Spiritual Hiccups - For the Whole World

The Bible speaks about the meaning of Jesus' death in a number of different ways.  The notion of his death as an "atoning sacrifice for our sins" is one of my least favorite.  Temples and sacrifices were an accepted part of the world Jesus lived in, whether you were Jewish, Roman, Greek, or anything else.  But in our day when they are not, the idea seems to say that God needs blood.  Perhaps you see my discomfort.  And so I tend to read today's verses from 1 John to say that God provides what is needed to set things right, using the well accepted norm of sacrifice.  I certainly hope it doesn't mean that God in fact requires blood. (And I think there are numerous other verses that support this hope.)

But regardless of how one deals with the mechanics of sacrifice, John says that more than fixing the problem of our sins, Jesus' death is "for the sins of the whole world."  For the whole world... To be honest, I'm not entirely certain how to understand this.  Does Jesus' death somehow absolve the whole world, and that's it?  Or do you have to plug into the absolution in some way - say the magic words, be sorry for what you've done, believe in Jesus, etc? 

Churches like clear answers to such questions.  They are organizations, and like most organizations they want to be clear about their structures, purposes, mission, beliefs, etc.  And so churches like doctrine, but no more than political parties or corporations.  Such doctrines are necessary to give any sense of order to things.  But inevitably questions arise as to which parts of a doctrine are absolutely essential and which are optional.  Where is the line that determines whether I am inside or outside the camp?

The Church seems to be going through a lot of renegotiating on such things of late.  Especially in Protestant circles, after centuries of defining the essentials as being about faith or belief, many have begun reengaging the question of just how one plugs into that for the whole world promise found in Jesus' death. 

I think the Bible actually welcomes this process.  I see quite a few divergent conversations going on in the Bible about just how it is that Jesus' death is for the whole world.  And if we can step back, for the moment, from the assumption that many of us grew up with - that the main point of Jesus was to help us get to heaven - then we may hear the Bible saying some surprising things to us.

While many of us presume that "being saved" is synonymous with going to heaven, there is scant support for such a belief in anything Jesus said.  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus speaks mostly about "the kingdom," God's reign which is imminent and coming to this earth.  And in John, Jesus speaks of "abundant life" and "eternal life."  And while eternal life certainly speaks of a life beyond death, John is clear that eternal life is something that is a part of life now.  "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."  (John 17:3)

All theologies are provisional and subject to revision, my personal theologies much more so, but I find myself more and more rejecting traditional in-or-out boundaries that the Church has used.  Perhaps better, I find myself rejecting the meaning of such boundaries.  Abiding in Christ and obeying his commandments do form a distinct community, a community of love.  But I don't know that such boundaries are ultimate boundaries.  I wonder if the God who sends Jesus for the whole world sees them differently than we do.

What if "for the sins of the whole world" describes the nature of reality in God's new day?  What if it is simply how things are, the true reality that cannot be seen or experienced until God's new day invades us, until our lives begin to be transformed by God's grace so that they fit this new and true reality?  What if faith, relationship with Jesus, obedience, and love are not about getting our tickets punched for heaven, but are instead gateways to a still largely unseen reality that already is for the whole world?

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