The Radical Gospel of Easter
At Easter, we focus on life. Life being renewed. The plants waking up, animals being born, flowers blooming, the sun shining, and a new day dawning.
Lent arrives during the last stretch of winter, when historically, the stores of food would be running low, scarcity grew each day, hunger was present, and anxiety about the world becoming a nurturing place again was on the rise.
Lifelessness characterized the world, and it was a time to reflect on the parts of our own lives that contributed both to literal and figurative death. Scarcity is what most easily tips us back into ways of living that are about securing my own needs regardless of how the ways I do that impact others. In fact, it may even help me feel more secure to know that others don’t get what they need because it highlights how I do get what I need.
Easter is a response to Lent and is about overcoming that lifelessness with renewed life. We see life growing and expanding around us in nature, and we’re reminded that there is enough to meet everyone’s needs if we make it a priority to make sure that happens.
Many of us who are familiar with the Bible know that much of it is talking about the divisions between ethnic groups, and the community of people following Jesus were being taught to erase those divisions and care for each other, care for everyone.
1 It is you, who were lifeless through your shortfalls and deviations 2 with which you used to walk, conforming with the age mapped out by this world system and conforming to the standard of the one who rules by the authority of the air and the spirit-breath now at work in those who refuse to be persuaded. 3 Along with them, we all also used to get turned around by the longings of our bodies, doing whatever our bodies and minds wanted, and we were aggressively reactive and childish like everyone else. 4 But since God is wealthy with committed compassion—because of the extent of the love he gives us— 5 and since we were lifeless through shortfalls, he brought us to life along with Christ—you have been liberated because of generosity— 6 and he woke us up and seated us in the highest heavens along with Christ Jesus, 7 so that he would show the surplus wealth of his generosity throughout the coming ages with active kindness for you through Christ Jesus. 8 You see, you have been liberated through faithfulness because of generosity. This is not because of you; it’s God’s gift. 9 It’s not because of actions, so no one should take pride in it 10 since we are his doing, created with Christ Jesus for kind actions that God prepared in advance so that we may walk in line with them.
Notice how many references to wealth and surplus and generosity and gift giving there were in there. That generosity is a direct response to our instincts toward aggression and reactivity driven by our desires for self-preservation.
Now, how do we get to be included in this surplus and share in this generosity? Is it by meeting some qualification, being part of a particular group or demonstrating some kind of distinctive marker of belonging? Is being distinct—even by following God’s directions—the key?
Not based on what Ephesians says next:
11 Therefore, remember that those of you who used to be biologically other people groups—and called ‘the foreskin’ by the so-called ‘circumcision,’ which is physically done by hand— 12 that you used to be at that time without Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreign to the covenants of promise, having no hope and godless like the world system. 13 But now, with Christ Jesus, you who used to be far away have been drawn close by Christ’s blood. 14 That’s because he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and tore down the wall between us—the hostility—with his body. 15 He took away the power of law from directives given through decrees, so that—using himself—he could make peace between the two and create one new Person 16 and reconcile them both in the interest of God into one Body through the cross, having eliminated the hostility with himself. 17 After he arrived, he spread the message of the victory of peace to you who were far away and peace to you who were close by, 18 which is that we who share one Life-breath both have access to the Father through him. 19 That means, then, you are no longer foreigners and immigrants, but rather, you are fellow citizens among the sacred and part of God’s House, 20 being built on the foundation of the emissaries and prophets with Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone of the foundation. 21 The whole building, when it is put together by him, grows into a sacred temple for the Lord. 22 Namely, you are being built together by him with the Life-breath into a home for God.
Over and over, this section names separation and being far away as being remedied by Jesus. Over and over, two groups become one. The ones who are ‘in’ and the ones who are ‘out’ all become one group, and together, with peace among them, they become where the Life-breath of God makes her home.
Where there is unity, peace, and inclusion for all, it creates, cultivates, and spreads life. Scarcity and lifelessness are overcome with generosity and peace.
Galatians takes this idea and clarifies it even more, escalates it even further. Here’s the question as it is framed in Chapter 3.
