies as an occasion for God's mercy and healing. That's always where Christians must start.

 

2. Luke 13 - Pilate's Temple Massacre and the Fall of the Tower of Siloam: Here we have people dying at the hands of the Romans and in a tragic collapse of a local highrise. Jesus addresses how we should see the victims. Were they any more wicked than the survivors? No. You can't judge that because God was not the death-dealer. In one case, it fell to human wickedness and in the other, it was probably a random tragedy. We cannot infer anything about the victims' standing before God and we cannot attribute these deaths to God. In effect, he says, "Worry about your own hearts. Stop pointing the finger. Everyone is perishing. Turn to God for mercy. Ask God for deliverance." 

 

With that established, how do we read the passage in Chronicles? We understand that a Christological reading prohibits us from a literalist read that adopts a worldview that Christ already redirected into the gospel image of God. And when there is turmoil in the land, we may certainly ask ourselves, did we somehow cause these tragedies, but we cannot venture to assign blame to God or to the victims of tragedy. But where we see injustice at work, we can acknowledge our complicity, turn back to God and watch how the fruit of our lives changes (whether naturally or supernaturally). 

 

Examples: When the twin towers fell, did God send the planes? When hurricane Katrina hit, did God swamp New Orleans? How about this pandemic? Some have said so. Why would he do that? Obviously to punish America. For what? Televangelists suggested various pet sins that they like to rail on. Their proclamations completely ignore the teachings and revelation of Christ. 

 

Yes, we can ask ourselves, have WE done anything to cause these events? Did WE instigate the kind of hate and desperation that leads to terror? Did WE cut corners that led to collapsing sea walls and dikes? Have WE mishandled COVID by neglecting to love our neighbors as we ought? Perhaps we should turn toward God to ask these questions, change our self-defeating practices and look for mercy. But we don't blame God for directly sending death and we don't sort the righteous from the wicked by measuring who was hit hardest and who got off lucky. And then we look at how these events become occasions for grace. 

 

Where is God in this? He's digging through rubble and hard at work in ICU through people who manifest his love and grace in the world. We partner with his ministry of redemption rather than siding with the accuser of the brethren. We become the change we want to see. And in this way, we fulfill a Christocentric reading of the Chronicles passage. 

 

Blessings!

Brad        

 

Resilience: A Black Woman in America - LaToshia Everson with Brad Jersak (IRPJ)

LaToshia Everson is a Black leader, activist and academic in America. In this interview, she shares her personal experience as a Black woman in America and within an inter-racial marriage. She then carefully defines key terms (whiteness, white fragility, white solidarity, racism, systemic racism, anti-racism, allyship, etc.). She speaks about the #BLM protest movement, love and anger versus hate, nonviolence and Jesus. She guides Brad through some key double binds and finally announces the gospel to the Black community and beyond. Magnificent resource.

A Person of Colour for All Colours: The Scandal of Jesus' Universality & Particularity - Brad Jersak

Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish person of colour who united himself to people of all colours.

 

As Fr. Kenneth Tanner says, "We can either be scandalized by his universality or his particularity."

 

In his universality, he both transcends colour and unites himself to every and all colours as the every-human.

 

In his particularity, Jesus was neither black nor white. He was specifically a Palestinian Jew--Semitic and so neither European nor African.

 

When I say Jesus was a 'person of colour,' I emphasize his identification with all people of colour who have been excluded or oppressed.

 

But I also cringe at creating an us-them umbrella for Jesus under which all colours are included except white people. White people already made that horrid mistake and I will grieve that to my grave.

 

If the consensus is that white exclusion is the way to make things right, I will take my turn outside the city. Lord knows it's justified. But I've never seen reason to be confident that exclusion creates a just society. So again today, despite what I deserve, I ask for mercy.

 

This same principle of universality and particularity applies to the sexes. Jesus was a single Jewish male who united himself to people of all sexes.

 

In his universality, he transcends sex, sexuality and gender while uniting himself to every human being regardless of their sex, sexuality or gender because again, he is the every-human.

 

In his particular sex, sexuality and gender, Jesus of Nazareth: 

(1) was a biological male,

(2) was asexual in practice, engaged in neither gay nor straight sexual relationships and

(3) exhibited the FULL range of healthy gender traits (masculine & feminine/lion & lamb characteristics).

 

Jesus seems to anticipate his ascended, resurrected state as forever human but transcending sex and sexuality:

 

"At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." Matt. 22:30  

 

So, if the consensus is that male exclusion is the way to make things right, I will take my turn outside the city. Lord knows it's justified. But I've never seen reason to be confident that exclusion creates a just society. So again today, despite what I deserve, I ask for mercy.

