The Theology of the Cross
Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Corinthians 1:17-29
Beginning a 5-week series on “Why Are We Lutheran?” I’ve not done a series like this before, because although I love Lutheran theology, I don’t preach Lutheranism. I preach Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. But because it informs so much of who we are and why we do particular things, it makes sense to see how this Lutheran identity informs the way we see the crucified and risen Christ.
The Lutheran Handbook, p. 46
Start with the most foundational, and the most scandalous aspect of Lutheranism, “The Theology of the Cross.”
The opposite is the “Theology of Glory.” Our nature wants us to be theologians of glory. I think I can prove it.
Describe some attributes of God . . . (powerful, omnipresent, all forgiving, all loving, etc.)
Although these are all true, no one ever described God as “weak,” “vulnerable,” “frail,” or “broken.” Most of our descriptions of God describe a God whose holiness is high above ours, whose goodness is beyond what broken people can achieve, and whose righteousness is out of the reach of sinful humans.
Because God is those things, a theologian of glory will try to close the gap. Theologians of glory try to reach that God by doing certain things, behaving certain ways. Ways that should be pleasing to this holy God.
I was talking with someone earlier this week who attends a church of another tradition occasionally. This person told me that sometimes the preacher will make a point of saying things like, “Liquor has never touched these lips.” A theologian of glory would respond, “Wow. You’re a better person than me. God must be impressed.”
A theologian of the cross would respond, “That is impressive, but you are still a sinner in need of grace.”
Theologians of the cross start with God, not with us. Theologians of the cross understand that we will never be able to reach God, never be good enough, never be holy enough. We cannot reach God, but God is able to reach us. God leaves the glory, the holiness, the righteousness behind and steps down into our brokenness with us. We know how far God reaches down because of the cross.
God the Son became human and left all the glory behind. This is Jesus, God the Son, who not only walked amongst us, but entered into the brokenness of the world – he died. God died. Philippians 2:7-8, “When the time came, he set aside all the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.”
The cross is where God becomes weak, vulnerable and broken. It’s in weakness, vulnerability, and brokenness that God finds us. Theologians of the cross know that God has to come to us (because we cannot come to God), and trust that in Jesus God has done so. And we know Jesus wasn’t just some weird guy claiming to be God and who was killed. We know because of the resurrection. God the Father raised from the dead God the Son. The powers of brokenness and death are revealed as a sham.
Theology of the cross isn’t about our righteousness, goodness, or best efforts. It’s about God meeting us where we are. Theology of the cross isn’t about strength of power, it’s about God’s willingness, out of love for us, to become extravagantly broken in order to meet us in our brokenness. Jesus descended into brokenness as far as one can descend – into the heart of death – so that he could meet us where we are most broken.
And as God meets us there, God says, “I love you. I want you. I will never stop loving you. I will never leave you.”
That is at the heart of being Lutheran. That’s part of our contribution to the body of Christ. That’s the good news we bring to a broken world. That’s why we’re Lutheran.