5 So, does the one who provides Life-breath for you and activates power among you do so by actions from Torah or by a report of faithfulness?
Essentially, that question is “Does the one who gives you life and abundance do that because you belong by signaling your distinctiveness?” Or to put it another way, “Is inclusion in the promise of generosity decided by being part of a specific group and doing the things that conform to that group’s expectations?” Or, on the other hand, “Is inclusion in the promise decided because Christ was faithful and shares that faithfulness with all of us?”
Here’s what it says next:
6 Just as “Abraham faithfully trusted God, and it was recorded as a credit for him toward justice,” 7 so then, know that those who receive the Life-breath by faithfulness, they are heirs of Abraham. 8 Scripture, expecting that God is making other peoples participants in justice by faithfulness, announced the triumphant message in advance to Abraham: “All peoples will be praised as worthy through you.”
According this verse, the whole good news (what I’ve translated as ‘triumphant message’ is traditionally, ‘gospel’) is equated with the promise to Abraham, looking all the way back in Genesis. “All peoples will be praised as worthy through you.”
Now, remember,
“You have been liberated through faithfulness because of generosity. This is not because of you; it’s God’s gift. 9 It’s not because of actions, so no one should take pride in it 10 since we are his doing, created with Christ Jesus for kind actions that God prepared in advance so that we may walk in line with them.”
When it says ‘by faithfulness’ in this next verse, it’s referring to Christ’s faithfulness, which is made clear in Galatians 3:22 and it’s a gift. It’s not talking about our faithfulness or even about our ‘faith’ or ‘belief.’
9 So then, those who receive the Life-breath by faithfulness are praised as worthy along with Abraham who faithfully trusted.
Galatians 3:9 LIT
Now, remember, ‘when it talks about actions from Torah, it’s talking about virtue signaling, conforming to cultural identity markers, wearing the VIP badge that marks us as part of the in-group—even when it’s based on doing what Torah says. With that in mind, here’s what it says next:
11 But, clearly, no one is made just in God’s perspective through Torah—since “The just will be alive by faithfulness.” [. . .] 14 so that the praise of worthiness for Abraham would become for other peoples through Christ Jesus, so that we would receive the promise through faithfulness. 15 Family, here is a way for me to say it based in human experience: When a person has authorized a will, no one nullifies it or adds to the directives. 16 Now, the promises were made to Abraham and his seed. It does not say, “and to your seeds,” as if to many, but instead, as if to one: “and to your seed,” which is Christ. 17 Now I say this: the Torah—having arrived 430 years later does not nullify a covenant that has already been authorized by God, so that it rescinds the promise.
No matter what was said or done or written afterward, it can’t take away or replace what came first: The promise to Abraham that all peoples would be praised as worthy through him. It doesn’t work. Anything that comes later has to be understood in the context of this unbreakable promise.
Hebrews makes that assertion even more clear:
13 When God made a promise to Abraham, since he had nothing more significant to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 “I will certainly praise you with well-wishes and increase your flourishing!" 15 And that’s how, after patiently persevering, he came upon the promise. 16 People swear by something greater than themselves, and the oath is a termination of any opportunity for response against agreement between them. 17 Regarding the promise, because God intended thoroughly to demonstrate his irrevocable intention to the heirs of the promise, he intervened with an oath. 18 That way, because of it being impossible for God to lie about these two irrevocable things, we who have sought refuge have strong encouragement to hold firmly onto the hope that has been presented. 19 That hope is like an anchor that we have for our very being, both reliable and stable, that extends into the inner room behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus entered as a forerunner on our behalf since he became “a high priest based on the order of Melchizedek throughout the Age.”
The Promise to Abraham is an anchor. We can be confident that it is still in the works. Christ died and rose to enact it, and we’re both living in that promise of full inclusion now, and we’re still waiting to see it completely become the reality for everyone everywhere in every way. Nevertheless, we can be confident that the hope is solid, which helps us maintain our stability now.