 

I think Cherith Nordling said it well,

 

"It's not that in Christ, our particular markers (race, sex, gender, etc) are eradicated or accidental. But transcending them means they no longer have a place of privilege over the other as assigned by the fallen world system. My identity is in Christ, but this is not sameness. Rather, my particular me-ness is my unique contribution and it is to be cherished."

James Finley on Richard Rohr's 'Universal Christ' - Response from Brad Jersak

“Phenomenal cosmic powers … Itty bitty living space.”

—Genie, Disney’s Aladdin

Richard Rohr’s instant classic, The Universal Christ (2019), raised quite a stir by distinguishing the historical Jesus from the “cosmic Christ,” for it seemed to flow in the opposite direction of the apostle John’s insistence that “Jesus IS the Christ.” Indeed, I’ve occasionally flagged that distinction as problematic. 

And then again, much of the pushback Fr. Richard received for his teaching contained more error and less orthodoxy than what his critics thought to oppose. Rather than nitpicking Rohr, I want to hear the treasure in what he’s thoughtfully and prayerfully attempted—I want to perceive with my heart what the Spirit is speaking through the limitations of human thought and words. Said another way, I want to receive the gift of the Incarnation afresh through this friend who exudes it so beautifully.

To do so, I’ll briefly engage with his contemplative colleague, James Finley, in his summary of Rohr’s teaching.¹

So, James begins:          

Our Christian faith does not teach us that God became incarnate in someone named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago. Rathe,r our faith teaches that in the person of Jesus who lived 2000 years ago, it is revealed that God has become incarnate as us—that God’s life and our life are one life and this one life is Christ’s life, a unitive life in which in some essential sense, we and God are not dualistically other than each other.

And this is where Finley and Rohr lose so many of us. Are they denying the Incarnation? Not really, no. Are they denying the uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth as the “only begotten” Son of God? Not as I’ve come to know Fr. Richard. Rather, they view Jesus as the focal point of this unique revelation: that in Jesus of Nazareth, God the Word (the universal Christ) did more than temporarily borrow a human body to roam around Galilee and die outside Jerusalem. The revelation of Jesus Christ (for I stubbornly combine the two ‘names’ in one person) is that infinite Love is unitive. That is, our Creator is united to all creation, Christ is united to all humanity and infinite Love is united to you. Finley describes this “unitive nature”:    

What’s so key about this understanding of unitive nature—of God’s life being given to us as our own life—is that this oneness with God and life itself is not something that’s been given to us out of the ability to live up to some ideal that we aspire to, some set of moral principles or standard like the law that we’re trying to measure up to.

This should certainly trigger a resounding “Amen” from those who’ve had a taste of grace. The indivisible union of this God of “phenomenal cosmic love” in the “itty bitty living space” of the Virgin’s firstborn baby is the quintessential revelation that this same Love resides in you and “ain’t goin’ nowhere.” It is not sabotaged by our shameful bits or propped up by our grandest achievements…    

To the contrary, in Jesus of Nazareth is revealed that God has freely chosen to become identified with us—unexplainably precious in the midst of our fragility itself. That in some sense, the recognition of our fragility, the recognition of our weakness, the recognition of the unresolved matters of our mind and heart is the condition in which we realize the infinite love of God is infinitely identified with us in the midst of those very issues…

Please remember that the “Incarnation” extends beyond the virginal conception of Jesus or his birth in Bethlehem. The historic Incarnation encompasses the whole of the life of Christ, including his death on the Cross. What does the Cross reveal about the “unitive mystery”? How does it apply to my faith journey today? Forgiveness of sins, for sure. But there’s more:

Another key insight that runs through the heart of our faith is that Jesus says, “Come, follow me” and we discover where he is leading us is the Cross. And what is the Cross in the context of our faith? It is the mysterious process of dying to our dreaded and cherished illusions that anything less or other than an infinite union with infinite love has the authority to name who were are. That is to say, the mystery of the cross is dying to the idolatry of shame, as having authority to name who we are, and it is also simultaneously dying to the authority of virtue or attainment.

You see, the Incarnation reveals that it’s not about how good or bad we’ve been, but that Infinite Love freely chose to identify with us, abide in us and become inextricably woven into the human condition. Christ emptied himself into humanity to raise up humanity with himself—in no way contingent on our performance:  

Because this love is so unexplainably given to us by infinite love, it is a love we are powerless to diminish and we are powerless to increase. It is boundaryless in all directions through and through.

Some have wondered whether Rohr’s Jesus/Christ distinction or “cosmic Christ” revelation makes the Cross unnecessary. Rohr is unequivocal: “Without the Cross, your suffering would be meaningless.” But with the Cross, we see how Christ (perfect Love) co-suffers with all human suffering. Ironically, our embrace of the Cross of Christ means our death but what a gift! Why? 

