The joyful and absolute self-giving of Jesus to his Father is the foundation of our Christian faith. Jesus said, "The reason my Father loves me is that I day down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (Jn 10:16,17). Look at the painting "The Shadow of the Cross" by British artist Holman Hunt. It shows a youthful Jesus dancing in his carpenter shop, a very Jewish way to express thanksgiving and praise to God. It is early morning. Mary looks up from her chores to see the shadow of Jesus on the wall in the shape of a cross. The painting reminds us that Jesus's whole life was cruciform--a life of self-denial, a life sacrificed and abandoned to God. It was a painful life, because it is not easy for sons of Adam to say "Not my will, but your will be done." Yet this self-giving was pure joy for Jesus as he experienced the security of his Father's love. As he would later teach his disciples, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life . . . will save it" (Mark 8:35). It is not just the death of Jesus on the cross, but his whole life of obedience leading up to the cross which is God's "atonement" (at-one-ment) with man--man united to his Creator in complete surrender.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Atoning Sacrifice
The joyful and absolute self-giving of Jesus to his Father is the foundation of our Christian faith. Jesus said, "The reason my Father loves me is that I day down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (Jn 10:16,17). Look at the painting "The Shadow of the Cross" by British artist Holman Hunt. It shows a youthful Jesus dancing in his carpenter shop, a very Jewish way to express thanksgiving and praise to God. It is early morning. Mary looks up from her chores to see the shadow of Jesus on the wall in the shape of a cross. The painting reminds us that Jesus's whole life was cruciform--a life of self-denial, a life sacrificed and abandoned to God. It was a painful life, because it is not easy for sons of Adam to say "Not my will, but your will be done." Yet this self-giving was pure joy for Jesus as he experienced the security of his Father's love. As he would later teach his disciples, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life . . . will save it" (Mark 8:35). It is not just the death of Jesus on the cross, but his whole life of obedience leading up to the cross which is God's "atonement" (at-one-ment) with man--man united to his Creator in complete surrender.
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