The Curates Egg

The Work of the Cross

Prologue

By the time this is printed I will be looking back at my first Easter in Dursley and I hope will be reflecting on the opportunities it gave me to remember Christ's death, to share in His passion, and to celebrate the atoning work of the cross. How about you? Were you able to do any or all of these things this year? 

In the run up to Holy week I have been helped by re watching some films versions of the Easter story; including 'Jesus of Nazareth', 'The Miracle Maker', 'The Passion of the Christ', 'The Greatest Story Ever Told', 'The Last Temptation of Christ' and my personal favourite, 'Ben Hur'.   Whilst these films can be very helpful in reflecting on Christ's death they are not necessarily as helpful in respect of what his death achieved. 'The Passion' in particular vividly demonstrates Christ's suffering and death, but does very little to explain why it was necessary. In fact I often find that non literal films can say more about the 'work of the cross' (known as 'atonement') than these literal interpretations.

Not that explaining atonement is at all straightforward - there are many different interpretations and it continues to be an area of intense discussion in Christian circles. Certainly no one film can possibly hope to explain atonement, but it is helpful I think to group the different models of atonement around four controlling themes or images, and to look at a film which may help us understand each of these images a little – always remembering that the different images are not mutually exclusive and that the truth probably lies in a combination of some or all of them.

The Cross as Sacrifice

This is perhaps the most obvious imagery and the one which is easiest to find in films. The New Testament often draws on Old Testament imagery to present Christ's death on the cross as a sacrifice, and as well as the literal films I have already mentioned there are many examples of one person being sacrificed for the sake of those he is seeking to 'save', e.g. Armageddon, Braveheart or The Matrix.

Traditionally sacrifice was seen as a religious act necessary to reconcile man with God, increasingly though it has come to mean the heroic and costly sacrifice of an individual on behalf of others - and this is what we most often see in film. In The Matrix however (in which the hero [Neo] discovers that what we perceive as the "real world" is in fact a computer generated virtual reality) we see Neo's death (and resurrection!) not just as a heroic sacrifice but as the very means by which he alone is now able to bridge the gap between (reconcile) the real and the digital realm. He becomes a bullet-proof Christ, not dying for our sins and coming back, but dying for his unwillingness to believe in his own power, and coming back to control the Matrix on behalf of humanity.

The Cross as Victory

The New Testament and the early church laid considerable emphasis on the victory over sin, death and Satan gained by Christ through his death on the cross (often linked to the idea of his paying our debt or acting as a ransom). The classical idea of a literal defeat of the Devil has generally been superseded by a focus on how apparent defeat can bring actual victory (remember Obi-Wan Kenobi's death in Star Wars!) and by Christ's victory creating victory within us. A good film illustration of this is 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' where we see R.P. MacMurphy (Jack Nicholson) rallying the patients in a mental institution against the oppressive Nurse Ratched.  MacMurphy is eventually 'dealt with' and apparently loses his battle - but ultimately his victory is not through destroying evil but through giving the inmates hope. We particularly see this in a scene where, deprived of television, MacMurphy enables them to 'watch' an imaginary baseball match - and it is emphasised by the film's final dramatic scene in which the patient most energised by MacMurphy (and his suffering) actually breaks free.

The Cross as Love

"Greater love has no one than this" says John 15:13 and so the cross can be seen as the ultimate demonstration of God's love for us - a love which transforms us and draws us to him. My favourite film demonstration of this is 'Babette's Feast'. It is set in the 1870's in a poor Danish village where two spinster sisters lead the austere Lutheran sect set up by their now deceased father. When Babette arrives as a refugee from France they take her in, despite their misgivings, and for twelve years she dutifully works as their housekeeper – cooking simple Danish food the way they tell her. Then Babette hears from France that she has won the lottery and offers to lay on a feast to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of their father's birth. She presents the sisters and their guests with a French meal of such sumptuousness that they are at first scandalised. Gradually however the banquet works a magical effect on the churlish villagers – hearts are warmed, memories are revisited and old wounds are healed. Babette's Feast becomes not just the story of a fine meal but parable of grace – a gift that costs everything for the giver and nothing for the recipient. 

The Cross as Forgiveness

Through the cross God aims to restore the rightness of the world through rightful means, and at a human level this means forgiveness. A wonderful interpretation of this is given in 'Dead Man Walking' where a catholic Nun befriends Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), a prisoner on death row, and through her unconditional love ultimately gets him to acknowledge his own responsibility for his crimes and his need for forgiveness.  Neo, MacMurphy and Babette can all be seen as metaphorical Christ figures but although he is executed Poncelet is definitely not. But as an example of the power of forgiveness (made possible by the cross), and of how difficult forgiveness can be to give and receive at a human level, the film is very powerful.

Postscript

As I have previously mentioned I own most of the films I have referred to and am happy to lend them (or Alister McGrath's book 'Christian Theology'!) You may have noted that despite getting most nominations the Aviator was pipped for all the big awards at the Oscars at the end of February by Million Dollar Baby. I have managed to see both films since last month and though they are both well worth watching I think Clint Eastwood's film definitely deserved to win – try and see it if you can. 

 Tim