… this process of this sweet death—of dying to everything less than love is our experiential salvation.

Dying to the idolatry of both shame and achievement reorients us to Infinite Love and now that Love names us. No longer do we know ourselves by what we’ve done or failed to do. Rather, our identity is rooted deeply in Perfect Love’s infinite union with us.

I will take Finley and Rohr’s word as a call to grow a little bit more in love (in Christ) by ‘dying’ a little bit more (to performance). To let my fearful “what ifs” become bold  “even if” faith statements … and ultimately, to fix my eyes and ears on Christ, who “Because Love ____, therefore____.” And to let that be my hymn of hope and praise!    

------------------ 

[1] James Finley, “On The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3yIwHgGaKE.

Institute for Religion Peace & Justice - Check us out!

Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice (St. Stephen's University) – Join us in 2020/21! from IRPJ on Vimeo.

The Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice (St. Stephen's University) is accepting applications for our online, six-course, accredited Certificate program for the fall 2020 semester. This program can be completed in eight months and is for *any* curious and thoughtful person who wants to integrate spiritual and theological considerations with practical peace work, nonviolent activism, peacemaking, and advocacy for either personal enrichment and knowledge acquisition or professional enhancement.

The Certificate is a stand-alone credential that can enhance one's preparation and experience for use in organizations that focus on peace and humanitarian work, including NGOs and non-profits, and as a professional development upgrade.

The Certificate is also a professional enhancement credential for clergy who want to guide their church community in the ways of peace and justice spiritually, theologically, and practically.

For more information, visit irpj.org/certificate To check your eligibility and to apply, visit irpj.org/admissions The Certificate program can also be completed as the online Peace Studies Track of SSU's M.A. or M.Min in Theology & Culture. For more information on this, visit irpj.org/graduate-degrees If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our director, Dr. Andrew Klager — andrewklager@ssu.ca. Or you may wish to visit our FAQs page: irpj.org/faq

The David Moore Interview: This White Guy's Experience - Brad Jersak

On May 29, 2020, as Minneapolis was burning with race riots in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, I was able to interview Dr. David N. Moore. He is an activist, pastor, teacher and the author of Making America Great Again: Fairy Tale? Horror Story? Dream Come True? A Challenge to the Christian Community, An Appeal to the Global Community. 

I want to share briefly about my experience of the interview. I will make it about me. Because that's what I'm prone to do in the midst of other's crises. If you haven't seen the interview, here it is. My reflections follow below the video.

Now, I want to briefly share my experience of the interview. First, as you can tell, I felt awkward. I think that's appropriate right now. I just know we need to wade into hearing the lament of those who are poor in spirit, mourning, hungry and thirsty for justice right now. I'm okay with awkward if that's what NOT "turning from my own flesh and blood" requires (cf. Isaiah 58:6-12). 

Amidst the fear, chaos and flames of the past weeks, I am convinced that hearing the voice of prophetic protest against systems that undergird, generate and justify racism is to hear "the word of the Lord."

At no time did I feel David condemning or shaming me for the colour of my skin. What I heard was what many African Americans feel and what they experience ... that was my agenda coming into the conversation and how David framed what he said. I heard his critiques of "whites" in the context of white supremacy, which I regard as a demonic ideology rooted in fear and practiced as violence. I also recognize the issue more broadly as *whiteness*--not simply the colour of my skin but in terms of racial identity, privilege and bias, consciously practiced or unconsciously assumed. While I do not consciously identify with white supremacy, during the interview, I tried to be vigilant and mindful, watching the mirror for my own blind complicity to racial assumptions, especially by omission.

The conversation prepared me for authentic identificational repentance, where I could genuinely say, "I am so sorry. WE have sinned." I think of the prophet Daniel's confession in Daniel 9:5 as an act of vicarious national repentance and Jesus' undergoing John's "baptism of repentance" as an act of vicarious sin-bearing confession and cleansing. Identifying my participation in and contribution to the problem (even in silence) led me to mean what I said. I AM sorry. WE have sinned.

Although David is an empowered man, a serious academic and an effective shepherd, I wanted to hear him in this moment of fresh lament, because I believe our first order of business as Christ-followers is co-suffering love with those who've had a knee on their neck for many centuries. I want to discern the lament communicated in David's quiet and thoughtful voice and also beneath and above and through the outrage that takes desperate people to the streets. And I want to say that I don't like looting or vandalism, but surely we can see the asymmetry between that reaction and its chronic backstory of lynching and murder. 

All that to say, David gently enabled me to feel real grief for the African-American community rather than shaming me for the unearned advantages I enjoy as an accident of my pigment. He also suggested ways for me to avoid becoming the hateful monster I want to overcome. I am still meditating on the important implications of his advice to "speak out against injustice without thinking that to do so is being extreme." And as my sons have modeled for me, pushing back at the darkness starts where we're most vulnerable to it: flagging moments with our own friends and family when they think private racial slurs are acceptable.  

