FROM THE PASTOR
theology of the cross and a theology of glory
Lutheranism is characterised by a theology of the cross. The opposite to a theology of the cross is a theology of Glory.
Before I go any further “theology” means word of God, or words about God: Theo is a Greek word for God, and Logo in Greek translates as Word; so, theology is God’s word, word of God, words about God, etc. Parents, perhaps from a Greek / European background may name their son or daughter, Theo. The fast-food chain MacDonalds is characterised by the big “M”. logo. So just like the Maccas logo, or the Woolworths logo (W), as common as a boy’s or girls name, so is theology; it truly is an all-day–everyday–ordinary–kind of thing. See, the moment you think of Jesus, the moment you pray, worship, read God’s word, go to church and sing a hymn, the moment you think, speak or act out the gospel of Jesus, or act out some part of your Christian faith, whether you question God, whether you say yes I get it, or I don’t understand God, you are doing, or have done Theology – you are a theologian. And theology is of course, something that is taught by lecturers and learned by students at college at a more in-depth level.
Back to the theme above, there is a tremendous amount of difference in theologies, and there are everyday implications of a theology of the cross and a theology of glory in our daily lives. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I have used this nice little devotional thought from Pastor Robert E Smith who runs a website called “What does this mean?”. Smith writes (used by permission):
“Martin Luther described two ways to think or talk about God. One starts with what people do — how can we please God? It begins below with us and climbs up a staircase to heaven by our own efforts. The other starts with what God does: the Father sending his Son to save the world, the Son dying so we might live and the Holy Spirit bringing the gifts to sinners. The theology of glory is from below and gives glory to people, the theology of the Cross is from about, focusing on Christ who died of us all. These two approaches to understanding God end up in two very different ways of thinking. The theology of glory is not satisfied with what the Bible says about him, salvation and the way we should live our lives. It peers into the unknown things of God, using human logic and experience to form theories about him and believe them as if they were facts. Ironically, the result is making God over in our own image rather than in allowing God to remake us in the image of his Son. In reality, it makes us into god and god into our servant. The theology of the cross, instead, knows nothing but Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2) It is the theology that begins with the way that God has revealed himself to us in his word, in the cradle and on the cross. It begins with the mindset of Jesus, who did not hold onto his glory as God, but emptied himself of it, became man for us, suffered and died for us. (Philippians 2:5-11). Rather than look for our own glory, taking credit for our works, our understanding and looks for rewards in this life, the theology of the cross calls on us to think like Jesus thinks, to set aside our interests to serve God and our neighbour. It is content to take up its own cross and follow Jesus, through suffering, to death and to life eternal.”
In part two (next month) we’ll take a look at some key indications of a theology of the cross and a theology of glory, and the implications of this to the practical side of our Christian faith.
We Pray For:
† That we here at Good Shepherd may be salt and light in the world.
† Those who teach the commandments of God.
† Those oppressed by injustice.
† The hungry, refugees, the homeless, and those who lack even basics such as clothing.
Before I go any further “theology” means word of God, or words about God: Theo is a Greek word for God, and Logo in Greek translates as Word; so, theology is God’s word, word of God, words about God, etc. Parents, perhaps from a Greek / European background may name their son or daughter, Theo. The fast-food chain MacDonalds is characterised by the big “M”. logo. So just like the Maccas logo, or the Woolworths logo (W), as common as a boy’s or girls name, so is theology; it truly is an all-day–everyday–ordinary–kind of thing. See, the moment you think of Jesus, the moment you pray, worship, read God’s word, go to church and sing a hymn, the moment you think, speak or act out the gospel of Jesus, or act out some part of your Christian faith, whether you question God, whether you say yes I get it, or I don’t understand God, you are doing, or have done Theology – you are a theologian. And theology is of course, something that is taught by lecturers and learned by students at college at a more in-depth level.
Back to the theme above, there is a tremendous amount of difference in theologies, and there are everyday implications of a theology of the cross and a theology of glory in our daily lives. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I have used this nice little devotional thought from Pastor Robert E Smith who runs a website called “What does this mean?”. Smith writes (used by permission):
“Martin Luther described two ways to think or talk about God. One starts with what people do — how can we please God? It begins below with us and climbs up a staircase to heaven by our own efforts. The other starts with what God does: the Father sending his Son to save the world, the Son dying so we might live and the Holy Spirit bringing the gifts to sinners. The theology of glory is from below and gives glory to people, the theology of the Cross is from about, focusing on Christ who died of us all. These two approaches to understanding God end up in two very different ways of thinking. The theology of glory is not satisfied with what the Bible says about him, salvation and the way we should live our lives. It peers into the unknown things of God, using human logic and experience to form theories about him and believe them as if they were facts. Ironically, the result is making God over in our own image rather than in allowing God to remake us in the image of his Son. In reality, it makes us into god and god into our servant. The theology of the cross, instead, knows nothing but Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2) It is the theology that begins with the way that God has revealed himself to us in his word, in the cradle and on the cross. It begins with the mindset of Jesus, who did not hold onto his glory as God, but emptied himself of it, became man for us, suffered and died for us. (Philippians 2:5-11). Rather than look for our own glory, taking credit for our works, our understanding and looks for rewards in this life, the theology of the cross calls on us to think like Jesus thinks, to set aside our interests to serve God and our neighbour. It is content to take up its own cross and follow Jesus, through suffering, to death and to life eternal.”
In part two (next month) we’ll take a look at some key indications of a theology of the cross and a theology of glory, and the implications of this to the practical side of our Christian faith.
We Pray For:
† That we here at Good Shepherd may be salt and light in the world.
† Those who teach the commandments of God.
† Those oppressed by injustice.
† The hungry, refugees, the homeless, and those who lack even basics such as clothing.