On Salvation and Liberation

Jesus came to forgive sin and to save souls. But this is not an abstract concept or a merely "spiritual" proposition. It is corporeal, actual, and concrete.

The forgiveness of sin is not a disembodied idea, nor is salvation merely a future guarantee of the avoidance of condemnation. In Jesus Christ, forgiveness is actual, incarnate—as embodied and disruptive as the Word made flesh.

To speak of salvation apart from the liberation of the oppressed, the healing of bodies and communities, the restoration of creation (ecological and relational), and the welcome of the stranger (including immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities) is to preach a gospel Jesus never preached, a pseudo-gnostic gospel, a false gospel.

Christ's forgiveness reconciles not only souls but systems, not only individuals but nations, not only hearts but histories.

As Mary sang before Christ's birth and as Jesus proclaimed from the beginning of his ministry, God's saving work topples the mighty, lifts up the lowly, fills the hungry with good things, and sets the captives free. It is good news to the poor.

Beware of any message that detaches salvation from the concrete lived experience of the poor, the excluded, and the suffering. Beware of anything trying to pass as "Christianity" that does not overtly and expressly seek the good of the vulnerable. Beware of any "gospel" that does not measure itself by the standards of economic, juridical, and social justice. Such a message is not the gospel—it is a distortion and a lie.

True forgiveness—the forgiveness extended to all creation by the crucified, raised, and reigning Christ—always carries the implications of Jubilee: freedom, justice, healing, and restoration—for the very earth on which the cross of Christ stands.

The forgiveness of sins is not an escape from the world. It is God’s decisive act to redeem it.