Today’s essay comes from preacher and activist Dale Aukerman. He takes the suffering of Christ to mean that Christ suffers with every human being, specifically those victims of nuclear warfare. Aukerman attempts to build the case for recognizing that when bombs are dropped that Jesus should be seen as one of the casualties. I am not totally convinced that his equation of an unjust crucifixion with the dropping of the atom bomb is completely accurate, but it is thought provoking and pointed.
One point that Aukerman makes that I find intriguing and informing comes back to the incarnation. He says that God “narrowed himself down into Jesus.” He is talking, of course, about the earthly form of Jesus who in reality has always existed. The narrowing down is the coming to earth. But paired with Christ’s divinity is his humanity. Aukerman says, “He was formed that our vision might rest not only on this focal expression of the invisible God but also on this singular image of the neighbors we have been too nearsighted to see and of the myriad of human beings we have no sight to see.” We speak, and rightly so, of seeking Christ but we think of that usually in terms of the divinity. But He calls us to seek Him and His kingdom which has and will always include people. When we fail to see the people suffering, mistreated, and alone we also fail to see Christ. Let us seek Him.