GOD’S APOLOGY

SERMON PREACHED BY FR TONY NOBLE ON GOOD FRIDAY 2007

I Corinthians 1:25 "The weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

The release this week of 15 British military personnel held by Iran has been a cause of joy in Britain and beyond, and in the whole English speaking world. It brought back memories of a similar incident 6 years ago involving the United States.

It was in April 2001 that a U.S. plane was captured by the government of China. China called it a "spy plane". They demanded an apology from the United States so the crew could be released. The newly elected President Bush refused. For 2 weeks there was a diplomatic standoff. In the press they were talking about an international crisis and a new cold war. Finally after 2 weeks the U.S. Ambassador to China wrote the wanted a letter of apology. Such a simple act solved the crisis.

At the time I was a very interested observer living in Australia. How times have changed the relationship between China and America. The apology was very important to the people and the government of China. Their culture is bound up with the idea of saving face. At the time they said that their culture demanded that an apology must come from one in power. On the other hand an apology demanded is not a real apology. It may satisfy those who are aggrieved - but what does it really mean?

An apology must come from one in power. In that case, is today God's apology? Through his only son, Jesus, God the all powerful creator submits himself to death - the mark of all created things. God has entered this mortal life that he created and has submitted to its logical end, death. And not only submitted to death - submitted to suffering, pain, insult, ridicule. Such humbling of himself is like a public apology, which is always an act of humility.

But does God have anything to apologize for? Can the creator be blamed for the wrongs of his creation? Some people blame God for wars, famine, natural disaster, innocent suffering - even blame God for their own misfortune. If it is in his prerogative then, surely God, who is love, would be prepared to stoop low in humility and apologize! God has nothing to apologize for - but he may well be sorry for the state of the world he has created. And the cross is surely God's apology.

That is why today is Good Friday. Why the cross is a victory, not defeat. Love drove God to give us Jesus. Love drove Jesus to the cross. And love is what a true apology expresses. Can love be shown by death? Whenever we lose things that are woven into the fabric of our lives we get a small fore-taste of death. Losing things or friends or expectations……….. it's always a little death, and we do not like it. How then can Jesus' death equal love? Because on the cross Jesus affirmed life and love in spite of death. The power of his death makes it an act of love, an apology. We, too, have that same power to affirm life and love in spite of death - for we live in a culture where death is normal.

Today the cross reveals God's power exercised in apparent weakness. Here divine power healed the world by becoming weak within the world and under the power of the world. The cross confronts a world crazy about power.

The cross looks like weakness because it is all love. It is tender, vulnerable, asks nothing, and gives everything. But in reality it is not weakness but divine power and love.

St. Paul says: "The weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

The Chinese were right - the powerful should apologize.

And the cross is God's apology.