A cross-centred character

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Major Richard Mingay reflects on the true nature of Christian identity

ONE of the most popular British television sitcoms of all time is the BBC’s wonderful Only Fools And Horses, written by the late, great John Sullivan. In one episode, Del Boy, Rodney and Uncle Albert are on an old fishing boat sailing at night somewhere in the North Sea. They are lost. Then Uncle Albert, the old sea dog, suddenly has a flash of inspiration. ‘The stars, the stars,’ he says, ‘we can find our way by the stars!’ Excitedly, the three men run out onto the deck, look to the heavens and see millions of stars in the sky. Albert has no idea what to look for, nor in which direction to look for his point of reference. There are just too many twinkling stars to choose from. They are still lost.

Our personal identification must be found in our relationship and connectedness to the heart of the gospel seen in the Easter story. The German theologian Jurgen Moltmann quotes Martin Luther’s Crux Probat Omnia as the place of identification. (Crux means ‘cross’; Probat means ‘test’, as in the word ‘probation’, and Omnia means ‘everything’.) Luther’s definition says that ‘the cross tests everything that deserves to be Christian’. We might also define it this way: Let the cross be your measure, your constellation.

Because Christ’s action on the cross defined all Christendom, we need to remember how it defines who we are.

At Easter we read in Matthew 27:46: ‘Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).’

Deep down in our being, we discern this as a cry on behalf of all humanity. In that moment Jesus felt totally alone, isolated and abandoned. If nothing else, we can identify with the Saviour’s heart-cry.

His is still a cry on behalf of the mother whose husband has just left the family home, or the migrant family struggling to escape oppression and threat, or the child in an African hospital dying of Aids, or those citizens ruled by power-crazy and corrupt tyrants, or the person of faith who is imprisoned and frightened, or the tragic victims of human trafficking, or the person who lost their job through unfair processes, or people whose relationships and values have become so messed up and complicated that ‘no one understands’, or those bereaved of a loved one at an unseemly early age, or church leaders and ministers who, despite their best efforts, see a declining congregation and may shout out audibly or inwardly: ‘Where are you God? You’ve left us!’

The American playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder in one of his plays has a character say: ‘To our wounds, only Christ’s wounds can speak.’ This is how the cross identifies with us and so enables a new identity that can be wholly like Christ’s.

And yet, paradoxically, such cries are just one way in which God identifies with us in our very different situations, with our stories, regrets and uncertainties.

So, when considering one’s identity, there is much that might influence our consideration of ourselves especially within our own church setting and culture. For many, The Salvation Army is, in itself, the Pole Star. The organisation becomes the prime

measure of how some people see themselves. It influences our path and our ways of thinking and so determines much of our church journey.

When it comes down to the heart of it, the Christian must look to the cross first and foremost. It must be the ultimate place we go to find our spiritual bearings. It reveals to us a way to think, speak, preach and pray. Look again at what else it stands for – love, grace and hope. We go to Calvary in every situation. The writer Philip Yancey describes the Christian’s true identity as ‘one who will be made perfect and has already been forgiven’.

The cross is agonisingly beautiful. It speaks of pain and glory, hurt and hope. Scripture proves that Christ has identified with us first. Calvary is the place where we can be bold and ask honest questions. At the foot of the cross we kneel in humble admission of those earthly influences that have forged our identities and, in so doing, we lean on Christ to find our true selves. The cross enables us to become who God wants us to be.

MAJOR MINGAY IS CORPS OFFICER, REGENT HALL

*This article was first published in the 19 March 2015 Salvationist