But this I know.... (Why Did Jesus Die?) - Dr Tony Moodie 

About 15 years ago the Methodist Church in Britain published a new hymn book. The committee that worked on it wanted to include ‘In Christ alone’. They recognised it as an outstanding modern hymn not just for the words but also the tune, composed by Keith Getty. But the committee asked for permission to change the words, ‘Till on that cross as Jesus died / the wrath of God was satisfied’. They wanted to change the words to, ‘the love of God was satisfied’. The request was refused and the reason given was that the words, ‘the wrath of God was satisfied’ are supported by Scripture and by theological tradition. So, ‘In Christ alone’ wasn’t included in the new Methodist hymn book.

The Methodist Church in Britain wasn’t the only Church with with concerns about that line of the hymn. About the same time, the Presbyterian Church of the USA requested permission to include it in their new hymn book. They wanted to change the words to, ‘Till on that cross as Jesus died/the love of God was magnified.’ The Presbyterian committee thought that getting permission would be a formality because the hymn had already been published with those altered words in another hymn book, used by some American Baptists. But the publishers of that hymn book had slipped up. They hadn’t requested permission, and that caused them a lot of problems. 

In the end the Presbyterian committee issued a statement saying that the song had been removed from the list of contents for their new hymn book. They said that they had done that with deep regret but they couldn’t support the idea that Jesus died on the cross to appease God’s anger. The Methodist committee’s reasons were pretty much the same. 

Is God wrathful or angry, and does that anger need to be appeased or satisfied before God can accept us? 

When I was about 18 years old I left the Anglican church that I’d been brought up in, and started attending a different church. I felt quite vulnerable there. Most of the people in the church were well instructed in the doctrines of their faith while I didn’t really know what I believed, and I wasn’t sure if I believed what everyone else in the church believed. They seemed to have all the answers but I was struggling with questions about the Christian faith that troubled me. Some of those questions came up in the Bible study group that I joined, and that met before the morning worship service. 

I liked and admired the leader of the Bible study group, John. John was one of the most attractive Christians I’ve known. But I couldn’t make sense of the answer that he gave one Sunday to the question, ‘Why did Jesus die?’. John said that although God loves us, the justice of God demands that we should be punished for our sins. And so, instead of of us being punished, our punishment fell on Jesus. Or, in the words of the hymn, ‘on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied’. 

I’ll come back to those words, and the explanation of why Jesus died. For now I’ll say something about another hymn that speaks of Christ’s death on the cross. I was familiar with the hymn, ‘There is a green hill far away’ from when I was a child. And I’d sung it often without being bothered by what it said about the death of Jesus. To be honest I’d never thought much about its words:

There is a green hill far away
Without a city wall;
Where the dear Lord was crucified
Who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains He had to bear;
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good;
That we might go at last to heaven
Saved by His precious blood.

If I had stopped to think about the words of the hymn I might have had questions. How are we saved by the death of Christ? How are we made good by Jesus dying? It’s not wrong to ask questions. From the earliest days of Christianity, Christian thinkers have asked questions like that, and they have tried to provide answers to those questions.

But the words of ‘There is a green hill far away’ and the words of ‘In Christ alone’ are a little different. In the old hymn there’s no mention of wrath. It just says, ‘He died that we might be forgiven’ … ‘Saved by his precious blood’. Unlike the hymn, in Christ alone, it doesn’t explain how Christ’s death on the cross makes it possible for us to go to heaven. It just says, ‘we believe it was for us he hung and suffered there’. That’s similar to the New Testament. The New Testament says that the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ has somehow changed our relationship with God. But in general it doesn’t give much in the way of explanations of how that happens.  

The hymn, ‘In Christ alone’, does give an explanation – in those words ‘the wrath of God was satisfied’ even though it’s very brief. It’s a summary of the explanation that John gave to the Bible study group: By sinning we break God’s laws and that incurs God’s wrath, so we deserve to be punished. But God wants us to be saved, so Jesus died on the cross in our place, taking the punishment instead of us. 

