I was reading a passage from a book I never read last semester, The Epistle to the Romans by Karl Barth. Though it is simply a commentary that Barth wrote in 1918, I find myself in many "Holy Crap" moments (some would call these "wow!" moments) while reading this book. I wanted to share this one because I've been really wrestling with trying to figure out where western culture went wrong in modernity. Where did we lose Jesus?
"The Gospel is not a religious message to inform mankind of their divinity or to tell them how they may become divine. The Gospel proclaims a God utterly distinct from men. Salvation comes to them from Him, because they are, as men, incapable of knowing Him, and because they have no right to claim anything from Him. The Gospel is not one thing in the midst of other things, to be directly aprehended and comprenended. The Gospel is the Word of the Primal Origin of all things, the Word which, since it is ever new, must ever be received with renewed fear and trembling.
The Gospel is therefore not an event, nor an experience, nor an emotion - however delicate! Rather, it is the clear and objective perception of what eye hath not seen nor ear heard. Moreover, what it demands of men is more than notice, or understanding, or sympathy. It demands participation, comprehension, co-operation; for it is a communication which presumes faith in the living God, and which creates that which it resumes."
I think that Barth hits one of the many nails on the head when he describes the Gospel that Paul is sharing. I can relate to what we are making the Gospel out to be. Maybe we are making it into an event when we reach to our personal saviors or when we have alter call, rather than trying to simply participate in the story that is the Gospel. Maybe the Gospel is walking with the broken and noticing those who are hurt along the way rather than trying to give them an experience only to walk away from it without having talked to them about what had happened. Any immediate thoughts come to mind?
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One of my professors was talking with Gustavo Gutierrez before he became a prof, and when Gustavo heard he was going to teach theology he asked him "before you do that go and hold the hand of someone suffering in the hospital, pray with someone who is dieing, eat a meal with the poor" i thought this was profound, before we start talking about the gospel we better make sure we are entering into the suffering that God entered into, the greatest mysteries are never actually known or understood only experienced
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