I've noticed that there is a certain subculture that takes a particular pleasure out of sacrilegious mock-representations of Christ, particularly him crucified. An while, on one hand, it makes me ill to see such a beautiful thing treated like so much garbage (and worse), on the other hand, a beautiful irony shines through it. The very attempt to defeat the work of the Cross by debasing it is self-defeating: for self-abasement is the glory of the Cross. It is as though these people never think about the fact that Jesus defeated the power of any possible mockery of himself, because he chose the most debasing path possible, voluntarily. It is precisely in this that we, as Christians, glory in: that through the horrendous shame of a Roman crucifixion, the most painful but also the most shameful death possible -- by the very fact of his mockery and crown of thorns, his exposure, the open mockery of the crowds -- precisely by submitting to this, through just this suffering of shame, was Christ elevated to the highest place in existence and his name made the Name above all names. The crucifixion was an event saturated with mockery, with defilement of the holy, with obscene debasement of what was good. And Jesus, for the sake of love, accepted it all. They do no more than echo the original event, the thing that made it what it is.
But the reason it was a glorious act is because it was an act of God himself: the Resurrection proved that. By the Resurrection Jesus made manifest his Divine nature in a way not yet done, and through that his power over not only death, but shame. It cannot touch him; his very glory is to be found in his extreme humility -- the dignity of his extreme and voluntary humility, to the point of death. By this act he proved himself Creator, showed himself to be beyond the power of any evil power because he was in fact Love itself. Love, which is not afraid to descend to the very lowest depths of servitude, which seeks no vainglorious recognition -- sacrificial love. Of this the world knows nothing, and for this reason it foolishly thinks it has won a victory by ridiculing the Crucified Christ.
Ridicule was what characterized his crucifixion; and through this pain and mockery, he won the victory, the greatest victory that ever has been or ever will be won. The image of the Crucified Christ is an image of Christ's acceptance of mockery for the sake of Love: in a certain sense, these recent mockeries only throw it into greater light. They lend applause to the Victory of Love over the defilement shame.
Love glories in self-abasement, because its joy is to be victorious, and its victory is to serve. Its authority and terrible majesty comes just at the point where it has descended below the lowest of all to serve them -- at that point has it shown itself to be far exalted above anything imaginable. Because it is humble, Love puts us on our faces before it and we cry, "Woe is me, for I am undone!"
This does nothing to excuse sacrilege; for the Cross is a holy and pure event. It is so because of Who underwent it. And yet we see that we are at a sort of paradox: for, on one hand, it is a terrible offense to deliberately debase something holy. This is most certainly what some are seeking to do, and it is shameful. Yet the shame is entirely imputed to the offenders: what they try to do to the Sacrifice of Love, they merely have done to themselves. They reveal the state of their own soul, because they reveal how far it has stooped and what it has embraced. This sort of self-abasement knows nothing of love, for it glories in the destruction of what is good. And yet the primary good that is thereby destroyed is often the last thing they had in mind: themselves.
Yet Christ was not beneath embracing the shame of his mockers which, unbeknownst to them, was displayed for all to see in the Body of Christ Crucified -- Christ, who took the shame upon himself, along with the sin and the pain of the world. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The purity of Christ is untouchable, for he is Love: Love is untouchable, but it can paradoxically be touched and thereby moved to compassion. This is its glory: in being touched by the lowest of the low, in descending beneath even them to bear them up by bearing their shame, Love shows its untouchable purity. Love fears nothing, not the worst shame, for it is far more powerful. The Cross was a shameful event, but the Love that underwent it was never thereby shameful. This is Christ, who was not above undergoing shame for the shameless. This is why the humiliated Christ cried out to his Father on behalf of his mockers, "Father, forgive them -- they know not what they do." For he knew all too well what they did, and how terrible a crime it was. Yet he also knew their small-minded foolishness, and he knew above all that he had accepted abasement at their hands voluntarily. Yes, he knew full well what a terrible crime it was. But he is Love; this was the sacrifice of Love. And this Love was not above serving even his mockers at the hour when their mockery won for the world salvation at His hands. How, how is this thing possible? Certainly not by our sin, but by the work of Christ, who made use of those actions.
This is why it is both a terrible crime and Love's greatest glory to be mocked. Because through this He saved the world; the world merely showed how badly it needed saving by its mockery of Love. And the world had a hand in the Victory of Love in spite of itself. Everything winds up serving Love, because Love serves all.
What can we do but worship Love and beg mercy for ourselves and for those who prefer to spit in his face? For he is not above saving them: he is above loving no one. He is Love; he is thereby undefeatable: bow down and worship, for this is your God.
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