DELIBERATELY DIVERSE | REV. TERRY PIERCE
“Deliberately Diverse” represents the opinions of a group of Taylor friends who never completely agree about anything but enjoy diverse discussions.
Two weeks ago, I introduced a conversation about the words “Gospel” and “Evangelize.”
To summarize, Paul borrowed these words from the Roman Empire. In 44 BC, Emperor Julius Ceasar was deified and subsequently the birth of August was declared to be “good news,” or euangelion, for the whole world.
Paul coopted this language to describe what has happened in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s declarations were provocative, seditious and anti-Roman. It characterized the good news of Jesus Christ beginning with the resurrection revealing God’s power over death and continuing with God’s power breaking into earthly existence in a never-ending series of gospel events.
For Paul, the resurrection established Jesus as God’s definitive revelation of what it means to be human and the one who empowers humans to participate in the life and character of God.
Christ’s pattern of life, Christ’s self-giving for the sake of others, established the pattern that Paul attempted to follow and encouraged others to follow.
In 1 Corinthians 4:20, Paul says, “The kingdom of God does not emerge by talk but by power (dynamis).”
Paul was not focused on teaching a pattern of belief; rather, he was concerned with the patterns of daily life. It is in acts of self-giving – caring for the poor, putting the needs of the community above the desires of self, relieving suffering – that the life and character of God are demonstrated in the world.
The good news, the Gospel, Paul proclaimed was not the details of the life of Christ. The good news was the revelation of God’s power to transform death into new life. Paul challenged Gentiles to cast aside the norms and values of the Greco-Roman culture so they might pattern their lives after Christ’s self-giving.
Thus, to Gospel, was first to live as Christ lived, to reflect Christ’s trust in the power of God to transform death into life and to create a just and peaceful world for humans. To gospel meant to embody the faithfulness of Jesus Christ in his own life which channeled God’s life-giving power to others.
What does it mean today to gospel Christ crucified and raised? Jesus, in his acts of earthly ministry, generated experiences of God’s life-giving power for others. Paul’s patterning of his own life on Christ’s pattern of life continued to channel that transformative power into the world.
To Gospel is to demonstrate in our own lives the self-giving love that Christ patterned. It is to move away from a culture devoted to power, material acquisition and self-advancement. Rather than trying to make others conform to what we believe is God’s word or way, we are called to transform ourselves with the trust that God, acting through us, will transform the world.
Pierce is the retired pastor at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Taylor. She can be reached at [email protected].