In technical theological language that’s called the penal substitutionary theory of the Atonement. It’s part of the theological tradition that was referred to in the reasons for not changing the words of the hymn ‘In Christ alone’, and it’s one of a number of different theological explanations, or theories, of how Christ saves us. 

It isn’t wrong to want explanations – or to give them. Christian theologians through the centuries have done their best to explain their belief that Christ came to save the world. Their explanations or theories all draw from Scripture in one way or another although each theory tends to draw on different verses of Scripture to develop its explanation of how Christ saves us. 

One explanation of why Christ died, that was popular amongst Christians in the centuries immediately after the time of Jesus, was quite different. It was based on the verse in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus says that he did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Early Christian theologians took the idea that Christ gave himself as a ransom and developed it into a theory to explain how Christ’s death saves us. They said that, because of sin, the human race was held prisoner by the devil. And when Jesus was arrested and crucified he was giving himself as a ransom to the devil, so that the devil would release all those who he held prisoner.  

In the ransom theory, instead of Christ paying the price for our sin by satisfying the wrath of God, Christ paid the price for us to be released from imprisonment to the devil. That may have been helpful as a way to explain Christ’s death to some people but for others it raised more questions that needed to be answered. And that’s true of every explanation – every theory about why Jesus died. This doesn’t mean that we should give up trying to understand things. It’s good to try to understand things, and explanations can be helpful up to a point, although some explanations may be better than others. 

No explanation is completely satisfactory, and it’s probably not a good idea anyway to try to impose our explanations on other people. This is where the non-subscribing principle is helpful. The NSPCI statement of faith says that the faith of this denomination is governed by the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments but it doesn’t prescribe any particular way of understanding Scripture.

The NSPCI leaves it to members of the Church to interpret the Scriptures themselves in the light of their own consciences and using their own reasoning abilities. I would like to add, for myself, that we also need to read and understand the Bible through the Spirit of Christ living in our hearts and minds. But that’s a topic for a different sermon on another occasion. The important point is that Non-Subscribing Presbyterians don’t have to sign up to any particular explanation or theory. 

All the theories that theologians develop to try to explain why Christ died are based on images that they find in Scripture. The Bible uses many different images of what the saving work of Christ is like: it’s like a ransom, it’s like a debt being paid for us, it’s like the penalty for law-breaking being cancelled, it’s like the sacrifice of a lamb in the temple, and so on. 
Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah ch. 53, about the Suffering Servant of the Lord, was taken as a prophecy about Christ from the earliest days of Christianity. In that passage there are several different images of what the suffering of the Servant of God is about: He has borne our infirmities, he has carried our diseases, he was wounded for our transgressions, he bore the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. 

I’m sure that some of those images were in the mind of the author of that old hymn, ‘There’s a green hill far away’, when she wrote the words, ‘we believe it was for us he hung and suffered there’. The hymn ‘In Christ alone’ is based on some of the images of Isaiah 53 – he was wounded for our transgressions, he bore the punishment that made us whole.
It doesn’t pick up on other images from Isaiah 53 – he has borne our infirmities, he has carried our diseases, by his bruises we are healed.

I’m going to say more about just one biblical image, not one from Isaiah ch. 53. It’s an image in the passage we read from ch. 2 of the Letter to the Ephesians. It’s the image of a dividing wall that has been demolished. The first thing we should notice is that it isn’t concerned with judgement. It’s concerned with relationships. It’s not about laws that have been broken. It’s about walls that have been broken, broken down – walls that have separated human beings from God and from each other, and that have now been demolished. It’s about broken relationships and about relationships being restored. It’s about reconciliation between human beings and God, and it’s about reconciliation between human beings and other human beings. 

