The Crucified Community: Meditation Four

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Transcript

Meditation Four: The Death of the Monster God

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” 

-Colossians 1:15–20, ESV

God is Love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

- 1 John 4:8b–10, ESV

“Being disguised under the disfigurement of an ugly crucifixion and death, the Christ upon the cross is paradoxically the clearest revelation of who God is.”

— Hans Urs von Balthasar

The crucified one, Jesus, stands in solidarity with the poor who are crucified at the hands of the powerful. Many perceive power as synonymous with domination, exploitation, subjugation, and violation. Power, bolstered by muscle, might, and militarism, is imposed on others against their will, enabling those in control to gain an advantage. This recurring pattern persists throughout the world and throughout history, manifesting in the brutality of the gulags, the oppression and suffering of indigenous populations, forced labor in the mines, and even domestic violence within our homes.

In the Christian confession, we make much of the power of God, and in turn, we have, especially since Augustine and on through Calvinism, constructed theological systems which lean towards control and violence. 

These constructions, or, we may say, paintings and portrayals of God, may keep us in a place of fear and at a distance from intimacy. For those already traumatized by the crucifixion brought about by extreme poverty and chaos, the 'portraits' of God as absolute power, control, and violence can inflict further damage upon already wounded souls. Instead of healing, wounds remain raw and open. Theological systems can be triggering, evoking memories of being dominated and oppressed. Yet, theological systems can also serve as drivers of oppression. We become what we worship, and if we, or our churches, worship a god of absolute control and domination, we may reflect that in our lives. We resemble what we revere, we become what we behold. A portrait of a violent God, if not corrected, can promote violence.

Let's take, for instance, the portrait of God as the God of Absolute Control, or we may say the 'Puppet Master of Pain,' the God who exercises meticulous control. This god has ordained or specificallyallowed all events to take place according to His perfect plan. Everything that happens in the world happens as this is exactly how God meant it to be. Rape, abuse, violence, heroin overdose, modern-day slavery, ecological and biodiversity collapse, extreme poverty, extreme wealth, take place because God is in meticulous control. God, in this scenario, is all-powerful, and power means control, so God is all-controlling. This portrait of God is what lurks in the heart of the lady, a victim of gang rape, who asked her pastor, 'Why did God do this to me?

At the core of the Christian gospel lies the crucifixion, a violent event in which the God-Man, Jesus, meets His end. However, this violence does not originate from Jesus towards others; instead, He becomes the victim of others' violence. In His death, we  witness the dissolution of portrayals and theological concepts of God that equate absolute power with absolute control.

In the ultimate revelation of God found in Jesus, we see divine power in action. Yet, it is not characterized by control, domination, or violence, but rather by self giving  sacrificial love. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit, a holy trinity of love, give of themselves so that their cherished objects of affection, broken and beautiful sinners, can, among other things, break free from the cycles of violence. The crucified God  invites both victim and oppresser into the embrace of a non-violent, non-coercive love that leads to liberation.

The power of the cross, the power of the gospel, is not found in the message of a God who meticulously controls everything. Instead, it resides in the self-giving suffering of the Savior, demonstrating once and for all that the rule and reign of the king and the kingdom are not achieved through the sword and vengeance, but rather through forgiveness, non-violence, and service. The resurrection of Jesus serves as a vindication of non-violence, a celebration of self-giving sacrificial love.

"Jesus's entire life was a demonstration of the true nature of God. As Jesus heals the sick, forgives the sinner, receives the outcast, restores the fallen, and supremely as He dies on a cross forgiving His killers, He reveals what God is like. To see Jesus is to see the Father. At last, we know that God is not like the thunderbolt-hurling Zeus or any of the other angry gods in the pantheon of terrorized religious imagination. God is like Jesus, nailed to a tree, offering forgiveness. God is not a monster. God is like Jesus!" — Brian Zahnd

Another way to perceive this is as a clash of kingdoms: Rome sought to establish peace through violence and domination, known as the Pax Romana, in its pursuit of empire. In contrast, Jesus aimed to establish peace and the kingdom of God through non-violent, self-giving sacrificial love. 

Initially, it may seem that violence and empire have the upper hand, that they prevail.Jesus dies.  Non-violence and love appear to have no place in the politics of power. However, three days later, in defiance of the empire, the seal of the grave was broken and Jesus was raised to life. This act revealed that Jesus and His kingdom possessed an inherent power greater than emperors, empire, or  the cross, their chosen instrument of domination. In the battle of powers, love emerges victorious.

We become what we worship, and if we worship a God of non-violent, self-giving sacrificial love, then we should expect to see this embodiment and enactment in our lives

Kev was a fighter. Since leaving the armed forces, he had repeatedly witnessed the triumph of violence. However, six months ago at the Three Legs, someone bigger and tougher gave him a beating. With ample time on a hospital ward for reflection, Kev started contemplating God. He held God responsible for his divorce, the loss of his child, and the traumatic experiences he had in Iraq and Afghanistan. One Sunday, after requesting to meet with the chaplain, he sat down to read the Gospels. The hospital chaplain had been clear when she said, 'God is as beautiful and kind as even Jesus.'

As he delved into the Gospels, he found healing, compassion, the concept of the kingdom, and the cross, each aspect revealing what God is truly like. The cross, he realized, represented a victory, but not through the display of physical strength or the use of a sword. Instead, it was a victory achieved by arms outsteched on the cross. Kev had a thought: 'The cross is where we witness power displayed as love and love displayed as power—a power that heals and saves the world through humility, sacrifice, and self giving sacrificial love

Kev may well discover that as he contemplates the beauty of the cross as a true revelation of God's nature, he becomes less violent less domineering, less controlling and more loving.