Easter: Gloria in excelsis Deo

 

 

What is your response to these words?

Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o’er the plains

And the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains

 

Gloria in excelsis Deo / Gloria in excelsis Deo.

 

This week I have been reflecting on GLORY:

Five times glorify or glorified appear in the Gospel text. We have worked at re-writing the final statement of the Lord’s Prayer: For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Bible Book Club discussion on the letters of Peter, included: to Christ be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Pet. 3: 18)

 

Glory. Glory. Glory. - Not a concept Lutherans spend a lot of time reflecting on, or a word that is routinely part of our vocabulary; it is not a theological centre piece and is not used when expressing or describing God or faith to our neighbours. Flip through the hymnbooks and you will note only a hint of glory; quite different than browsing through a Baptist or Gospel hymnbook, or praise chorus compendiums, where there is lots of glory.

 

So, what is this all about?

In short, it comes down to Lutheran identity and more specifically our theological starting point. We are not a people who start our understanding of God in the season of Easter.

 

It was not Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus’ charisma, the working of miracles, the offering of rewards, the taking of political power, the demonstration of strength through military campaign against the Romans, or any other form of action that would receive glory, praise, or honour, that brought the kin-dom of God. The kin-dom of God was established through the un-glorious and dishonourable action of dying on a cross.

 

There are two kinds of theology: the theology of Glory and the theology of the cross:

 

A Theology of glory celebrates the glory of resurrection and victory over sin, death, and evil. The cross is simply a means to an end – victory is the starting point.

 In life, a theology of glory, focuses on defeating the enemy, a constant fight against the ills of society, minimizing difficult and painful things, avoiding reflection on pain and grief to work at overcoming, improving. Progress – one’s work on faith, prayer - is key – where God is not hidden in suffering but, appears in the triumph of health, wealth, power, personal salvation. The more faith, less hardship. And should circumstances be that Christians suffer persecution, glory comes at the end of time in crowns with jewels and pearly gates and highways paved with gold.   This is not where Lutheran theology starts.

 

Our understanding of God begins in Holy Week. We celebrate the Season of Easter because we have journeyed through Holy Week. We have been at the foot of the cross. The theology of the cross understands that it is the cross that reveals the fundamental nature of God and God’s involvement in the world.  Jesus could have sought glory – taken the kingdoms of the world, proceeded with a military campaign, stopped world hunger, walked off the cross or avoided it altogether – but Jesus in a divine love beyond our comprehension chose to suffer and die; demonstrating God’s hidden presence in the most despicable glory-less place.  Christ’s true strength was demonstrated in weakness and in so dying, imbued glory-less places with God’s presence.

In life, the theology of the cross, focuses one giving up one’s will to discern and follow God’s will, to boldly act trusting in God’s forgiveness if one is wrong, to be in solidarity with human pain, to dedicate service to human liberation admitting and addressing that humanity is on a cross – a cross of hunger, poverty, sickness, injustice, inequity, corrupt systems, merciless situations.  And to live in freedom to be human, weak, vulnerable – and in this state trust in God for daily bread, and that God will work through us to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry (ELW eucharist prayer).

 

Glory. Glory. Glory.

In my understanding, glory – when applied to God- isn’t connected to an idea of God achieving victory, winning a prize, or earning high renown. It’s not thrones and crowns or an earthly-style kingdom in the sky.

 

Glory – is the sound of whispering wings of angels spread across an evening sky, with their song of praise filling the void and speaking words of invitation from God directly into the heart of the lowly shepherds. Glory is good news that God-Emmanuel-God-with-us, in love and mercy becomes incarnate in the every day, ordinary, life of a broken world. Glory enters the weak, the lowly, the marginalized, the suffering, the dishonourable, the despicable, the glory-less and whispers ‘peace be with you,’ ‘God loves you,’ ‘rise with Christ,’ ‘Christ be glorified through you.’ And on hearing the invitation one’s heart fills with ‘glory’ as one returns the invitation with glorious song: Gloria in excelsis deo.

 

From Bible Book Club’s study of 1 Peter, we read a similar passage as that from the Gospel of John. The words are a good place to end our reflection on glory --- words for us to wind in our hearts with our song of glory, as we live a theology of the cross in the world

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Pet. 4: 8. “Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Pet. 4: 11