Presiding bishop Crucifixion led to defeat of sin, death—only through death, resurrection of Jesus
Act of indescribable beauty I
n 2010, I was part of the Northeastern Ohio Synod/ Roman Catholic Diocese of
Youngstown pilgrimage to Ger- many and Italy. We visited Mar- tin Luther sites and then trav- eled to Rome. It was an interesting expe-
MICHAEL D. WATSON
rience to be in the places that formed our spiritual identities in the company of those who, in our respective narratives, had the role of the “other,” or even
the “enemy,” during and after the Reformation. But we came to a deeper respect and appreciation for each other’s tradi- tion by being pilgrims together. All of us were asked what the most memorable part of the
trip was. For me that moment came after I was home. The last day in Rome I caught a lulu of a cold. As I lay in
bed the Friday after we returned searching the TV for a foot- ball game, I came across a televangelist. I was mesmerized. He was preaching to a packed house in a converted NBA coliseum. His text was from Matthew 21, the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree, the disciples’ won- derment at Jesus’ authority and Jesus’ teaching about faith being able to move mountains. The televangelist’s exegesis (explana-
Elizabeth A. Eaton
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was brutally executed just before the end of World War II: Bonhoeffer who spoke against “cheap grace” or what I have come to call “entitlement grace”; Bon- hoeffer who in his ministry and death experienced the costly grace of discipleship. Flossenburg was a forced labor camp. Inmates worked in
rock quarries until they died of exhaustion, exposure, star- vation or disease. The prison population was 20 percent Jewish. The rest were political prisoners, the mentally ill, addicts, homosexuals, prisoners of war and the Roma people. One Flossenburg survivor who had been transferred from Auschwitz said the slow death of the labor camp was worse. After liberation the surviving prisoners constructed
a stone chapel out of the rubble of the guard towers. In it was a stone triptych behind the altar. On one side panel was carved the image of a prisoner trying to lift an impossibly heavy block of stone while being beaten by a guard. On the other side panel was a carving of a woman bent under the weight of a basket of rubble as a child clung to her. Our guide said the basket of rubble represented the awful burden of the women left behind when the men were taken to the camp. In the center panel was a carving of Jesus on the cross.
tion) of the passage led him to conclude that Jesus said we must “speak to the mountain”—prayer was not enough. If we wanted a better job we needed to “speak to that moun- tain” and all the heavenly forces would be set in motion. Poor health? Fear of foreclosure? Troubled marriage? “Speak to that mountain” and get it fixed. Wow. When my father was dying why didn’t I speak
to that mountain? When Paul prayed three times that the thorn in his flesh be taken away, why didn’t he speak to that mountain? Here it was, the “Name It and Claim It Health and Wealth Gospel.” The people in that arena were cheering. At that point I remembered our stop at the Flossenburg concentration camp in Germany. This is where theologian
50
www.thelutheran.org
In the midst of our suffering, because of our suffering, because of the suffering we cause, is the cross of Christ. There was no place for the empty promise of the ‘Name It and Claim It’ gospel.
Here, literally carved in stone, was the theology of the cross. In the midst of our suffering, because of our suffering, because of the suffering we cause, is the cross of Christ. There was no place for the empty promise of the “Name It and Claim It” gospel. There was only space for the cross, carved by the bruised hands of the suffering.
The speak-to-the-mountain-theology-of-glory is a
tempting and seductive message. It packs churches and raises money. It is happy, upbeat, fun—but empty. When Paul prayed that his affliction be taken away the
Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” It turns out that the televange- list was partly right. The heavenly forces were set in motion, but it was motion that led to the defeat of sin and death only through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ crucifixion was neither pretty nor happy, but it was an act of indescribable beauty that brings true joy.
A monthly message from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Her email address:
bishop@elca.org.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52