Take a moment and consider the image above. It is a Star of David, but not just any Star of David. If this were an actual three-dimensional object, would it even be possible? How can these two triangles intersect like this without being distorted?
When you look, do you see one regular triangle and one that isn’t? Or do you think both must be contorted?
How often do we look at Jesus Christ in the same way? Consider these passages from two letters written by the apostle Paul during his Roman imprisonment somewhere around 60 AD…
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, ESV)
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)
In the same person we find one who emptied himself and one who holds all things together. How do we reconcile these?
Maybe they aren’t supposed to neatly fit. Maybe we are supposed to wrestle with the fact that Jesus both gave up everything and holds it all together.
Richard Rohr rightly points out that for centuries we have called the divine “Almighty God,” but seldom if every do we call the divine “All Vulnerable God.” Why is that?
Could it be we want a God with power because we long for power? Could it be we fear vulnerability, so we turn Jesus’ vulnerability into a doctrine instead of a divine example?
I have heard it said that Jesus died in our place. What if we look at it differently? What if Jesus died to show us the way, the truth, the life? What if the divine’s vulnerability on the cross was more about the pathway to salvation instead of the solution?
Maybe Jesus’ crucifixion is the very way Christ holds everything together. Vulnerability, not power, might be the true pathway to peace.
Consider our own nation. For more than two centuries we have used violence in an attempt to create peace. How is that working for us?
Violence has been used to subdue nations and races and other groups which are different than us, often in the name of the very same God another empire murdered 2,000 years ago. We claim to be a Christian nation, yet we oppress, murder, and force our will on others. Is that reflective of the one who hung on a cross extending forgiveness?
I don’t have any easy answers; I wrestle on a regular basis with how we use violence, even in the context of the military and law enforcement. I respect those who put their lives on the line to protect me and others here and around the world. I don’t question them, but rather the system which even requires their service.
Like the Star of David above, these kinds of questions seem to create a picture that is not possible. How can the divine have enough power to create the universe and hold it together while also being vulnerable enough to allow a few people on one speck in space to dominate and murder God in the flesh?
Jesus the vulnerable. Christ the almighty. He hangs there on the cross, stretching between powerlessness and preeminence. Instead of seeking power, maybe we should hang there with him.
Breaking Into Peace 