Verse 14 of Ephesians ch. 2 says that Christ has destroyed the dividing wall that separated Jews and Gentiles. But the more basic problem is the barrier that has grown up between human beings and God. Verse 13 says, ‘in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ’. Through the life and death of Christ, the wall between humanity and God has come down, and so all other dividing walls that the human race has allowed to be built up must fall too. 

To change the image a bit, we could say that through Christ, God has cleared away the rubbish that we’ve put in the way of our relationship with God. And, because of that, we have the opportunity also to clear away the rubbish that we’ve allowed to separate us from other people the divisions between Jews and Gentiles, but also the feuds and jealousies that divide families and neighbours, the hatreds that divide nations All those, and still others, can be cleared away.     

In Ephesians ch. 2 we aren’t given a theory to explain all this. We’re given a picture. And it’s vital for our spiritual and emotional health that we see that in this picture the blockage to our relationship with God is all on our side. There’s no wrath on God’s side, holding back God’s love for us. Although there is wrath – but it’s on our side.     
       
It’s there in the injustice, exploitation, oppression, conflict, aggression, violence, cruelty, and all the other things that are part of the mess that this world is in.  On God’s side, there is only love, because God is love. The New Testament doesn’t only tell us that God’s love breaks down the barriers between us and God. It tells us that if we open ourselves to God’s love we will be enabled to do what is needed on our side to break down the barriers that divide people from each other. And often there a lot of work to be done.

Ephesians ch. 2 says that all this is made possible through Christ, through the cross. If we have inquiring minds we will inevitably ask, ‘But how does that actually work?’ ‘How does the death of one man, Jesus, dying on a cross, bring all this about?’. Our final hymn is a meditation on the death of Christ. It keeps coming back to the words, ‘I cannot tell“. When I was preparing this sermon, I was originally going to say that I would leave it there, with those words, ‘I cannot tell’. I cannot tell how the death of Christ saves us. But there are clues in the New Testament as to what was involved in the life, and death, and resurrection of Christ. 

I’ll end by very briefly pointing to just one of those clues. In 2nd Corinthians ch. 5 verse 19 we read this: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. God wasn’t somewhere way up there, looking down on Jesus. God was in Christ, in the life of Christ on earth and in the death of Christ. God, who is through all and within all, according to Ephesians ch. 3, is in Christ, and in us. To use another image, God is the fabric of everything that is. And what God does in Christ, God does everywhere. 

But I must stop here before getting into yet another theory about the death of Christ to add to all those other theories. Perhaps, our final hymn does give the best answer to the question, ‘How does Christ’s death break down the walls that divide us from God and from each other?’,  I cannot tell ... I cannot tell how silently he suffered, as with his peace he graced this place of tears, But this I know, he heals the broken-hearted, ... and stays our sin, … and calms our lurking fear.          Amen. 

Today being Pentecost Sunday we come to explore the Pentecost Narrative in Acts 2. It is Luke’s story of the giving of the Holy Spirit in contrast to John’s story in John 20. My tendency is therefore not to read this story primarily as history, but rather to read it as a symbolic narrative in which Luke is seeking to express insights into the spiritual life using symbols and metaphors.

I believe that the real heart of the story of Pentecost can be found in chapter 1:14 where we read they were all together constantly praying. This is in response to the command of Jesus to stay in Jerusalem waiting for the gift of God from on High.  This I believe is the crux on which the whole story pivots and from which it all unfolds.  A stance of prayerful receptivity can open us to the Divine Presence or the IAM Presence which in the Biblical tradition is generally referred to as the Holy Spirit.  The word Spirit can mean breath or wind or breeze. It is the Breath of God that animates, gives life to and moves in and through all creation.  The word Holy, in its original meaning means different.  When we are moved and animated by the Holy Spirit or the IAM Presence, we are moved and animated by something different, something other than our normal egoic way of thinking. And this opening up to the IAM Presence or the Holy Breathe of God according to the story come through prayer. 

