Was the torture of Christ necessary? No. And this is why it was so tragic, and thus salvific. Jesus did not need to die and his death makes no sense. Turning it into some kind of mechanistic activity in which grace is dispensed because God’s wrath is appeased turns God into some kind of monster. God is love and love does not want love’s child to suffer. If we allow ourselves to be drawn into the drama of the passion and crucifixion, in which the Spirit converts the garbage of human resentment and hate into the Jewelry of love, then we become free, we are saved.
When I focus on the person of Christ in my Ignatian contemplation, I see just how sincere he is, how scared he is as he faces his inquisitors (just as countless Jews have been terrified by other inquisitors throughout history). He is so good, so kind, so human, and I just do not want him to die. My heart shouts no when the verdict is announced. No, don’t do this. Not to any person, but especially not this person. In this person, I see all of humanity. This is why he is divine. Not because he imposed divinity onto humanity, but because he revealed human potential—the ability to love in all situations.
His death reminds me of all the unjust, barbaric deaths of history—all of them unnecessary. And in understanding that hate and resentment are not just poisonous, but unnecessary, I become free, that is, saved. I love better and more frequently, and in loving better, I contribute to the liberation and the building up of the world.
In knowing in my heart that no human being is trash, no one, I become free. In giving my own spiritual trash to God, allowing him to turn it into the very manure that makes the Kingdom grow, I am saved.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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