On Christ’s Nature

The Feast of the Reign of Christ

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in thy well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Sunday Next before Advent

STIR Up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

One of the early controversy’s over Christ’s nature in the early Church involved acceptance of his humanity. This seems a bit off for Christians and non-Christians today, for whom acceptance of his humanity is easy and it is the acceptance of his divinity which proves troubling for many, but which is a mandatory matter of faith for Christians, as it says in the Nicene Creed, Christ is, “God, of God; Light, of Light; Very God, of very God… Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man.” Christ is fully God and fully man. In St Paul’s letters, and indeed throughout the entire New Testament, there is another narrative on Christ, one which can perhaps be traced back to some of Isaiah’s prophecies on Christ.

Isaiah 53 is the famous prophecy of the suffering servant. Famous among Christians because it is often read in Advent, foretelling the coming of Christ:

He was despised and rejected by men;
    a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isa 53. 3)

The idea of the suffering servant was something difficult for Jews to reconcile with the the Messiah. To them, he was going to be like one of the Judges; a military leader sent to unity the Jews and drive out the oppressors, in this case the Romans.

It is from some of these earliest prophetic Scriptures about Christ that we begin to understand that the earlier conception of Christ as being only glory and hope were incomplete.

Suffering and hope function together in Scripture. St Paul famously recounts in his epistle to the Romans how suffering produces endurance and character which leads to hope. He then goes on to more explicitly state that our hope is found in Christ, in that, “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” (Rm 5. 6, 8).

In our Christian walk, it is common to look with anticipation for glory and hope. Our faith is, after all, the writer of Hebrews says, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” (Heb 11. 1). We have hope in salvation through Christ. It is through his sacrifice that we have hope for reconciliation with him and anointing in the Holy Spirit. This is no mean thing, and it is on Christ’s death and resurrection that Christian faith hinges.

For some, there are times when they cannot see God’s love and when hope seems beyond reason. There are times when all we can see is Christ’s suffering, or read about the oppression and captivity of the Jews in the Old Testament. St Paul himself suffered greatly during his ministry, but never allowed his perspective to become dominated by his own suffering. No matter what, he  held to the hope of salvation offered in Christ.

The wholeness of Christ is to recognize that he came both with suffering and with joy. As Nicky Gumbel points out, “the Christian faith uniquely combines laughter and tears, joy and solemnity.” In Psalm 126 we are told:

Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him. (Ps 126. 5, 6)

The duality of Christ is held in these verses. Christ does not promise that we will live a life of ease, he promises truth and asks us to follow him to come to know his Father. Very explicitly, Christ says, “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me,” (St Mt 10. 38). There is promise of great glory, but never to the exclusion of suffering or pain.

In the midst of suffering, it is possible that it cane dominate our perspective, excluding any consideration of hope or glory. St Paul reminds us, though, that, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us,” (Rm 8. 18). When we place our sufferings in their eternal context, they are made incomparably small next to the glory that awaits those who have faith in Christ Jesus.

There is comfort for those who suffer both in their future prospects and also in the present time. Christ foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. In a number of places throughout Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit is described as a comforter. The Holy Spirit comes alongside us and dwells within us to comfort and strengthen us. Perhaps most comfortingly, in those times of extreme suffering when we cannot form words to express our suffering and petitions to God to help us endure, St Paul tells us that, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words,” (Rm 8. 26). God hears our hearts, and indeed through Christ’s human nature is able to share in our human suffering. Indeed, St James reminds us of the hope in our suffering in that he who perseveres in suffering is blessed, “for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him,” (Jas 1. 12).

Christ’s dual nature is one that reminds us of his own teachings: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” (St Jn 16. 33). This life is one of tears and joy, one in which we, in Christ, have married together suffering and endurance with hope and joy. When we are faced with suffering, it is not an indication of the absence of God, but rather a natural course of our lives in which we are called to mirror Christ’s suffering and endure, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, so that in the end we will inherit the joy and glory that has been promised to us.