The price of reconciliation

Romans 5:6-11

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The end of Charles Dickens’ novel Tale of Two Cities has the scoundrel, Sydney Carton, taking the place of the good man, Charles Damay, so that Damay can live. Carton dies saying, “This is a far better thing than I have ever done before.” It is one of the most moving parts of all of Dickens’ writing. Someone being prepared to die in the place of a good man.

But that is not what happened with Jesus Christ and us. Instead, it is Jesus the good person, the person who had done no wrong, he dies in the place of sinners, in the place of people who were his enemies. Jesus took a death that rightly belonged to human beings and took it upon himself. The hymn says, “Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.”

There is nothing about us to make Jesus do what he did. He died for us, that we would be turned from being his enemies into being his friends, turned from being enemies of God into being the friends of God. Jesus so deeply desires to reconcile humanity and all of the creation from the mess human beings and the creation have fallen into that he was willing to give everything, including his life to bring about that reconciliation. The path to bring about the reconciliation of the world goes through the cross – through Jesus’ death on the cross. The reconciliation of the world is not brought into being by human action it is about what God is doing in the world, and so our boast, our celebration for what is taking place is to point to the action of God in Jesus Christ who is restoring the world.   

Again we are brought to the verse from Amazing Grace, “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relived, How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believed.” Grace confronts us with the fact that we are enemies of God, and it also promises to make us friends of God, yes, it is a valuable gift beyond measure.

PRAYER:

Jesus, we are amazed that you would care so deeply about the reconciliation of the world that you would give your all to bring that about. We rejoice that in grace you have done this for us and for all creation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.