Reflections on Calvary and Consent
A Shane and Shane song I heard as a kid profoundly shaped my perspective of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The key takeaway:
You don't take the life of the Son of Man. He laid it down.
It is remarkable to me, that even for the sake of the salvation of creation, there is no good worthy of doing that trumps the consent of the one making the sacrifice. We see this play out in Christ's prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane.
34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
- Mark 14:34-36 (BibleGateway)
Jesus made it His choice to do the will of the Father.
I find this to be in contrast to the prevailing discussion in America regarding bodily consent and worthy, meaningful pursuits. For example: childbearing, racial reconciliation, and socioeconomic justice. These are good things. But the people who bear the sacrifices required for these things, aren't treated like they should have a choice.
Like there is no garden to wrestle in first.
No right to choose, or not choose sacrifice.
It has been my experience in churched circles (and on occasion directly from the pulpit) that the prevailing attitude of Western Christians is that sacrifices are required and therefore, taken for granted. There is some holier-than-thou, escapist excuse for why something tragic should not be considered tragic. A false teaching that if meaningful good comes out on the other end, or eventually will come, then the circumstances were never awful to begin with.
It is a fundamental contradiction to believe in a God who has gifted free will and also submit to the idea that something requiring sacrifice ought not require consent. It's especially telling that we most rob marginalized people of empathy for their sacrifices. Women, Black people, refugees, insert group here — are people whose sacrifices we refuse to appreciate. After all, they should show their maturity and take one for the team.
Imposing suffering is one kind of evil. It's an added degradation to then take that suffering for granted.
Every year, come Passover, we reflect on a God who made the ultimate sacrifice in the most gruesome of ways for the greatest cause that ever was. It's worthy of note, that He did so of His own free will. Even given the joy set before Him, God the Father refused to rob the Son of consent.