Chapter 9: Many a True Word
Wells uses the movie “The Priest” to set up a description of what the death of Jesus has done for us. Things in the crucifixion come in threes. There were three kinds of mockers.
- The passersby tell him he said he would destroy the rebuild the temple in 3 days. They, unwittingly, spoke the truth. They also tell him to save your self. But Jesus had said to save your life you have to lose it.
- Both the passersby and the temple authorities say, If you are the Son of God …” Jesus never said that. It was said about him by others. By mocking Jesus, they are uttering a profound truth.
- They say “Come down from the cross. But, Jesus had said to take up your cross and follow me.
“Our lives are indeed a perpetual mockery of Jesus. Our work is a parody of the self-sacrificial, other-centered example of our Lord. Our relationships are a parody of the mutual-indwelling, abiding trust of the Trinity. Our discipleship walk is a parody of the disciplined fraternal correction and compassionate forbearance Jesus commends. Our mission is a parody of humble and constant presence among the hungry, the naked, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner. Our congregational life is more like a squabble between self-righteous elder brothers than a welcome reception for prodigal sons. We are constantly at the foot of the cross, mocking the suffering Jesus.”
The climax of the gospel contains two miracle. The obvious one is the resurrection. The more subtle one is what Jesus didn’t do—he stayed on the cross. We want the Jesus who could have come down from the cross. But, that is not what we need. “But it’s the God we need. Oh how badly we need that God! Answers, explanations, solutions—they don’t give us what we fundamentally need in the face of suffering and sin. What we need is love. What we need is a wondrous love through all eternity.”
“That’s the irony of the cross. If Jesus had saved himself, he couldn’t have saved us. His powerlessness shows us the endurance of God. Jesus hangs on the cross to show us the love that hangs on. Hang on to that love. It will never let you go.”
Chapter 10: I Have No Need of You
The text must have been Paul’s discussion about being one body. Wells uses the book “Watershed Down” as a metaphor of what it means to be one body in the church by extracting 3 lessons.
- We can never say we have made it. The church will always remain a pilgrim people and be a work in progress.
- Diversity in the church is a strength, not a weakness.
- Unity is something we have to work at, and that work is not a distraction, but is at the heart of the gospel.
“Of course there’s one thing we don’t learn from the rabbits, and that’s that we’re talking not about any old body but about the body of Christ. Rabbits can show us what it means to live as a body, but baptism is what shows us what it means to be the body of Christ. If we weren’t interested in the unity of the church, we shouldn’t have been baptized. Telling another Christian, “I have no need of you” is really telling Jesus, “I have no need of you.”
Quotes from: Samuel Wells. “Be Not Afraid.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/_CksC.l