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Diary of a (Maybe) Retired Pastor

Tag: Easter

  • God’s Grief

    mayberetiredpastor

    God’s Grief

    Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ 37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38 Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’

    Gospel of Matthew 26:36-38. New Testament, The Bible

    Recently, a young friend wept when their grandparent-in-law died. They wept because the grandparent did not know Christ and so died without knowing salvation. This is a harsh truth that’s often held against Christianity but it is merely the outworking of the deeper truth that human beings are able to choose. It is Good Friday as I write and Good Friday reminds us that God has given us opportunity to choose salvation without condition for as long as we are able to choose. But many opt not to choose and so reject salvation. They are not rejected, they simply choose to open a different door (of course, there are complex questions regarding those who don’t have the opportunity to hear the offer of salvation). I feel that my young friend’s weeping reflects the deep heart of God. He has gone to such lengths to open a simple path to salvation it is surely inconceivable that He would not grieve when people reject the offer of salvation.

    But where is this grief held? Salvation leads to eternal life and we are taught that eternal life is a place where every tear is wiped away and suffering ceases to exist (1). How is God’s grief held without colouring eternal life?  Reflecting on the work of the Cross, it seems to me that this is an unappreciated aspect of the Cross. What does the gospel record that the heavens darkened as Christ hung dying on the Cross mean if not the outpouring of divine grief (2)? Not only does the Son express His despair at the sudden abandonment by His Father, but,  through the failing of light, the Father expresses His grief at the suffering of the Son. But divine grief for the loss of all those who will reject the salvation won by the sacrifice of the Son is also present. Jesus’ raw confession of deep grief in the Garden of Gethsemane quoted above is not simply about His anticipation of the Cross but also about those who, despite His sacrifice, will still refuse to choose salvation. We know this weighed on His mind and heart because he is recorded by the gospel writers as weeping for Jerusalem precisely for this reason before He enters in triumphant procession on Palm Sunday (3). If the Son wept because of this, then we know the Father also wept as the Son perfectly reflects the heart of the Father (4).

    At Jesus’ presentation in the Temple when He was born, Mary his mother, is told by Simeon that her heart would be pierced by a sword, a clear reference to the Cross (5).  This too, it seems to me, points to the grief that forms part of the essential aspect of the work of the Cross. Mary is not God, of course, but it does not seem far-fetched to suggest that her grief as a mother also expresses God’s grief at the Cross.  

    Without the Cross, there is no Christian faith. Viewing it as only about the suffering of Christ as He bears the sin of humanity is, perhaps, to miss the grief of the Father for the loss of His Son and to miss the grief of God for all those who will, despite everything, still reject the offer of salvation and life eternal. If we don’t see the grief of God then we will not see that the only ones judging are human beings themselves. We are not helpless victims of an implacable, divine justice but free agents who choose our own fates.

    1. Book of Revelation 21:4 New Testament, The Bible.
    2. Gospel of Matthew 27:45-46 New Testament, The Bible.
    3. Gospel of Luke 19:41-42 New Testament, The Bible.
    4. Gospel of John 5:19 New Testament, The Bible.
    5. Gospel of Luke 2:34-35 New Testament, The Bible.

  • A New World Order

    mayberetiredpastor

    A New World Order

    … for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

    Matthew 26:52 New Testament, The Bible

    On the last day of February, President Trump unceremoniously demonstrated the existence of a new world order. The previous rules-based order of international law which he had been progressively undermining was comprehensively shredded by his unannounced war on Iran. The frequently noted vagueness and shifting explanations given by Trump and senior members of his administration give the lie away that  there is any ethical or legal justification for the attacks on Iran. There is none. The only thing that mattered was that he could do it and what others may have thought or what some abstract notion of law might declare were of no consequence. Trump has driven the world into a place where the only thing that matters is, do I have the power to do it? If I do, then why not? The only thing that matters now is might.  

    It is not only in the sphere of international politics that he has radically undermined law and rule, he has demonstrated the same attitude domestically. The operation of ICE and the ethos underpinning it shows the same willingness to ignore the law and tear-up the rule book. Court rulings are treated with disdain and Congress is simply ignored. Lip-service is paid to the carefully constructed checks and balances of the American constitution.

