The Saving Work of Peace
Isaiah 11:1-9
I want to talk about Jesus as Savior today. Since, you know, his birthday is just around the corner! We say we’re an inclusive, Christ-centered, Quaker community. So how can a congregation of post-Evangelicals, exvangelicals, and never-Evangelicals, be Christ-centered? Are we kidding ourselves, or is that an authentic characterization of us? And if we are Christ-centered, what does and doesn’t that mean? I don’t have a definitive answer that could encompass the theological diversity of this group, but I do have some thoughts. So I hope this reflection on Jesus and saviorhood are helpful for you today, in some way.
Isaiah 11:1-9 (NRSV):
1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Do we have any saviors here? No? Really? None?
You wouldn’t describe yourself as a “savior”? Are you uncomfortable with the idea that a word usually reserved, in Christian contexts, for Jesus, would apply to you? Or does it just sound arrogant, an overstatement of the impact of your life and work, even if you are doing good things? Or are you comfortable with the idea of people being saviors, but just don’t really think you are?
Ok, let’s switch to person-first language: let’s say you’re not a savior. Are you a person who sometimes helps save people from something from which they need saving? Have you ever helped someone get something to eat? Food can save lives! Have you ever walked somewhere when you could have driven? Walking can save lives! Have you ever voted? Voting can save lives! Have you ever raised a child? A loving home can save lives! Have you ever taught a child something useful? Education can save lives!
When people call Jesus a Savior, they are implying that there is something we need saving from. What is that…“something”? What is the human predicament–the situation we find ourselves in from which we need a way out, or to grow beyond?
I don’t think the human predicament is that we are fundamentally wretched and doomed to be an eternity of torment in an ongoing existence disconnected from this world and life. When we define the human predicament as “we’re all damned sinners” then salvation can become abstract, something disconnected from our lived reality. For many, salvation becomes “you’re still a sinner, but you’re not damned anymore because of something God did through Jesus,” which puts the weight of “salvation” all on Jesus, and usually on his death. This is not a story that speaks to me, anymore.
I would say the human predicament is something more like this: we, as a whole, are really struggling to truly love each other, and ourselves; we’re struggling to align our hearts, our lives, our world, our policies and practices, with that Love. And in that struggle, we’re hurting each other. In that struggle, peace evades us. If that’s the predicament, or something like that, then what does it mean to be saved from that? The answer is not…Jesus. In a way it is, but it’s also not. But it is something he taught, something he practiced, something he exposed the lack of by speaking truth to power, and something he invited others into, as learners and collaborators.
If Jesus is a Savior, if Jesus saves…in my opinion, it’s not because of a death or an atonement; it’s not because he was a hero we all get to watch from the sidelines, helpless ourselves to do anything of substance other than say “thank you” and cheer him on. I think that if Jesus saves, it’s because he discovered and embodied the Love that is at the heart of all things, and pointed us toward the Love that brings true peace.
But the substantial work of salvation, of becoming people animated by this Love, of inviting people into harmony with this Love, is a long work, more than one holy man can manage. Salvation is the work of all of us, ignited by the Christ in all things, the Love in all things. Love saves. Jesus did saving work. Following Jesus means doing saving work. Jesus saves. Following Jesus means becoming people who save.
Calling one person a savior could put unfair expectations on that person. It could effectively exempt others from the work of saving. If you believe Jesus is the sole savior of the world, and then you just look around, you might have to start negotiating, and adjusting your expectations. Because…the world is still a place of war and poverty and hatred and greed and, for early Christians, foreign occupation. So then if you’re really committed to Jesus being the Savior, maybe you pivot, and think of salvation as internal, in your heart; or in the future, in an apocalypse or afterlife; or as membership in the Church, an alternative community devoted to venerating that Savior.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” so the Jesus of John’s gospel says. Aside from the fact that this strikes me as an odd thing for someone as humble as Jesus to have said, Christians have often used this text to affirm the uniqueness of Jesus, as a path to God. But if I asked you, “who is going to show the world a way out of its self-destruction, its wars, its hatred, its cruelty, its greed? Who is going to tell the world the truth about systemic evils and individual harms caused, and what a better alternative looks like? Who will make the most of their one wild and precious life to lift up the hurting, and stop those who hurt, so that there will be peace on Earth?
Who will show the way? Who will tell the truth? Who will bring life, with their life? It’s you. It’s us. This is not sacrilegious or hubris. This is simply taking Jesus seriously, when he asks people to follow him and participate in helping realize what some feminist theologians have called the “Kin-dom of God.” Shalom. Harmony. Peace. Justice. Love.
What about this text? I find this text very meaningful and I have some concerns about it, and I’m not talking about kids playing with venomous snakes or predators snuggling with their food instead of eating it. Let’s not get hung up on the details, and miss the spirit of the vision. Actually, my concerns are more about how we receive this text: one, that we don’t count on a single, ruler-like savior. I believe salvation is not a top-down imposition from one person, but a communal effort, rising up from the bottom.
And two, that we don’t expect this peaceable kin-dom to come into being quickly. Even a revolution, to not cause a lot of collateral damage, probably comes slowly, to be truly inclusive. It’s difficult to convert a person or community or world abruptly, without violence, whether physical or emotional or systemic. Might be good to remember this, the next time you’re trying to change someone’s mind, when their mind is really made up. Even if you’re right. Or the next time you ask God to change something–right now!–even if change is needed.
