The Body of Christ, shattered again
Hans Holbein the Younger, The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb, 1522
Wieuca Road Baptist Church, the church that raised me and loved me without reserve, is laid out in its tomb. Once again the Body of Christ has been broken by anger, mistrust, and fear. Once again we humble ourselves and beg for grace, because the truth is, we do not know who we are or what we are doing.
It is the same story: the fig leaf of Adam, the violence of Cain, the anger of Jonah, the acquiescence of Pilate. We cannot bear the truth that is found within us. We are terrified of our crimes, our malice, our vengefulness, our interior poverty, our nothingness. So we look away, only to see our crimes in others. We focus on a scapegoat and burden them with our gossip, slander, false piety, and outright personal attacks. So it becomes even more necessary to look away from the darkness growing within us. Deception spirals until the scapegoat is dead and out of sight. It is only a matter of time until a new scapegoat appears, because such a one is now required to survive. The same story.
Jesus, forgive us for killing you instead of letting ourselves die.
