A New Kind of Christianity - Brian McLaren [98]
If this alternative understanding has merit, the parousia—the arrival or presence—of the new era or covenant began after an in-between time during which the old era or covenant coexisted with the new. In other words, the age of the New Covenant had been conceived in the birth, life, teaching, good works, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Then, after Easter, the new era continued gestating in the community of his followers through several decades of struggle and persecution, culminating in a time of great tribulation, when persecution and danger intensified like labor pains. During these years, the new age, like a gestating baby, was already here, but not yet fully born.15 During this time, the old system of animal sacrifice, priesthood, temple, and holy city had not yet ended, yet the new system (or covenant) that would outlast it was already developing in secret.
When the Romans came to Jerusalem and crushed a Zealot-led rebellion in 70 CE, the temple was destroyed, the sacrificial system ended, the priesthood disbanded, and the old era came to its last day. When the cataclysmic “last days” of the old era ran their course, the new age, new covenant, new testament, or new era was brought to full term, and its parousia had come.16 Our call, in this view of things, is not to wait passively for something that is not present (apousia), but rather to participate passionately in something that is present (parousia)—fully present, but not complete in its development, and so calling for our wholehearted participation.
This is a participatory eschatology. Within it, we are not frantic to get this world and its history over with as soon as possible, so a perfect forever can begin, any more than a musician is frantic to get to the last note of a beautiful song; we understand that every note of the song is precious and should be played with all we can give it. The point of history, like a song, is not in the ending or finishing of it, but in the passionate playing of it, every moment. To say the kingdom of God is fully born and fully present, of course, does not mean that it is fully grown or fully mature, any more than a president has completed the work and term of the office on inauguration day, the date on which he or she and the new administration are fully present. (The previous few sentences may deserve a second read.) So we who follow Jesus, embody his Spirit, and continue his work could be said to serve—or participate—in his administration. We are misled if we expect a quick end to this project, because Jesus himself said the kingdom would spread its influence gradually like yeast in bread or seeds in a field. And we lack faith and hope if we expect it to fail, ending in the destruction of all things rather than the renewal of all things.
Conventional eschatologies have inspired resignation (God’s in control; whatever is predestined will occur), fear (the world is falling apart, so we’d better circle the wagons and protect ourselves), apathy (the world is getting better, so let’s relax and party on), and arrogant aggression (God’s agenda is our agenda, so we have a mandate to impose our agenda on others, using any means necessary). In contrast, this new participatory eschatology inspires the opposite. It inspires, instead of resignation, a passion to do good, whatever the suffering, sacrifice, and delay, because of a confidence that God will win in the end. It inspires, rather than fear, courage, because God’s Spirit is at work in the world and what God begins God will surely bring to completion. It inspires, rather than apathy, a sense of urgency, because we are protagonists in the story, not mere pawns in a divine chess game or observers of a show whose outcome is already determined. And it inspires not arrogance and aggression, but humility and kindness, because we are aware of our ability to miss the point, lose our way, and play on the wrong side.
This eschatology of participation produces an ethic of anticipation: we seek to have our present way of life shaped by our vision of