Hey folks! Our current unit in the kids curriculum is about the Apostle's Creed. We'll be in this unit until the beginning of Advent!
This week we’re going to talk about Christ’s “passion”: He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.”
One of the interesting things to note about the creed is that it doesn’t devote much attention at all to the life of Jesus. There’s no mention of his healings, his ministry, his care for the outcast, his criticism of the religious establishment—none of that makes it into the creed.
Importantly, this doesn’t mean all that stuff isn’t important. What it means is 1) its unlikely any of those things were disputed (i.e., they were taken as “given” by the early Christian community) and 2) the “passion” (Christ’s suffering and death) was perhaps more central to the meaning of the faith and perhaps harder to come to grips with.
One of the “new” things the Christian faith brought to the world was the contention that the creator God had become creation (crazy enough) and suffered—and eventually died—on its behalf.
This “humiliation” was one of the things that was excruciatingly difficult for people to accept because it was so unbecoming of God, at least how they thought of God up to that point.
But, as it turns out, this is precisely the point: God is love, and love, when instantiated in creation—when God, when love, itself walked among us—it showed its true nature as absolute self-offering.
The greek word we usually use to describe this, taken from the “Christ Hymn” of Phil. 2, is “kenosis”: self emptying, voluntary giving up of honor and glory for the sake of another.
A bit about Pilate: you might be tempted to feel bad about this guy who didn’t really want to be there and just got a little overwhelmed by a tricky political situation being enshrined forever as the one under whom God suffered. I feel that a little.
But the point of including his supervision over the suffering of Christ is contrastive:
Pilate opted for self-preservation while Jesus poured himself out in love; Mary’s “yes,” to God (cf. Lk. 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant.”) knowingly issues in the piercing of her own heart while Pilate attempts to recuse himself of responsibility. The Christian faith is not just a set of principles or ideas. It is rooted in history, shaped indelibly by the choices of persons. In other words, it is a response to something that happened in places you can still stand. And this is a deep mystery.
Scripture to consider:
John 3:16
John 18:28-19:42
Questions for your kids
How much do you need to love somebody to die for them?
How much do you think Jesus loves you if he died for you?
Do you think Pilate did the right thing? Why or why not?
Holy Imagination
Learning the faith isn't just about memorizing facts. It's about seeing the world as it really is: "charged with the grandeur of God."
At a meal time, fill your glass with what your kid typically has to drink, but leave their cup empty. When they ask for something to drink, pour your cup out into theirs. Point out that this is what it means to "empty" yourself for the sake of love!
Peace,
Danny+