 

IRPJ.org presents: Racism, Fear & a Disorder of Territoriality - Dr. David N. Moore w/ Brad Jersak

Brad Jersak interviews activist, pastor, teacher, Dr. David N. Moore. He is the author of Making America Great Again: Fairy Tale? Horror Story? Dream Come True?

David and Brad discuss racism in America, the fears that drive it, the "disorder of territoriality" and the asymmetry of racial protests. How do we avoid becoming the very monster we oppose.

"I noticed similarities between my experience and those of survivors of abuse, especially with reference to their need to tell their story, and thereby reclaim their lives. Having lived most of my life in the world of white Christians, feeling unheard on matters of race and empire, this book is an important part of my personal journey towards forgiveness and even, in some cases, hope for reconciliation."

ON RORSCHACH, RAINBOWS & WAR BOWS – Brad Jersak

WHAT MIGHT THIS BE?

When you look at the following inkblot, what do you see?

Hermann Rorschach’s famous and controversial diagnostic test sought to understand the human psyche and mental illness by analyzing the patterns behind our perceptions. The following 5-minute summary explains how the test works and how it doesn’t work.

 

While debate continues around the use and misuse of the Rorschach Test, what we can say for sure is that (1) people perceive the world in dramatically different ways and (2) our interpretation of symbols may tell us more about the beholder than what we’re beholding.

FROM RORSCHACH TO RAINBOWS

When you look at the following symbol, what do you see?

Of course, it’s a rainbow. But what does it represent to you?

At one time, the rainbow represented God’s promise after Noah’s flood. Here we have the earliest preserved mythology of the rainbow:

• ¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” ¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.” (Genesis 9:12-17)

What a beautiful biblical promise. But then again, as a young fundamentalist, the itinerant revivalists also paired this passage with 2 Pet. 3:10:

• But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Hang on. So he promises never to destroy the world with water ever again. But he’s willing to do it with fire. Hmm. How about just drown me?

Anyway, later in the Bible, we discover a rainbow identified with God’s throne and angelic messenger (Ezek. 1:26-28, Rev. 4:1-4, Rev. 10:1-2) and it’s apparently a halo or radiance … not refracted but emerald green.

THE DOUBLE RAINBOW

Rainbows are not exclusive to the Jews or Christians. The story even says so. Have you ever seen a full double rainbow? My friend Lorie Martin (IG @loriemartin) took this photo last week at Cultus Lake in beautiful British Columbia.

Amazing! And symbolic! In other cultures and religions, the full double rainbow is a sign of blessing. Haitian Voodoo even has a Creole term for it, but it’s been nearly three decades since I heard it. Let me know if you find out.

RAINBOWS: PRIDE & HOPE

Today, the rainbow symbol has been adapted and adopted for other purposes. Let’s say I post this cartoon by David Hayward (@thenakedpastor)) on social media. In fact, I will. The comments to follow will tell me a little about the cartoon and a whole lot about those who respond or react.

Take a moment. What do you see? What do you feel? What thoughts come to mind?

I’ll tell you what I saw:

I saw Jesus. I could tell by the crown of the thorns, the long gown, the middle eastern complexion and the outstretched arms. The outstretched arms speak of divine hospitality, of inclusion, and remind me of God’s cruciform (cross-shaped) love.

I also saw masks and rubber gloves and social distancing … air-hugs from six feet away. And then there’s the rainbow wool on the sheep. Did you know that in 2020, the rainbow has been chosen as a symbol of hope during the COVID-19 crisis? It speaks a word of promise that we’ll get through this, that we’ll renew contact again, and that we’re cheering on the medical professionals who are risking their lives to care for the infected and seeking solutions.

I’m also reminded that the LGBQT+ community adopted the rainbow as a sign of pride in who they are. Not long ago, being queer was illegal and dangerous (and still is in much of the world). Christians condemned the gay community with threats of hellfire and personal violence (and many still do). But David Hayward’s cartoon pushes back. If the sheep’s rainbow wool symbolizes gay people, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36), then what is Jesus’ orientation toward them?

Here’s a radical statement: God loves everyone. If the next word that comes to mind is but, then God loves everyone is your Rorschach Test. What would that but say about our orientation to the love of God?

GOD HANGS UP HIS BOW

Back to Noah. One more Rorschach Test. What does God mean by, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds?” I regularly read Hebrew scholars who believe that the text draws a connection between the rainbow and the war bow. Very interesting. I know of two versions:

A Covenant Promise: I believe it was Dr. Matt Lynch who told me that ancient covenants would include a penalty clause for breaking covenant. “If I break this promise,_____________.” In this case, God promises all creation that never again will there be such a world-ending destructive flood. And to ensure he never defaults on the contract, he places a cocked war bow in the sky aiming up, at himself. If the covenant fails, the divine arrow is pointed at God’s heart, not ours.

