Through baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, Christ meets you with his radical forgiveness which changes everything, even the self!
There is one book that seems to be all the rage right now, at least among my friends: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. In this book, Haidt looks at the concerning mental illness trends in young people and proposes two main causes: overprotection in the real world and under-protection in the digital world for children. [1] Haidt notes that this overprotection in the real world leads to a lack of play, which significantly harms development. I think his analysis is correct and can be expanded upon, even into the spiritual realm. Spiritual play can be a great benefit for the soul. Even more, true play is a gift given by the Holy Spirit. This is something that I especially came to appreciate in the late German theologian Jurgen Moltmann’s Theology of Play.
This past year, the theology of play has fascinated me a great deal. If I am being honest, it has become an interest of mine not so much on an academic level, but a personal one. In a world so focused on the law and ethics, the theology of play, which declares that I can actually enjoy God on the basis of the forgiveness given to me, is refreshing. The topic deals with the implications of the forgiveness of sins within the life of the Christian. More specifically, it highlights the joy and freedom of being declared righteous on account of Christ. The theology of play offers a profound declaration of the radical grace given in Christ. Christian ethicist, Nimi Wariboko, says it this way:
“Grace (God's self-giving) by definition is a genuine gift and not a secretly instrumentalized one. Freely it is given and freely it is received. … No self-addressed envelope from the giver to send something in return. No post office to help you return it even if you want to. It is a pure means of relations between the believer and God. It is play, not because it is trivial and worthless, but because it has no end.” [2]
The life of the Christian is play because, on account of Christ, there is now nothing you need to do to prove yourself worthy to God.
Of the presentations of theologies of play I’m familiar with, Jurgen Moltmann’s is my favorite. This is due to the fact that he places play within the dual nature or simultaneously justified and sinner nature of the Christian life, also known as the simul justus et peccator. These two selves are constantly in battle with one another: the old you is focused on yourself – it is the you that desires to help yourself above all else. The new you is the you who has its desires and will drawn towards God. As St. Paul notes, this new self is created in baptism (Romans 6).
In Moltmann’s account of play, the new creation can play in the Spirit. This play is free, but the desires of the new creation have been changed and are directed towards the enjoyment of one’s relationship with God. This allows play that is neither legalistic nor antinomian:
“Without the free play of imagination and songs of praise the new obedience deteriorates into legalism. Christian living would become a matter of watching out for things one is not allowed to do. But without concrete obedience – which means without physical, social, and political changes – the lovely songs and celebrations of freedom become empty phrases” (Moltmann, Theology of Play, pg. 43).
In other words, in Christ, you are truly free and through this radical declaration of forgiveness, the old navel-gazing desires are killed and the newly-resurrected self is directed towards Christ and neighbor.
Moltmann goes on to place repentance within the change from old to new which takes place through God’s killing law and resurrecting gospel: “Permanent repentance is the daily dying of the old man and the renewal of the inner, new man” (Theology of Play, pg. 44). This has a radical implication: repentance becomes cheerful rather than dreadful. It becomes about the joy of meeting the absolving Christ face-to-face rather than the regret of the past:
Repentance is joy…Man is not liberated from his old nature by imperatives to be new and to change, but he rejoices in the new which makes him free and lifts him beyond himself. Where repentance is understood as a spiritual return to the evil and rejected past, it deals in self-accusation, contrition, sackcloth, and ashes. But when repentance is a return to the future, it becomes concrete in rejoicing, in new self-confidence, and in love” (Theology of Play, pgs. 44-45).
Repentance, as Moltmann points out, starts from the accusing law. If repentance is the turning around of a person, the death of the old and the raising of the new, it must first start from the point of accusation. However, this is not the end of the story, for Christ then raises us to new life. And in this resurrection, our desires have been changed, correctly oriented towards Christ.
With this in mind, there are a few implications. First and foremost, this means that you are passive in this system. You are not responsible for your own repentance. This is something that God does through the law. Secondly, this means that the end goal of repentance is not having an eye towards past sins with contrition but about an eye towards the only possible solution to your sinful state: the cross of Christ. The Christian ought not remain focused on a sorrowful disposition towards yourself or your actions but on the joy of Christ’s work for your sake.
Repentance, this changing of the self, is about Christ in a twofold way. The first is that it is Christ’s death and resurrection that justifies such a radical proclamation of forgiveness. The second is that Christ delivers this grace to you through the mouth of a lowly preacher. Through baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, Christ meets you with his radical forgiveness which changes everything, even the self! Repentance is not even a matter of fixing your attention on Christ – for that would require your effort – but Jesus coming to meet you in such a way that you can see no other. It is Christ coming to you while you are yet a sinner and bestowing upon you the greatest treasure imaginable!
You are free to live a life of play – repentance is not a burden to bear; it is God’s radical release of your burden. You are free to have a life of enjoying the grace of God. What this does not mean is that you need to act childish – you don’t have to run around a playground. (Although you certainly can if you want to!) You are freer than that, free to do what you want. And even more radically, your desires have been freed from navel-gazing. In the words of Gerhard Forde, “the question is: ‘What do you want to do? Who are you now that God has spoken his word to you?’” [3]
The solution to our sin is not in lamenting the past but in clinging to the promises of the future: resurrection and eternal life. Christ does not expect you to do anything; he has already done everything on your behalf. Play and have fun; the joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh. 8:10).
This article comes to us from 1517 guest contributor, Charlie Ziemann. Charlie received a Master of Divinity from Luther House of Study and a Diploma in Theology for Ministry from the University of Cambridge. He is currently a middle school math teacher and this fall he is planning to continue his education at Princeton Theological Seminary.
.jpg?width=36&height=36&name=staff_Headshots-(2%20of%2013).jpg){kind=small}
