Forgive this foray into what I suppose is a kind of pragmatic theology (perhaps there’s truly no other kind) but I’ve been dipping into the quite remarkable, S. Mark Heim’s, "Saved from Sacrifice." And since it’s still Easter-tide–although the tide is going out–here’s my Heim-inspired Easter thought:
When a Christian tells you, "Jesus died for me," don’t believe that he means it unless he can locate, somewhere in his own social history, his personal involvement with the process that put Jesus to death, and, unless, he can locate others in his life, that, in the same sense, died for him. In other words, others that were victims of his conscious or unconscious involvement in the mechanism of scapegoating.
Only under this light can someone say with seriousness, that "Jesus died for him." Because only in this light do we find our Easter-eyes through which personal transformation is possible. Otherwise the phrase has the redemptive and reconciliatory weight of "I like tea."
Technorati Tags: S. Mark Heim, Saved from Sacrifice, Atonement, Christianity, Peace