A Retirement Heirloom: Others believe that when God hangs up the bow, it symbolizes God’s public retirement from the wrath business. Not only will there be no more global floods, but the rainbow becomes a sign of peace with God. We’re not to regard God as the destroyer of worlds. In fact, Noah’s unique version of the flood is about the Savior-God who has cleansed and recreated the world already ruined (made uninhabitable) by human violence (Gen. 6:11).

The Hanging God: In the end, the Noahic covenant is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. The same Lord who hung the rainbow in the heavens now hangs upon a Cross, speaking peace to the world. Thus the Cross becomes our new rainbow, the universal symbol of God’s orientation toward humanity, where mercy triumphs over judgment.

Sowing Love for Peace-building in the Middle East - Mercy Aiken with Safi Kaskas & Brad Jersak

The Emmaus Way: Reading the Bible as Gospel Typology - Brad Jersak with Abp Lazar Puhalo

Living Faith in Loving Conversation - Safi & Eman Kaskas with Brad & Eden Jersak

The Kaskas & Jersaks in Loving Conversation.

We discuss:

1. Why we, as Muslims and Christians call each other brothers and sisters in the Lord.
2. The ethical unity of love for God, neighbor & enemy.
3. What it means for both Muslims and Jews to follow Jesus and live the Sermon on the Mount.
4. The essence of the Qur'an as freedom.
5. Freedom and oppression of women (faith vs. culture).
6. What Christians should know about Mohammed.

Ron Dart's (ed.) "Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson: A Christian Perspective" - Review by Brad Jersak

Reflective Review of Ron Dart (ed.), Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson: A Christian Perspective (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), 210 pages.

It may well be that the tide of Dr. Jordan Peterson’s rise as a social phenomenon has crested and begun its wane. After a long career as an academic and therapist, we witnessed this fascinating Canadian become a major media celebrity-villain, uber-selling author, and then recede into treatment to overcome his dependency on prescription medication. While his opponents might wish him the worst, the man is an expert on improving resiliency, so I wouldn’t plan for his exit prematurely.

The truth is, Jordan Peterson is more than a polarizing influence: he’s a living Rorschach test. I learn almost nothing about him by reading his fans or opponents. But I can certainly infer a fair deal about them. And frankly, it got old. One couldn’t even mention him on social media without a firestorm of devolving shitfits. How’s that for a mixed metaphor? Having actually read the man’s books and listened to his lectures, I would argue that Peterson says almost nothing that validates his alt-right sycophants or arms his far-left critics. He did, however, serve to hold the mirror up to fascist groupthink on both ends of left-right spectrum ideology. And, well … yawn.

While his recovery and the pandemic give us a breather from the hyperbolic blowhards, it’s a treat to read a calm and scholarly work that reflects on Peterson’s real thought. Ron Dart has edited a fresh collection of essays titled Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson. Ten clear-minded assessments without a hint of slather or anxious body odor.

At the same time, the peace isn’t boring. I’m very intrigued by what Christians make of Peterson’s elusive faith and his non-denial denials thereof. Unlike C.S. Lewis or Tolkien, there’s no chance that the Evangelical tribe will be able to project themselves onto his thought to co-opt him for their agendas. Yet ironically, who else has reinvigorated interest in the Bible and tempted millennials to re-examine faith in Canada more than Jordan Peterson? Ex-church agnostics were filling large halls to hear him ramble on about archetypes in the Book of Genesis for endless hours. Now that was newsworthy. I’ll say it: for good or ill, Jordan Peterson has been, by far, the most effective evangelist in our nation for many decades. A striking accomplishment for someone who is self-consciously agnostic and heterodox. But that’s part of the appeal, no?    

Back to the book. I may as well drop the table of contents here:

Contents

    “Introduction” by Ron Dart

1. “Jordan Peterson and the Chaos of Our Secular Age” by Bruce Ashford
   
   
2. “Jordan Peterson the Counter-Revolutionary: Marxism, Postmodern Neo-Marxism, and Suffering” by Hunter Baker
   
   
3. “Language and Freedom: Jordan Peterson as Champion of Free Speech (and Freedom from Compelled Speech)” by Alastair Roberts
   
   
4. “Myth, Memoricide, and Jordan Peterson” by Ron Dart
   
   
5. “Archetypes, Symbols, and Allegorical Exegesis: Jordan Peterson’s Turn to the Bible in Context” by T. S. Wilson
   