The word ‘prayer’ or ‘to pray’ in this verse is the Greek word proseuché (pros-yoo-khay) and it refers to an exchange of wishes; to pray therefore literally means to interact with God or the Divine by exchanging our human wishes and ideas for God’s Divine wishes for us and for the world; exchanging our narrow small-minded egoic desires and wishes in order to be moved, inspired and animated by a Higher Wisdom than our own, as we become open to the IAM Presence which resides at the heart of all things. 

And so prayer may begin by the expressing of our own human wishes to God, a speaking out of what concerns us and what our own hopes and dreams are, but if prayer is to be an exchange of our wishes and ideas, often arising from our small and narrow egoic minds, it ends with us needing to be open to receiving The Divine wishes for us which come from a higher or a deeper place – perhaps one could even say, from our higher selves. And this requires being open and receptive. Prayer ultimately and logically should lead to silence and stillness, leaving us in an open and receptive place, ready to be open to the Holy Breath of God, open to the IAM Presence from which all deeper or higher inspiration and wholeness comes. 

As the Psalmist reminds us, Be Still and Know that I am God: Be Still and Know the IAM Presence of God that underlies all of Reality. 

And in the story of Pentecost there is some wonderful imagery that points to this: 

Firstly, there is the imagery of the wind.

In verse 2 we read that suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house were they were sitting.  That is at least how the NIV translates the original Greek, and most English translations would roughly do the same. But as I explored some of the Greek words behind the English text, there are I believe other possibilities in how to understand these words. 

In the English text, we read the phrase "a rushing wind". However, in the original Greek, the word used is "pheromenēs" which means to carry or bear or even to uplift. In addition, the Greek  word biaios (bee'-ah-yos) often translated a violent can also simply mean strong. In addition the Greek word for ‘wind’ could also be translated a breeze, a gust, or even as breath.   And so the wind in Acts 2:2 might indeed be describing not a rushing and violent wind, but rather a breeze or a breathe of air that uplifts and brings strength to those who receive it.  This imagery evokes the imagery of two Old Testament passages.  Firstly, the idea of the wind lifting up and carrying, is reminiscent of the Isaiah 40:31 which speaks of being lifted up on wings like eagles.  Just as an eagle flies high, soaring up on the currents of air, so being open to the IAM Presence in prayerful receptivity or meditation, opens us to the Divine breeze or current that enables us to be lifted up to begin to soar, carried by a current that is greater than ourselves.  As Isaiah 30:15 also reminds us "...in quietness and trust is your strength...".

The other Old Testament passage that it might remind us of is that of the story of Elijah when he encounters the Divine Presence, not in the sound of a tempest, in other words not in the sound of a rushing and violent wind, but rather in the sound of a gentle whisper, the gentle sound of a breath. 

We have all had times, even if momentarily, for a split second, when we have been able to sink down into Presence. It might be just for a moment staring out the window while drinking a cup of tea, or waiting quietly in a car. And in that moment of quite watching and listening, of open receptivity, our spirits briefly come into contact with a sense of a still Presence.  And in that moment we feel a sense of quiet relief and a lightness like a breathe of fresh air has just blown into our spirits.  It is surely, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breathe of God breathing through us enabling us to be momentarily touched by the IAM Presence of God. 

Secondly in verse 3 we read of the imagery of fire, “...they saw what seemed like tongues of fire which separated and came to rest on each of them.”

Again, two Old Testament images come to mind. The first is the image of Moses’ encounter with the IAM Presence of God at the burning bush.  It suggests that when we become prayerfully open and receptive so that we begin to touch the stillness of that IAM Presence at the heart of Life, we become like human burning bushes, shining warmth and light wherever we go. Human manifestations of the Divine. 

And this brings us to the second image from the Old Testament, taking us to the Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting and later to the Jerusalem Temple where a lamp, known as the "Eternal Light" or "Ner Tamid" in Hebrew, was meant to burn continuously, representing the perpetual nature of God's presence in the Holy of Holies.  