Does it demean Jesus, to say that no one person can save us? I don’t think so. This poem predates Jesus, and I don’t believe the Hebrew Bible text literally predicts Jesus, a claim which I think demeans Judaism, and risks the kind of Christian supremacy that has historically taken over things and people, not as a blessing but as a plague.
Is there a place for calling Jesus a Savior, or the Savior? I mean, sure, I don’t want to wreck anyone’s faith today. But is that how Jesus saw himself? Or would hope others would see him? As a singular, cosmic savior? I feel like maybe this is an expectation others have placed upon him, not something he expected of himself.
If Jesus is a savior, I think it’s because nonviolence saves. Feeding people saves. Welcoming the excluded, saves. Standing up to fascists, saves. Giving medical attention to children, saves. Challenging the rich to give away their wealth, saves. Going to the wilderness, for contemplation and rejuvenation, saves. Jesus, whom many have called the “prince of peace,” did all of these things, so our tradition tells us. Being a Christ-centered community means carrying on that tradition of peace, together.
And carrying on the tradition, in this world, as it is. We don’t get to start from scratch. The work of justice, the work of peace–these are not thought experiments.
Even the best ideas shouldn’t be implemented without attending to the reality on the ground, without empathy for real people. We don’t get to design a new world, really, we can only work with this world we have, a world where some are already at a disadvantage, in a way that one idealistic new policy won’t instantaneously fix. What does my actual, not hypothetical, neighbor need, to be whole? What does my disabled neighbor need, to be whole? What does my queer neighbor need, to be whole? What does my Afghan refugee neighbor need, to be whole? What do I need, to be whole?
We need hope, not idealism. Idealism is dreamy, but not always grounded in reality. Hope…dreams of where we could be but looks very carefully at where we are. Since we live in a world where so much damage has already been done, justice isn’t just about the creation of something new but the repairing of harms done.
When Jesus speaks of his Dream, is he being too idealistic? I would say no, because I think he also taught and modeled what way of being in the world will help realize that Dream. He saw the urgent but slow way there. For better or worse, we don’t instantly enter paradise, we grow into it. How do we move the world toward justice and peace, one heart, one act, one policy, one issue, one seed, at a time?
This scripture from Isaiah is dreamy, but it does show us the way to being Centered in Love, as Jesus was, the way to let Love guide our saving work. If rooted in Love–verse 1–branches of peace and justice will emerge. People rooted in Love–verse 2–demonstrate wisdom, understanding, might (or inner and communal strength), fear of the Lord, that is, a reverence for every sacred person.
People rooted in Love–verses 3-5–don’t make rash judgments, or thoughtlessly follow arbitrary rules, whether inherited from a sacred text or given by an immoral leader, but will center the needs or the poor, prioritize equity for the oppressed, speak prophetically (rod of his mouth), and destroy what is wicked–not people, but whatever cruel and unjust things people have created–all while faithfully working to make things right between peoples. When that happens–verses 6-8–wolves and lambs, leopards and kids, lions and tigers and bears…(oh my)...will live in harmony. And when harmony–shalom, peace, justice–is growing–verse 9–people will be increasingly safe from destruction. Because peace is, among other things, when people are safe.
How will we get there? Or back to the original question: who will get us there? Who will carry on the peacemaking, justice-seeking legacy of Jesus in the world? Who will save us, from a violent, cruel, inequitable world? If Quakers believe the Divine is in every person, or that Christ is in all, then we are all saviors. Or if you don’t like that word–I don’t!–we all are invited to participate in life-saving work.
Salvation is not individual, or ahistorical, it’s collective, it’s embodied, it’s earthy. It doesn’t come from a hero swooping in to abruptly pull us out, but from the slow work of Love through acts of peace and justice. Helping someone in danger, become safe. Convincing someone with a weapon, to lay down that weapon. Helping someone who is hungry, get food now, and tomorrow, and for years to come.
Hezekiah, who many Jewish people would have seen as the “who” of this text, can’t save us. Jesus, no matter how fantastic we think he is, can’t save us–other than maybe metaphorically or mystically. And obviously, no president or world leader will be wonderful enough to save us. Whatever this world and the people around us most deeply need, the burden of responsibility, of salvation, is on all of us.
The human predicament is not that people are sinners. The problem is that people are hurting, and hurting each other. Jesus, I believe, shows people a way forward built on compassion and mutual aid and inclusion and resistance to authoritarianism and collaboration and generosity. That way, when lived, can save us. Does that mean Jesus is the Savior? Maybe. But the world doesn’t need a spirituality or religion based on celebrating what one person is or did or does. The world needs spiritualities that are participatory, that invite everyone into the work of peace and justice.
The world does need saving! The trees, the dolphins, your immigrant neighbors, your children–all of it. That work is all of ours to do. It’s not the work of one holy person. One leader. It’s certainly not the work of white saviors, those who help for show, or help in ways that demonstrate that they aren’t really listening to those they’re trying to help. Recognizing the saving work we’re invited to do is not about you; it’s about embracing your part in a universe that bends toward justice and peace.
Peace is an important commitment to us, as Friends. How do we grow Peace, or grow toward Peace? I know bombs and deportations and billionaires and Christian nationalism won’t get us there. I know we can’t tear the whole thing up and start over. True peace must emerge out of this flawed ol’ reality we find ourselves in. Then, what can we do? How do we save all that we can save? What is the path toward peace?
Queries:
What is Peace? What is the way to peace?
From what does our world need to be saved?
Where are the peacemakers? How can we join in their saving work?
How can we plant the seeds of peace? How can we nourish those seeds?