Since this is the last in our mini-series on the cross, I might as well lay my cards on the table. This view is offered not as a final answer, but as an opportunity for further questions. Ultimately, I think the cross is just that – an opportunity for more questions.
The theologian Schubert Ogden describes Christ as the decisive re-presentation of God. God has always been here – is always here – but Christ re-presents God to us. Christ does so in such a way that it is decisive. Not decisive in the sense of final or unique, but in a way that puts us to a decision. And I think the decisive moment in the story of this decisive re-presentation of God is the cross.
As I see it, the reason the cross is the defining symbol for Christianity is that it is the moment of greatest uncertainty. As we discovered in our study of Ecclesiastes, uncertainty is the heart of faith. It is in the moment of the unknown, the moment of ultimate loss, that we must decide whether to continue living with faith, love, and hope. The resurrection is beautiful and is our hope and promise, but it is the moment of victory; there is no decision to be made. But the call of the disciple, the follower of Christ on the Way, is in the abyss of the unknown where all possibility lives. Ours is to choose which reality will emerge from the shadows, to make the world anew.
Please join us this Sunday, 11am at Kidd Springs Rec Center, as we explore the “further questions.” It will be a slightly different service, one of our interactive, choose-your-own-adventure services. We will symbolically take on the wounds of Christ and then reflect on what those wounds mean in our lives as individuals and as the Body of Christ together. Is the cross the possibility of coming home? Is it final victory over injustice? Is it strength to endure suffering? Each of us will probably need it to be one of these (and so many more things) in the courses of our lives. Come and discover what you might be saved from and what you might be saved for. See you Sunday!
Grace & Peace,
Scott
Pet Blessing in Honor of St. Francis, Sep 29, Kidd Springs
It happens that the feast day of St. Francis occurs during our series on saints (Sep. 22 – Nov. 2). To honor the patron saint of animals and the environment, our service on September 29th will be a special pet blessing in Kidd Springs Park. Bring your pets or a picture of your pet to receive a blessing. The service will be free-flowing and may flow right into a lazy afternoon picnic. Come and enjoy the outdoors and celebrate with us!
St. Francis, does God talk to you, too?