Dear Caldwell,
I don’t know about you but the last two days have been hard on my heart and soul. Yesterday’s Isis attack in Belgium, killing dozens and injuring more, weighs heavy as a reminder of the brokenness of our world and the reign, in too many places, of violence and death.
Closer to home, our N.C. General Assembly is meeting right now in what amounts to a legislative ambush to legalize discrimination against our LGBT sisters and brothers. If that is not enough, they (the ones who seek less government but now want to tie the hands of local government) want to drag the working poor down as well, trying to prohibit local government from maintaining the flexibility to raise the minimum wage. I ask you to pray for Belgium and for North Carolina.
Where do we look in times like these when the world is such a busted-up place? How about the cross?
On Sunday, we dived into the deep end with a review of various understandings of atonement. Break that word down and it reveals its meaning. How do we, sinful beings in a busted world, reach a state of being “at one” with (reconciled to) our Lord? I whipped through several theories pretty fast Sunday and asked: What better time than Holy Week to give serious thought to the question of why Holy Week had to play out like it did?
For the next few days, I thought I would offer one or two “theories” of atonement a day and invite you to ponder each. Today, we start with what is known as the Christus Victor image. It is of a battlefield on which God and Evil are in a death match. “This warlike image celebrates Jesus, who through his death and resurrection ‘disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them . . .’ (Col. 2:15). According to It pictures Jesus as a conquering hero over sin and death (‘swallowed up in victory’) and inspires gratitude to God, who ‘gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Cor. 15:55-57),’ ” notes one resource on Reformed theology and worship.
Hymns that follow this imagery include Lift High the Cross (listen to it here) and Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
As we see the violence that Isis represents, part of us may want to pray for Christ to enter in and settle “the battle” in this life once and for all. But then we remember Christ is the prince of peace, among other issues with this metaphor.
Is this how it goes? Is this how we become “at one” with God. Well, maybe, as I said Sunday. Look for more metaphors as the week progresses and weigh in with what you think in the feedback section or on the Caldwell Conversations Facebook page.
I hope to see you at one of the most meaningful services of the year, the Maundy Thursday/Tenebrae service Thursday night at 7:30 pm.
In Christ,
John