Renunciation of Power

The following is another and final selection from Thomas Merton’s Conjectures, p. 345. It is a forceful and insightful reflection on the Passion and Death of Jesus.

In St. Anselm’s book on the Redemption (Cur Deus Homo), as well as in his Prologion, one cannot really follow his argument unless one shares something of his inner light and experience of his faith. Dialectics are not enough, even though Anselm thought himself chiefly a dialectician in his writings. What is the “light” in which he sees and discusses the Redemption? Again, it is the intuition of rectitude as authentic freedom, and not simply the accomplishment of duty. The rectitude of Christ in the Redemption does not consist for Anselm primarily in the acceptance of a condemnation to death imposed by the Father. Many interpreters of Anselm see it that way. Christ was not condemned to death by divine justice. He came into the world, was made man in order to live perfectly as man; in the freedom and truth of man, to do who what was fitting for man, and thus to save other men. In accomplishing “all justice” He is condemned unjustly. He could justly have used his power to save man in some other way, but He preferred explicitly to save man by a renunciation of power. Therefore, he willingly and freely underwent death. The Father willed the salvation of man but left Christ entirely free to choose his own means. (Editor’s emphasis) What is pleasing to the Father is not precisely the suffering and death of Christ, but the fact that the Son uses His freedom to choose that which He thinks best and most perfect in saving man – that which is in fact the purest exercise of freedom without any afterthought of self-interest. Hence strictly speaking, the Father’s will did not arbitrarily impose suffering and death on Christ, but sent Him into the world to use His freedom to save man. It is out of love for the Father that Jesus chooses this particular way, the way of humiliation and of the total renunciation of power in order to save man by love, mercy, and self-sacrifice.

My comments:

St. John of the Cross says that when we encounter Jesus in reflection and prayer, we are invited into a mystery that is infinite. There is no limit to the wisdom and insight that lays before us in our search. This is all the more true when we talk about the summit of the mystery: the Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Here are a few observations I found helpful in reference to Merton’s comments on St. Anselm.

First of all, in all four Gospels there is almost no sense of physical suffering. It would have been so easy to describe the utter horror of the crucifixion. Yet none of the four narratives even give a complete sentence to this central expression of our faith. They all use a compound sentence to almost take the attention away from the physical act. In Matthew and Mark the second part is about the decision about his garments. In Luke and John, it is about the two thieves.

The point for me is that there is much more clarity on the psychological suffering. In the first place, there is the apparent total failure of the public ministry. Then there is the almost complete abandonment of the disciples highlighted by Peter’s denials. There is the mocking at repeated times. Along with the ridicule there was slapping, spitting and eventually scourging. There is the corruption of the religious leaders. The choice of Barabbas and the presence of the two thieves is a further expression of degradation. Another critical item: where were all the people He healed, fed and gave an inspiring message of hope?

Putting it altogether there is a picture of total failure, rejection, desertion and overwhelming weakness in his silence. All of this was taking place in a context of incredible physical suffering that all the more highlighted the totality of defeat.

In the desert temptation and confrontation with the Devil, the question from the beginning was what was by what means He could best accomplish the mission of the Messiah? How could He best save us so that it would be meaningful for all humanity and at all times?

In the Passion, Death and Resurrection Jesus plays out His choice of salvation. Clearly a big point of it was the identification with every manner of human suffering, the experience of injustice and the consequences of sin. This identification took place in his renunciation of power and accepting the end result of this choice. It was his abandonment to the Father’s love. It was His clear statement that the final word was not the utter and apparent defeat of the Cross but the victory of the Resurrection. The final word was not the controlling and destructive power of Pilate and all the leaders down through history manifested so clearly in all oppression. The final word was the redeeming power of submission that always brings hope and freedom from a loving God. The final word was not mockery and bullying but the saving silence of a faithful Savior who opened the possibility of healing and new life for all the victims of history. The final word was not the abusive power of the state in the presence of the authoritative soldiers in the savagery of whipping and the nails of death but in the loving acceptance of a Savior whose love embraced all humanity’s dark experience of evil. Life and love finally win out over sin and death in Christ Crucified and Christ Risen.

This was the victory Jesus chose: the victory for all the poor and abandoned from the simple randomness of the human condition in sickness and death. He chose to be one with the victims of the nuclear holocaust of Hiroshima, the holocaust of Dacha or the victims of slavery. He identified himself with all who have been plagued by the relentless forms of prejudice throughout history. There seems to be no limit to human suffering and loss. Jesus became one with each and every one of the victims. His choice of renunciation of power led to the Passion and Death but also to ultimate victory of justice. His embrace of this mysterious wonder of saving love is the source of hope and light in all the darkness of human history. In the darkest evil the Alleluia will win out! He has risen and invites each of us to live and die in the wonder of that victory.