If the Promise—the inheritance of inclusion for everyone—is coming, is it conditional on saying a particular prayer, or believing specific things, or following specific rules, or joining a specific community? Well, Galatians seems to think not so much:
18 If the inheritance is received by doing Torah, it is no longer from a promise; but God has been generous to Abraham through a promise. 19 Then, why Torah? It was provided for those who sidestep until the time when the seed to whom the promise was made would come, being arranged by messengers to be accomplished by an intermediary. 20 The intermediary is not of one, but God is one. 21 Then, is the Torah against God’s promises? It couldn’t be! That’s because if Torah were able to give life as it was given, justice really would have been received by Torah. 22 Instead, the scripture enclosed together everything under deviation so that the promise would be given from the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to those who trust faithfully.
23 However, before the arrival of faithfulness, we were being guarded by Torah enclosed together in anticipation of the faithfulness about to be revealed. 24 So then, the Torah became our nanny for Christ, so that by faithfulness we would be made just. 25 But, since faithfulness has arrived, we are no longer under a nanny.
The Torah, and all of the Bible, is there to teach us and guide us, to help keep us on track when we haven’t yet fully internalized the truth of universal inclusion and the absoluteness of love and peace. But it was never the point. It’s a means to that end, to—as Jeremiah 31:31-34 puts it—having it written on our hearts and no longer even needing to be taught because we’ve all been transformed into a people who live with love.
Galatians continues:
26 For you are all children of God through the faithfulness of Christ Jesus, 27 for whoever of you were submersed for Christ, you covered yourselves with Christ. 28 One who is within is neither Jew nor Greek, neither enslaved nor free, not male and female: You are all one within Christ Jesus. 29 So if you are part of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs for the purposes of a promise.
Once Christ’s faithfulness is extended to all, then the differences between us stop being distinctives and divisions. Each of the pairings in the list above involve a power differential. In the 1st century church, Jews were privileged, and Greeks were tolerated outsiders expected to assimilate (that’s obviously changed over 20 centuries), and it’s easy to see the class differences between enslaved workers and free citizens. But what about the third one, ‘male and female’?
Not only are there clearly power dynamics at work in patriarchy, the specific wording here is also important. Like the other two pairs, it conveys the idea of this distinction no longer being a valid excuse to give preferential treatment to one over the other or to assume higher status or position in a hierarchy of one over the other. In addition, it does something even more. It becomes an archetype for all differences. The switch from ‘Jew OR Greek’ and ‘enslaved OR free’ to ‘male AND female’ is significant. It’s a reference back to Genesis 1:27, when humanity was created ‘male AND female.’ Even God-enacted differences from the foundation of creation don’t matter as a statement of belonging or template for specific roles or status. Everyone who is part of Christ is an heir. What exactly are we heirs of though?
“If you are part of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs for the purposes of a promise.”
We are heirs of the Promise to Abraham. The promise is that all people groups will be praised as worthy. It’s a radical statement of universal inclusion.
But the wording is not ‘heirs of the promise’ exactly. It’s heirs for the purpose of the promise. We are not the ultimate recipients. We participate in it, yes, but we’re the carriers. We’re called to pass it on, just like Abraham wasn’t the final beneficiary but was given it as something for those who come later. We’re not the end of the line.
We have been brought to life along with Christ because of God’s overflowing generosity, and since we hold the promise, we share that overflowing generosity and extend inclusion to everyone, because we are alive with Christ’s life-breath.
13 You were called to be in freedom, Family. Not freedom only for bodily impulses but instead to serve each other through love 14 because the whole Torah can be fully lived out with one saying. Here it is: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 However, if you are biting and feeding on each other, watch out that you are not completely devoured.
[…]
The fruit of the Life-breath is love, joy, peace, patience, active kindness, beneficial living, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-restraint. Torah is not against these things. 24 Those who belong to Christ crucified the bodily impulses along with its suffering and cravings. 25 If we are alive through the Life-breath, we should also walk in line with the Life-breath”
What else would we do but exactly what Christ has done, is doing, and always will do? Being alive through the Life-breath, we are called to be radically loving and inclusive, faithful to share the Promise that creates, cultivates, and spreads love and life to everyone.