    The rewriting of world order in this way opens up the way for other powerful actors to act as they wish with little or no restraint. The present government of Israel clearly feels it is now free to exercise its own military strength to achieve long held objectives of the Zionist far right. It seems almost certain that Israel will annexe the West Bank, and greatly expand its borders both to the north and to the west. Taiwan must be regarding the new order with nervousness as it wonders if China will similarly decide to “re-unite” China.  We should not be surprised if, in the next few years, we see radically redrawn borders across the world.

    Jesus famously rebuked the disciples when one used his sword to cut-off the High Priest’s servant’s ear during Jesus’ arrest that fateful night before Good Friday. He warned them that to choose to live by the sword is to choose to die by it. The world has been thrust into a new order where the only rule is might. Rather than greater security there will be less. Israel has become adept at assassination with little regard for the cost in innocent human lives. The US has given its imprimatur to Putin’s strong-man world view and nations are racing to arm themselves with independent nuclear weapons. Nation will eye nation with armed suspicion. The poor and weak will suffer and orphans of war will multiply across the nations and the number of displaced persons will continue to escalate.

    Is there any hope for future generations? Holy Week reassures us that this state of affairs will not last forever, that it is temporary, and that God will bring about a new order where might is not right but justice will flow like rolling waters. Every knee will bow before Christ and every tear will be wiped away (1). The times of disorder will not be allowed to continue and rulers will be brought to account. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of Christ must continue to work to protect the weak and the poor.

    1. Philippians 2:10,11, Revelation 21:4, New Testament, The Bible.

  • I Don’t Know How To Love Him

    mayberetiredpastor

    I Don’t Know How to Love Him

    “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

    Gospel of John 13:34-35, New Testament, The Bible.

    Our minister made a bold song choice this Easter. He closed the Maundy Thursday service with the song Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say) from Jesus Christ Superstar. Bold because it is musically demanding, but the church is gifted with some superb musicians; bold because it was not what the congregation expected; bold because at the time of its release over fifty years ago it was highly controversial drawing outrage from many Christians (I was there!). The vocalist and keyboardist gave a powerful rendition of the song but all I could hear were the screaming rock vocals of Ian Gillan of the original studio cast. Despite its unsavoury reputation in the church at the time, Jesus Christ Superstar taught me more about the gospel than all the years I had spent in Sunday School put together! For the first time, I understood that Jesus Christ was truly a man, a real person. That, for Him, the anticipation of dying on a cross was something that horrified Him, He did not, then, know the reality of the resurrection because He had not lived it – it hadn’t happened yet. He was in the same position as we, having to trust God.

    Two songs from Jesus Christ Superstar have stayed with me through the years. The boozy disciples’ song  that so deftly paints what the Last Supper might have been like (Look at all my trials and tribulations, sinking in a gentle pool of wine …) and the song, I Don’t Know How to Love Him sung once by Mary Magdalene and once by Judas.

    Look at all my trials and tribulations might (and did) strike some as irreverent but, for me, it was, and is, a warning not to take the sacrament of the Last Supper (or Holy Communion depending on what tradition you hail from) lightly. It reminds me to take time as I eat the bread and drink the wine (alcoholic or not) lest I share in the drunken oblivion of the disciples. It is the reason I find the fashion for supermarket communion (1) amongst some churches objectionable – theirs is the very essence of the disciples’ boozy song in Superstar, completely oblivious to what is going on.

    But it is Mary’s and Judas’ song that haunts me most. In Mary’s voice it is a song of tender love and devotion, but, also of confusion and bewilderment as she wrestles to understand exactly what she is feeling for Jesus – it is almost mediaeval in its sensibility towards Jesus Christ.  In Judas’ voice, it is a song of angry despair. He sees the good in the man whom he has followed for three years and wants so much to see Him succeed  and yet believes that the path He has set is so wrong. Judas wants to love Jesus but he is only able to betray Him.  And so, for me, the song expresses the inadequacy of my response to Jesus. Having followed Him for over half-a-century, I still find myself painfully aware how far short of truly loving Him I am, and yet still He fills my life with grace.

    I am grateful to our minister for his bold and inspired choice of song for Maundy Thursday. It has helped me reflect more deeply on the grace that has been poured out for me.  

    1. https://diaryofamayberetiredpastor.blog/2024/07/15/supermarket-communion/