The Tide of Easter - Reflections on the "at-ONE-ment" of Christ

Easter is a day of great joy and celebration, not only

because it is the culmination of the drama of Holy Week, and not only because

it is the climax of the entire Lenten experience. It is the grandest

celebration of the church because it is the ultimate expression of new life in

Christ. Because of the resurrection, we have been set free from the bonds of

sin and death. Thanks be to God!

Now that the holy day is over, and the season of

“Eastertide” has begun, it is a good time to reflect on the deeper mystery of

what I sometimes call the “great trilogy”, the three big events that changed

faith history: the incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.

One of these standing alone would not be enough to save the

world. These three pivotal events intertwine to form the sacred story of

salvation by grace. It is by the work of God, who crossed over the chasm

between the divine and human, that Jesus became what we are so that we can

become like he is. It is by the self-emptying love of Christ that we find the

ultimate expression of God’s very being and discover the essence of true love.

And it is by the immense victory of life over death that we find meaning when

we ourselves walk through death’s shadow. These three events shape our

spirituality and restore the world to wholeness.

I have never been a fan of teachings related to the concept

of “substitutionary atonement.” These teachings revolve around the idea that

God had to vindicate himself against himself, because of the blood sacrifice he

demanded for sin. So Jesus had to pay the price to purchase our forgiveness from

God (when Jesus is, himself, God’s self). I do not mean to caricature a belief

that is sacred to many, but for me, it simply doesn’t make any sense. The

atonement is not a transaction, a slight

of hand, or tricky payoff.

But seeing each of the “great trilogy” of events as an

integral part of the salvation story puts the atonement in perspective. I

appreciate what the Disciple Bible Study series teaches, that the essence of

the atonement is the restorative “at-ONE-ment” action of God. This is what both

the cross and the resurrection are about.

The cross is the ultimate expression of God’s self-giving

love, and it is the emptiness of the

cross that expresses our victory over the grave. The atonement is not some

twisted transaction that an angry God required to satisfy himself. It is the

most extreme, life-changing, earth-cleansing expression of the very nature of

God’s stubborn love. God refused to give up on us, on a world that kept “going

to pot” on its own. And the grace of God’s love is what transforms the cross

into victory.

Easter is not about avoiding God’s judgment. It is about

embracing God’s grace! We must never stop at thinking Easter is our ticket to

heaven. It is about more than personal salvation. It is about the world’s

redemption.

Originally at Musings of a Musical Preacher Read the original ↗