   
6. “Jordan Peterson’s Genesis Lectures: Interpreting the Bible between Rationalism and Nihilism” by Laurence Brown
   
   
7. “The Image of Christ: Jordan Peterson as Humanist” by Esther O’Reilly
   
   
8. “Professor Peterson, Professor Peterson: What Is Your View on … Science and Religion?” by Esgrid Sikahall
   
   
9. “A Kierkegaardian Reading of Jordan Peterson” by Stephen M. Dunning
   
   
10. “Being and Meaning: Jordan Peterson’s Antidote to Evil” by Matthew Steem and Joy Steem

Myth and Meaning is well-written, thoughtful, and transcends the tired rhetoric, propaganda, hagiography, and misinformation that’s made “the historical Peterson” harder to locate. Each of the authors approaches their topic from within their own wheelhouse and applies their expertise to coolly interpreting a facet of his thought where they may be as competent or more so than he is. I found the book charitable and “true” if there’s such a thing in our age. I mean that its affirmations and critiques, whether accurate or mistaken, were consistently thoughtful and, more importantly for Peterson, in good faith. He deserves at least that. Everyone does.

I won’t annotate each chapter, but I would like to express enthusiastic kudos to Ron Dart for orchestrating this impressive ensemble. And I especially want to laud T.S. Wilson’s work in his chapter on “Archetypes, Symbols, and Exegesis.” It outshone the essay I had hoped to contribute on “Peterson’s Affinities to Patristic Interpretation.” Ron had kindly invited me to the table at a time when I knew I was unable to pull together something worthy of the volume. But I’m gratified that Wilson far exceeded the very best I could have offered. Well done, Taylor!

The secondary literature on Peterson is already expanding exponentially and will no doubt continue to grow. But unless readers are planning to accumulate a large collection, for my money, Dart et al’s Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson would be my go-to first recommendation.        

"The Lord Descends into Hades" St. Epiphanius and St. Maximus

Homily on Holy Saturday: The Lord Descends into Hades

St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus (403 A.D.)

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and Hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won Him the victory. At the sight of Him Adam, the first man He had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him, “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying, “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.

“I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by My own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in Hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead. Rise up, work of My hands, you who were created in My image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

“For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

“See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in My image. On My back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See My hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

“I slept on the Cross and a sword pierced My side for you who slept in Paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in Hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

“Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly Paradise. I will not restore you to that Paradise, but I will enthrone you in Heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am Life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The Bridal Chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. “

From the Synaxarion of the Lenten Triondion and Pentecostarion, Fr. David and Mother Gabriela, eds., HDM Press, Rives Junction, MI, 1999 pp. 160-161.

 

Homily: Christ Is Risen!

St. Maximus, Bishop of Turin (467 A.D.)

Christ is Risen! He has burst open the gates of Hell and let the dead go free; He has renewed the earth through the members of His Church now born again in Baptism, and has made it blossom afresh with men brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of Heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth. Because of Christ’s Resurrection the thief ascends to Paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the Holy City, and the dead are restored to the company of the living. There is an upward movement in the whole of creation, each element raising itself to something higher. We see Hell restoring its victims to the upper regions, earth sending its buried dead to Heaven, and Heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord. In one and the same movement, our Savior’s Passion raises men from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights.

Christ is Risen! His rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the Saints. And so David the Prophet summons all creation to join in celebrating the Paschal festival. “Rejoice and be glad,” He cries, “on this day which the Lord has made.”

The light of Christ is an endless day that knows no night. Christ is this day, says the Apostle; such is the meaning of his words, “Night is almost over; day is at hand.” He tells us that night is almost over, not that it is about to fall. By this we are meant to understand that the coming of Christ’s light puts Satan’s darkness to flight, leaving no place for any shadow of sin. His everlasting radiance dispels the dark clouds of the past and checks the hidden growth of vice. The Son is that Day to whom the Day, which is the Father, communicates the mystery of His Divinity. He is the Day who says through the mouth of Solomon, “I have caused an unfailing light to rise in Heaven.” And as in Heaven no night can follow day, so no sin can overshadow the justice of Christ. The celestial day is perpetually bright and shining with brilliant light; clouds can never darken its skies. In the same way, the light of Christ is eternally glowing with luminous radiance and can never be extinguished by the darkness of sin. This is why John the Evangelist says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to overpower it.”

And so, my brothers, each of us ought surely to rejoice on this Holy Day. Let no one, conscious of his sinfulness, withdraw from our common celebration, nor let anyone be kept away from our public prayer by the burden of his guilt. Sinner he may indeed be, but he must not despair of pardon on this day which is so highly privileged; for if a thief could receive the grace of Paradise, how could a Christian be refused forgiveness?