In Acts 2, the flames of fire that rest on the heads of those gathered in prayer, remind us of our Divine capacity to become living temples in which God lives by God’s Spirit, Living Temples animated by the Holy Breath of God in which the flame of eternal light, the IAM Presence shines both within and through their humanity.  As Paul says, do you know know that your bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breathe, the Holy Presence of God (see 1 Cor 6:19).  

Is that perhaps what the Pentecost story is pointing us toward – our God given potential of becoming living Temples of the IAM Presence of God. 

Lastly, in the passage we read of the disciples being enabled to speak in other languages, helping to bridge the divides between people.  It recalls the Old Testament sacred myth of the Tower of Babel, where due to human pride, the people become scattered across the world speaking different languages so that they become divided, separated, no longer communicate and understand one another.  It sounds a little bit like our world today doesn’t it? A world of division and separation where there is a failure in understanding and an inability to talk and communicate it civil ways. 

But in the story of Pentecost, as the disciples, together with Mary the Mother of Jesus and some of the other women, gather in prayerful waiting, openness and receptiveness, and as they find themselves being gifted with the IAM Presence of the Divine, the underlying Unity behind all things, they are enabled to become part of the unifying, reconciling, healing work of God in the world and God’s secret plan revealed in Christ in Ephesians 1:10  to bring all things back together in unity. AS Paul says in 2 Cor 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to God’s-Self. 

When we gather in open, prayerful receptivity to the IAM Presence in all things and in all people, we become partners with God, in the work of healing the divisions and separation of our world as we begin to speak the reconciling language of Christ-like Love. 

Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

And I leave it there: What does this mean? What could this mean for us? Amen. 

Ascension into the Heart of Love

As some of you may be aware Thursday was Ascension Day

Today I would like to explore the ascension story in Acts 1:1-11 and to uncover how that story might offer valuable insights and inspiration to us wherever we might find ourselves on our journey through life. 

In the story of Acts we read how the risen Jesus meets his disciples one last time and instructs them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, promising them the power to be his witnesses. As they watch, Jesus ascends into heaven, leaving them gazing upward. Two angels then appear, asking why they are still looking at the sky, and affirm that Jesus will return in the same manner he left. 

1. As we reflect more deeply on this story, I believe that Firstly, it is a story that provides us with a Symbol of Transformation and Growth

The ascension can be interpreted as a metaphor for personal growth and transformation. Just as Jesus ascended to a higher state, so it speaks of our human potential to be elevated through learning, growth and development.  This past week Wends and I watched the first episode of the new series of the piano where pianists from the Manchester area were invited to perform in the Manchester station.  Seeing a wide variety of people, young and old, expressing themselves on the piano and displaying their musical giftedness was a reminder of the enormous potential that lies in every human being.   God has planted seeds of infinite potential in each of us.  And just as a pianist needs to devote themselves to practising in order to increase and raise their musicality and piano playing skills our time spent here on earth should surely be more than just about survival and getting through each day.  Our time here on earth is surely God’s invitation to each of us to begin to tap into the potential that lies within, raising our life-state. As Bryant McGill writes: Your entire life has unfolded for your heart’s ascension to Love.  And in this passage today, this is symbolised by the ascension of Jesus.  As Jesus in the story is lifted on a cloud into heaven, so we are invited into a journey of continuous self-discovery as striving, by the grace of God, towards our fullest potential, being raised and lifted up to be bearers of God’s life in the world. 

