God's Epic Love Song

 

Jesus didn’t die because God needed a sacrifice.

Jesus didn’t die because God needed an atonement for sin.

Jesus didn’t die because God needed payment.

Jesus didn’t die as a scapegoat.

Jesus didn’t die because of God; Jesus died for us.

 

The proclamation of Easter is:

God chose to become human.

God chose to embody mercy.

God chose to articulate, ‘your sins are forgiven.’

God chose to die.

God chose to show humans to what length God will go for the sake of love.

God chose to be extreme  - to make a point.

God chose to die – to rise- to send the message ‘you are loved,’ ‘you are worthy,’ ‘you are valuable.’

God chose to say, ‘I love you this much.’   … I would die for you.

 

 

The Three Days – Maundy Thurs, Good Friday, Easter- reminds me of the epic power ballads of the late 80s and early 90s.  Long love songs with instrumental interludes; the song starts in a soft intimacy and builds to extraordinary power and emotion. When one listens to one of these ballads one is drawn into the music – one feels something – something bigger than life.

 

When I consider the power and emotion of The Three Days, I can’t help but understand this weekend as God’s epic love song to creation. The song started Thursday night, in a soft intimacy, as Jesus’ followers gathered around the Table to share a meal. Jesus speaks to those who gathered:

“Look into my eyes /You will see/what you mean to me/search your heart/search your soul/and when you find me there/you’ll search no more

Don’t tell me it’s not worth tryin’ for/you can’t tell me it’s not worth dyin’ for/you know it’s true/everything I do/I do it for you.”

The sentiment is true, but these words, in this form at least, were not spoken by Jesus.  They come from Canadian musician Brian Adams and his song written for the movie “Robinhood: Prince of Thieves,” Everything I Do I Do It for You,

 

On Thursday night after the meal there was a little more sharing of conversation and a communal singing of psalms as the group went to pray in the garden.  As the night wears on, Jesus is arrested, tried, and condemned.  Jesus dies.

In the story of the power ballad – this is the point where there is an instrumental interlude –

a time to let the intimate words spoken wind their way into one’s heart, understanding, and being; a time to let the conversation from supper and the events leading to death to sink in.

 

As the musical interlude ends  ---that would be in the wee hours of dawn when the women went to the tomb to anoint the body--  the love song of the ballad begins again, and it rises bigger than life, an epic crescendo, deafening in volume, with growing power and urgency, building to a note higher than heaven:

Christ sings -

“You can’t tell me it’s not worth tryin’ for/I can’t help it, there’s nothin’ I want more/

Yeah, I would fight for you/I’d lie for you/walk the wild for you/yeah, I die for you/

You know it’s true/everything I do/I do it for you.”

 

The song softens once more to whisper the final lines once more, and then close with an instrumental postlude; a time to hold the emotion -love – to breathe it in, to let one’s heart melt into gratitude. And as the music drifts to silence our inner most being is at peace, knowing, ‘I am loved, I am worthy, I am valuable.’

 

When experiencing the power and urgency of God’s epic love song – when I hear an 80s power ballad, even though I am not much of a singer, I desperately want to sing it ….I would fight for you, I ‘d lie for you, walk the wild for you, I would…. –

I want to share it! Proclaim it!

 

God is singing to creation. If you are not feeling it, listen to Brian’s song when you go home and hear God singing for you. Receive God in the extreme.

Easter is God’s epic love song!

Not because God had to go through the Three Days, God wanted to – for you.

This Easter, continue the resurrection – by singing, by being, by responding to God’s epic love song.  For love -  Share it! Proclaim it!

 

Christ is risen!

Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!