From the Synaxarion of the Lenten Triondion and Pentecostarion, Fr. David and Mother Gabriela, eds., HDM Press, Rives Junction, MI, 1999 pp. 166-167.

 

Conspiracy Theory: How & Why Christians Perpetuate the Tomb Soldiers’ Cover-up - Brad Jersak

 

     Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.

     And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’

     “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and ¹keep you out of trouble.”

     And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. –Matt. 28:11-15

Last weekend, on Easter Sunday in the Western tradition, I posted an article on Christ’s descent into and conquest of hades. Here is the link to the article and a link to all my primary sources: Holy Week – Resurrection Morning: A Harrowing Exit.

I showed from the Scriptures (including Jesus’ own words), from early Christianity, and even beyond that our Lord’s triumph over hades is central to the gospel message. Christ did not merely emerge alone from an empty tomb—he made his harrowing exit from “hell” itself and led a parade of prisoners to freedom.

This proclamation is not a side note or corollary to the gospel. 100s of millions of Christ-followers around the world proclaim it every week, at the very least when they cite the Apostles’ Creed. “He suffered, died, descended into hell, on the third day he rose again.”  

That article resonated strongly with readers, in part because the gospel it expresses is jubilant—Love wins! Life wins! Jesus wins! That’s the gospel—the message that took off in the first century.

And it is the same message that the Sanhedrin did all they could to repress. The temple guard (actual Levites) conspired with the chief priests to cover up the resurrection. “To this day.“

“TO THIS DAY”

Amid the positive responses to the gospel I described in my article was a remarkable subset of surprise. One commenter exclaimed, “WOW!! This is so beautiful! How is it possible that I’ve never—not once ever—heard this message before?!! I’ve been a Christian my entire life and this is entirely new to me!!”      

How, indeed?

The question has niggled at me all week. Here’s a conspiracy theory: our theological amnesia around Christ’s victory was no accident. It was a diversion and a cover-up. But by whom? And for what reason? Who stands to gain from the exclusion of Christ’s descent into hades and triumphal plundering of “the strong man’s goods”?

Think about it for a moment. The early church trumpeted this message of the resurrection: “Rejoice! Love wins, Life wins, Jesus wins! Death is defeated and hades is despoiled! Be not afraid! Christ is risen and has raised up humanity with himself! Be not afraid.” Why cover that up?

WHY COVER THAT UP?

Why demote Christus Victor from gospel truth to an “atonement theory”? Why displace it with alternative gospels rooted in wrath, driven by fear and threatening hellfire? What is to be gained by those who preach a retributive message of redemptive violence and terrorizing ultimatums? Why preach “Repent or burn!” where “repent” means join our club or be very afraid?”

Well, when I say it out loud, it seems obvious. A fearless proclamation of Christ’s victory leaves you with very little leverage for control over others. If you can’t threaten them into conformity, all you have left is … an open invitation? Why can’t you hold people hostage with the gospel? Because Christ has already freed them!

Now free, Christ has invited them to his table. And while there are warnings about the poverty and poison of the world system’s many competing tables, Christ removes the threat of wrath lest even one of his disciples responds through coercion rather than love, or fear rather than faith.

I believe we experience our salvation through a free faith response of love to Jesus’ good news. Messages of hellfire-fear and blackmail would sabotage our willing “Yes” or reduce it to expedient submission to terrifying force. A “white flag” reaction, so to speak. That’s not very good news. So, for the retributive gospel of redemptive violence (under threat) to work, what do you need to do?

You can’t be preaching Christ’s conquest of hades, that’s for sure. You can’t talk about how he vanquished the netherworld and emptied it of its inhabitants and its power. You NEED all that darkness as leverage. You need a conspiracy of silence around the stunning triumph between the Cross and the Resurrection.

Conversely, how do you overcome that conspiracy of darkness or break the power of silence? I guess we just spread the good news as the disciples did from the beginning, and so I will:

“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tomb, bestowing life!” 

descendit ad inferos “The Harrowing of Hades” with Sample Texts (compiled by Brad Jersak)

The Great Descent

The Law, the Psalms and the Prophets forecast it.
The Gospels and the Epistles allude to it.
Ancient Christian hymns, liturgies and poetry announce it.
It permeates both Eastern and Western theological tradition.
It even has its own line in the Apostles’ Creed.  

But only recently has Christ’s conquest of Hades caught the attention of moderns. It’s so central to the gospel message that its omission requires correction.

The same events go by various names—the great descent, the harrowing of hades, Christus Victor. But they all refer to the narrative that culminates in the resurrection of Christ before dawn on Easter Sunday.

For those not familiar with the story, the climax of Holy Week 2020 is as good a time as any. The coronavirus quarantine’s gift to you. I’ll summarize the narrative then link you to a sample of primary sources.

