Christus Paradox
Good Morning Friends,
By definition, a true paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a truth. A paradox isn’t a puzzle to be solved. A paradox isn’t a contradiction that asserts its own opposite. A paradox is a mystery into which we can go deeper and deeper. This coming Sunday is Christ the King Sunday and as part of it we will be singing a song that describes, in a way, the mystery of how Christ rules from the cross. It was written by a 36 year old woman back in 1991 two years before she died of cancer. The lyrics are included below and I ask that you read through them more than once. Skimming them just will not do them justice. The name of the anthem is Christus Paradox.
Scripture: May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:11-14 (NRSV)
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus
there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Luke 23:33-38 (NRSV)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:11 (NRSV)
Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Revelation 19: 11-16 (NRSV)
Message: Let’s do a little review here on the paradoxes in the Bible. Nothing is something. Christ is exalted through humility… we discover strength in weakness…. in giving we receive… we find freedom through servitude… gaining by losing…living by dying…finding by losing. But perhaps the greatest mystery and paradox of all is Jesus. He does perk our curiosity and wonder of how is it that the Bible can claim that Jesus is both God and the son of God; sheep and shepherd, prince and slave, peacemaker and sword bringer, and the everlasting instant? To speak of the Paradoxes of Christ is to disclose the very center of that which is the object of our faith. Paradoxes of Christ call us to look past the shallowness of man and see the life and crucifixion of Christ and the hope of His return from God’s perspective. Christ both small and large was never superficial. Christ is “the everlasting instant.” Jesus was here, like we are, for a brief moment but he is also ever present. As our mind reaches out in these multiplicity of approximations it gives our faith an amazing richness and elasticity. There is power in the paradox.
Pray we realize that the event of the cross demonstrates God’s power to rule as both a King and as a servant. Pray we experience the assurance of faith even if it is to draw us deeper into the mystery. Pray we taste and smell the essence of our faith by discovering that we are nothing without Jesus. Pray we realize that paradoxes are like batteries to recharge our spirit…that without both poles there is no charge. Pray we realize that without the sense of paradox, we end up missing the delight and the disturbance of the gospel. Pray we rejoice in the wisdom of knowing what we do not know.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Christus Paradox
You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd.
You, Lord, are both prince and slave.
You, peacemaker and swordbringer.
Of the way you took and gave,
You, the everlasting instant;
You whom we both scorn and crave.
Clothed in light upon the mountain,
Stripped of might upon the cross,
Shining in eternal glory,
beggar’d by a soldier’s toss,
You, the everlasting instant,
You who are both gift and cost.
You, who walk each day beside us,
Sit in power at God’s side.
You, who preach a way that’s narrow,
have a love that reaches wide.
You, the everlasting instant;
You who are our pilgrim guide.
Worthy is our earthly Jesus!
Worthy is our cosmic Christ!
Worthy your defeat and victory.
Worthy still your peace and strife.
You, the everlasting instant;
You who are our death and life.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Alleluia- you who are our death and our life.
Christus Paradox, by Sylvia Dunstan
Daily Devotionals 