Monday, February 27, 2012

Cross


I’m honored that Abingdon Press is publishing The Best of Will Willimon this year, a collection of some of my writing from Abingdon. As we move through Lent, season of the cross, I thought I would share some of these selections related to the theme of the cross.

Really now, Lord Jesus, is our sin so serious as to necessitate the sort of ugly drama we are forced to behold this day? Why should the noon sky turn toward midnight and the earth heave and the heavens be rent for our mere peccadilloes? To be sure, we’ve made our mistakes. Things didn’t turn out as we intended. There were unforeseen complications, factors beyond our control. But we meant well. We didn’t intend for anyone to get hurt. We’re only human, and is that so wrong?

Really now, Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, we may not be the very best people who ever lived, but surely we are not the worst. Others have committed more serious wrong. Ought we to be held responsible for the ignorance of our grandparents? They, like we, were doing the best they could, within the parameters of their time and place. We've always been forced to work with limited information. There’s always been a huge gap between our intentions and our results.

Please, Lord Jesus, die for someone else, someone whose sin is more spectacular, more deserving of such supreme sacrifice. We don’t want the responsibility. Really, Lord, is our unrighteousness so very serious? Are we such sinners that you should need to die for us?

Really, if you look at the larger picture, our sin, at least my sin, is so inconsequential. You are making too big a deal out of such meager rebellion. We don’t want your blood on our hands.
We don’t want our lives in any way to bear the burden of your death. Really. Amen.


Will Willimon

2 comments:

foxofbama said...

Bishop:
Here in Lent I am reading Mother Jones, and the feature on the Alabama Immigration Law; March April issue on newstands now.
I am blogging just a click away above my pay grade on the writer of Bama's Immigration law, and Timothy George of Samford and the Manhattan Declaration (with Chuck Colson) and the inadequacy of his recent lecture at Judson College on the Barmen Declaration.
Before you leave Alabama, I hope you and Stephen Black in concert with Robert Parham can host Kobach and George and Gov Bentley, and with a showing of Parham's documentary, explore some of the loose ends of my blog, and the Mother Jones feature.
It hadn't registered with me, after the April 27 tornadoes, many Mexican immigrants hid with broken bones, cuts and bruises, rather than being caught up in the FEMA System in "Christian" Alabama
I hope Nick Saban and his wife will join you on that day in Tuscaloosa if Stephen Black and Parham and Kobach show.
Ashes To Ashes

foxofbama said...
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