2. Secondly, the story of the ascension invites us to reflect on the importance of Letting Go and Moving Forward:

In the story of the ascension, in order to ascend, Jesus must be willing to let go of a former earth bound existence. It is perhaps a reminder that at some point all of us will need to let go of our earthbound existence. As they say, the only two things that you can be sure of in life are death and taxes.  When it comes to our taxes, we all need to be willing to let go of a certain portion of our income that it might be used, hopefully with wisdom and care, for the common good.  When it comes to death, there will come a point in which each of us will need to let go of our earthly existence.  Whether we believe in an afterlife or not, when we release our final breath, it will surely be a profound act of letting go, for in that moment we will need to let go of everything we have owned, every role we have played, every relationship we have valued and nurtured. In that moment of our final breath we will all be forced to let go of everything we have held onto for our security and our sense of identity in this world. 

The ascension of Jesus is surely a symbol of this. In order to ascend, he needs to let go.  He needs to let go of his earthly existence. He needs to let go of all those he has loved and treasured. He needs to let go of his ministry and he has to entrust all of these things into the hands of the Higher Wisdom of God. Will his mission on earth continue? Who knows… he has to let go.  The disciples also need to be willing to let go of the one with whom they had shared their lives.  The departure of Jesus is a moment of change for them too. From this moment on, their lives will not be the same.  It will be for them a moment of growth for they will no longer be able to relate to and rely on Jesus in the same way. 

And so the act of ascension requires the letting go of the familiar and moving towards the unknown. It is an invitation to all of us in whatever the circumstances of our lives to embrace change, leaving behind old patterns or limitations, and embracing new possibilities. It encourages each of us to courageously step out of our comfort zones and embark on new adventures or challenges into the vast unknown. None of us is able to embrace something new, unless we are ready and willing to let go of the old. 

3. Thirdly the story of the ascension is a story that speaks of Legacy and Impact:

Jesus' departure and the disciples' commissioning to continue his work can be seen as a reminder of the importance of leaving a positive impact on the world. Regardless of one's beliefs about Jesus, the idea of leaving behind a legacy of kindness, compassion, and service to others is universally meaningful. It prompts reflection on how each of us can contribute to making the world a better place. When it comes time for us to depart, what will it be that each of us will leave behind?  Will we like Jesus leave behind a legacy of kindness, compassion and service to others? 

4. Fourthly, the story of the ascension invites us to reflect on the values of Community and Connection:

The disciples' gathering together around Jesus at the moment of his ascension highlights the power of community and human connection. And after Jesus has left them, we see them continuing to do so, continuing to meet together.  It underscores the significance of supporting one another, sharing experiences, and finding strength in unity and in community. It reminds each of us of the importance of building meaningful relationships, fostering empathy, and creating a sense of belonging in our communities.

5. Fifthly, the story of the Ascension is a story of Hope and Possibility:

Near the end of the narrative, after Jesus has ascended two angels appear saying: 

 “Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

   The promise of Jesus' return can symbolize hope and optimism for the future. It reminds us that even in the face of uncertainty or challenges, there is always the potential for renewal, growth, and positive change. Just as the resurrection reminds us that the cross is not the end of the story, so the promise of Christ’s return, however one conceives of that, reminds us that cruelty, hatred, inhumanity and despair are not how the story of life ends. It encourages individuals to maintain a sense of hopefulness and resilience, believing in the possibility of a brighter tomorrow even in the darkest days. And because of this, like the disciples who are asked why they are looking up into the sky, so we are encouraged not to be so heavenly minded that we become no earthly good.  If there is hope and possibility for the future, if Jesus is ‘to come again’, at the very least it will surely also be through each of us as we continue in this world watering the seeds of love, kindness, compassion and joy, as we pour our energies into not only our own growth and transformation, but as we do the same for others, helping, inspiring, lifting others up to become people of the ascension, ascending to new heights of possibility in their own lives as the seeds of Divine potential that God has placed within them and us are able to grow like a plant in spring growing up towards the sun, preparing to bear fruit in the world. 

“People of Galilee, why do you stand there looking into the sky?”  

As Elizabeth Gilbert writes - “There’s always another level up. There’s always another ascension. More grace, more light, more generosity, more compassion, more to shed, more to grow”. Amen.