The Sufferings of our High Priest
Written by Dan McDonald
The sufferings of Christ in his own
body were completed on the cross and in his burial and descent to the place of
the dead. He has risen from the dead and the sufferings in his body are complete.
In that sense our Lord Jesus’ sufferings came to an end on the cross. But there
is another sense in which our Lord’s sufferings continue unto the day when
heaven comes down to earth and every tear is wiped away and the former things
of sin, death, sickness and curse pass away. It seems important to me that we
realize the ways in which our Lord continues to suffer with us and for us; with
human feeling and emotion. For there are few greater comforts I can imagine
than realizing the depth of his sympathies with and for us as he pleads our
case on the throne of grace before our Father.
In recent days my thoughts have
often been fixed upon the troubles in Ferguson. They have been fixed there but
there are sufferings around the globe, far and wide, big and small and on the
throne of grace is a Savior who pleads the needs of people throughout his
kingdom. He pleads the case of the citizens of that kingdom for which we pray
when we pray “thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
I will be writing one more blog on how I will personally respond to the events
in Ferguson, but perhaps it is important to know that our great high priest can
be focused on the needs of those in Ferguson without losing sight of all the
other needs big and small that exist within his realm that affect few or many
of us. This blog hopefully addresses Ferguson in its subject even if not
directly, for it addresses the realization that we have a suffering savior who
has ascended and makes intercession for the needs of his people.
It also pertains to the sufferings
of a single human being whom I have come to know very slightly on social media,
on Twitter to be exact. There is a young woman who tweets wonderfully
encouraging sayings with artistic flair on a daily basis. These tweets bring a
smile and joy to our lives. But last night she set forth a two-word tweet
simply saying, “Suffering silently.” I was overwhelmed. She so consistently set
forth encouraging words I could hardly imagine her suffering. But we all have
suffering don’t we?
I have often thought of creation. I
have wondered how wide and narrow is the distinction between man and beasts. I
come home to a cat in my house. The cat will walk between my feet. She will get
in the way. It took me awhile to realize she wasn’t being a pest. She was
yearning for attention. Either she needed food and water, or sometimes she was
signaling she wanted to be noticed, picked up and held on my arm. My arm can be
for her like a tree limb she rests on. The creation can be viewed as a work of
progressive response to God’s liturgical call. He speaks and creation forms in
a march towards light, life, order, beauty, and purpose. The distinction
between man and beasts is both narrow and wide; the difference being that humanity
is somehow created more uniquely to reflect the image of God. Yet we have sinned and brought disorder into
the creation. But the creation was not meant to be completed in our humanity.
It was meant to be completed in the coming of God into humanity and also his
coming into creation that he who came might be made heir and the centerpiece
that brings everything back into order and completeness in him. He was meant
always to be chosen to become the summation of the creation.
I love that long ago St. Bonaventure
spoke of how in Christ God’s love is a circle which has no boundaries and a
center which is everywhere. Our Lord Jesus is one who prays earnestly for the
big picture and all the little feelings of all the peoples of Ferguson while
never forgetting about the girl whose sister has needs. As our great high
priest our Lord who sits on the throne of grace is sympathetic towards us with
a depth of feeling and resolve of one who grew in human nature by learning
obedience through suffering. The sufferings of the people of God are gathered
as if in a bottle to be poured out as perfume before the Father as holy incense
to be presented in our Savior’s prayers before the Father. Our Lord suffers. He
suffers no more in his body. But he suffers with and for us in every prayer and
with each prayer we move closer to the perfection of each of us and of the
cosmos. Whether in the near future or in the final day every prayer will have
its final and perfect answer whether for the people of Ferguson, for the people
of Iraq, or for a dear young lady who has a gift for encouraging people but
also a sister in need.
Our prayers, all of them and each of
them is funneled through a great High Priest who is the Lamb of God who
suffered for our sins, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who conquered them.
He suffers with and for us in his prayers for us, but also he takes them into
his own being that we might be made complete in him and presented without stain
or fault before the Father in the day for which we await, in the day in which
there will be no longer the former things, but only the completion of love,
hope and faith.
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