Here are the bare facts of Easter weekend as I’ve heard them:

• Christ suffers, dies and is buried on Good Friday.
• The disciples are locked out of the tomb through Black Saturday.
• Christ rises and exits the tomb before dawn on Easter Sunday.

That’s all we know. Or so I was taught. But in truth, the apostolic tradition dug deeper, gathering and interpreting their Scriptures and leaving us with this critical extra piece: “He descended into hell” (Latin: Inferno). When? Here’s the order:

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell (descendit ad inferos)
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven…

– The Apostles Creed

Translators like to swap in hades or death or the grave, which is all fine but doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. The early church regarded this descent as far more than Jesus being entombed or visiting the place of the dead. They regarded it as Christ’s victorious rescue mission into the kingdom of darkness—“hell” if you like. This is our Lord’s great conquest of the underworld in which Satan is bound, defeated and his captive souls rescued.

The great descent is also called a “harrowing,” not because Christ uses a rake, but because his arrival in hell creates distress for death’s wicked warden. Satan’s reign is over. And then, the King of Life who descends through death also ascends from death, shattering its gates. And he’s not alone! He doesn’t merely leave an empty tomb. Christ leaves the ruins of hades itself, leading its prisoners to freedom—the ultimate exodus.  

Yes, it’s an epic drama, adorned with symbolic language and poetic excess. Hades isn’t actually a giant fiery dungeon deep beneath the earth. You won’t find literal gates of bronze or broken dungeon chains down in the magma. It’s unlikely you’ll meet a demi-god named Hades borrowed from Greek mythology.

But that doesn’t make the story untrue. Rather, Christ’s victory is real, told as a theological narrative woven from the Scriptures and proclaimed as gospel truth. What is that gospel truth?

The Gospel Truth

First, that in Christ’s death, the power of death is broken. You don’t need to be afraid of it anymore. Death cannot separate you from the love of God and in fact, death as non-being or perpetual torment no longer exists. In Christ, death has become a doorway to eternal life.  

Second, that in Christ’s resurrection, we have the assurance of our resurrection. That he’ll raise us up with and to himself.  

And third, our rescue from hades and entry into eternal life don’t await the next life or coming age. The gospel is preached today for today. Whatever hell or hades or darkness you experience now … that’s where Christ comes. He descends into our “waterless pit” or “dark abyss,” whatever form that takes. And the eternal life he won is not merely heaven someday when you die. It’s fulness of joy (or life to the full) in this life.

If you’re like me, that’s not a magical snap of some genie’s fingers. I wasn’t given a happy pill at my baptism. It’s a daily journey within the loving grace of a friendship—a living connection with Life himself. But I can testify that despite my circumstances, my melancholy, my haters and my screw-ups, I experience the resurrection (repeatedly) in this life.

Regardless of your faith (and even if you have none), if a deeper living connection is your desire too, may I encourage you to pray a simple prayer? Here’s one: “Find me. Amen.” Or “Yes, please.” Or, “I’m dying here. Help me.” Whatever resonates. And then watch for him. “Christ plays in ten thousand places.” Pay attention. Rinse and repeat.

Joyous Easter. He is risen.

Click HERE to download the biblical and historical sources on Christ’s descent into hell

Where Lent Meets Ramadan - Brad Jersak with Safi Kaskas

Safi Kaskas

The purpose of worshiping God:

As we approach Ramadan, I keep reminding myself that God doesn't need my fasting or my five times a day prayers. So why I'm totally focused on fasting and praying?

It is because I need to fast and feel with the poor and the hungry and I need to bow down and put my forehead to the ground to tame my selfish ego.

Unless our fasting and praying make us BETTER PEOPLE, then they will be useless acts. What does a better person mean anyway???

It simply means a better neighbor. Someone who loves others and is charitable to them. A more peaceful person, a more forgiving person. One at peace with himself and at peace with others. Let's please remember that the purpose of worshipping God is to become better people on the inside and the outside.

Brad Jersak

As my friend Safi prepares for Ramadan, I find his principles of empathetic fasting and humbling prayer to be an entirely appropriate guide for the final week of (Western) Christian Lent, and for my (Eastern) tradition where we share the practice of full prostrations with our Muslim brothers and sisters.

The NT Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which we typically signify as TURNING from darkness to light and from self-will to surrender. But the word is also associating with BOWING DOWN in humility. In the Orthodox Church, to "do a metanoia" is to do a full forehead-to-floor prostration in prayer.

It sounds odd to say that Jesus "repented" since we see no darkness in him whatsoever. However, has anyone ever lived in such complete humility before God, descended to such depths of servanthood for humanity, to such submission to the divine plan? In that sense, the life of Christ is the ultimate prostration, the prototype for every true metanoia.