I have been grateful this week for our empty cross in the sanctuary. My life would be different if our cross had a sculpture of Jesus hanging in front of it every day and I’m not at all certain that I would continue to face it.
Theories of Atonement are grounded in our human effort to understand the death of Jesus and in some way to face him as he hangs upon the cross. The theory of Substitutionary Atonement in which we say that “Jesus died as a satisfaction for our human sin” is a punishing theory. Jesus taught the opposite. Matthew 5:38-42 (the Message) “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.”
It is hard for me to believe that God demands a sacrifice that would be grounded in anything but love and generosity. But I know that we human beings lack the kind of imagination of God time and time again. We prove that by the violence we inflict upon each other – we even say that some of it is “well deserved” or “the only way toward learning”! In my own life I admit to coming to that point when I am tired, exhausted or at my wit’s end to stop a behavior. But God is infinitely more patient than I am and definitely more creative. Which is why I lean back from thinking that God would send Jesus to death for me. In my own imagining God is in a mutual and loving relationship with me. The freedom that kind of relationship provides is endless. Mutuality and love beget mutuality and love. Trust in God’s vision that I am beloved means everything to my self-understanding. Our Christian community invites us to practice living in this way. We stumble and grieve many losses along our road to freedom and holding hope that times will get better is made real by the image of the empty cross.
We are moving towards hope in Lent as we bring our cross outside. Last week we began the process of recording our hope on the golden cross that fell from our ceiling in a heap amidst the poles of blue. We are still not certain what will happen with all of this by Easter morning but it is safe to say that we are in this together and moving forward. It is unsettling, messy and quite beautiful. Matt and I are grateful for your courage. Thank you.
~Linda