Midweek Lent (1) 2019

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 23:30
Theme: At His Peak

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

At what point were you at the peak of your life? Maybe that’s where you are right now? Maybe that still lies in your future? If we reflect carefully we can probably recognize many peaks; the peak of our physical stature, the peak of our sporting abilities, the peak of our mental falcuties, the peak of job performance, the peak of our parenting or relationship skills. How hard did we have to work to reach these peaks? And what would you say about your spiritual life, your baptismal journey, your bearing of crosses during this Lenten journey of 2019? What peaks are left for you to climb?

How high was the peak of Golgotha? Not very high in geographical terms. Today the Temple Mount in Jerusalem reaches 741 meters. That’s the elevation from sea level, not from the nearby valley. No special training or equipment was needed to climb Mount Calvary. Yet imagine what an insurmountable monstrosity it would have seemed like in Jesus’ mind as He reflected on the mission before Him! He had just crossed the Kidron Valley, but now He would sink into the abyss of darkness even as He was lifted up on the cross. Every fiber of His human nature was required to remain focused on the task. He had prayed, “Father…everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”1In these words He expressed the struggle within. His struggle, that struggle, gives meaning to your struggle, whatever its severity.

We can do nothing more beneficial this Lenten season than get a firmer grasp on why His struggle and our struggle must be intertwined or everything is finally lost. The necessity of His struggle is important to understand. You and I are not merely spectators to this undertaking. We are causes. If you have any doubts that your sin is serious enough to merit separation from God now is the time to reconsider. And God isn’t suggesting your reassessment be one of a casual nature. He is calling us to take a long, hard look in the mirror. We, every last one of us, drove Him to the cross. All are guilty. Still, as individuals, we cannot hide anonymously in the crowd.

The conclusion of Jesus’ passion is best understood as a mission, not a fate. Yes, the Father had determined in advance to give His Son in sacrifice as the Scripture says, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.”2 And again He is described as “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”3 Yet, it was not fatalism. Jesus went to the cross willingly. He says, “The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”4 The mystery of our salvation is wrapped up in these truths and lent is an excellent time to meditate on them. There is no doubt that atonement for your sins was not a mechanical act of sacrifice. The debt of your sin was forgiven, but it was not like a transaction across the balance sheet of a divine bank account. It was not faceless, soulless or anonymous. Nor was it like a surgery in which cancer is clinically removed. (Though the description of sin as a cancer is a fitting one.)

In His two natures Jesus is both imminent and transcendent. He is truly present, as He is sacramentally through water, bread, wine, word, and Spirit; but also, in power as He intervenes in people’s lives and takes hold of their hearts. The apostle says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed…”5 The true humanity of Jesus was necessary lest the atonement be a hollow representation. Only an actual flesh and blood man could be the substitute for real flesh and blood people- like as a surrogate for like. The true divinity of Jesus was also necessary lest the task be unachievable. No mere human can atone for sin. No mere human can defy death. Only God could slam shut the gates of hell.

These events constitute the content and meaning of the gospel. The gospel is not a general message about God’s presence. It’s not a religious ideology, a framework that can be vested with different meanings and purposes. It’s not a philosophy of tolerance or permissiveness. The gospel is the good news of the Saviour present with and for His people to save them from sin and death. Here is what God says, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”6

On Calvary Jesus ‘reached His peak.’ Yes, you might say He flew much higher at His resurrection. But defining the crucifixion as His peak doesn’t undermine the importance of His resurrection, ascension, or enthronement. One is part and parcel with the other. Without the sacrifice of the cross, the subsequent events of His resurrection would have been raw demonstrations of His power- divine fiat. The resurrection proves His omnipotence- Jesus is all-powerful. But the crucifixion proved His humility- a humility with no equal. Countless idols, and demi-gods throughout history have claimed to be all-powerful and most world religions make the same claim of their deities today. But none have claimed, and certainly none have achieved, such selfless debasement on behalf of others as Jesus did. That truth is what makes Christianity absolutely unique. That truth defines the gospel. That truth also gives definition and integrity to grace. Lent is a time for the re-appropriation of grace. Grace is at its peak on the hill of the Skull. God’s Son divested Himself of all self-interest enduring cruelty and torture to spare believers from the same fate.

Jesus allowed His body to be draped over the cross for you. He was laid to rest in the grave for you. He carried the eternal punishment for your sins to that garden tomb and there He laid them to rest. May these truths give meaning to all the peaks and valleys of your life? Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Midweek Lent 1
13 March 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Mark 14:36
2 Acts 2:23
3 Revelation 13:8
4 John 10:17-18
5 Romans 1:16-17
6 Isaiah 57:15