The Cross Was Preceded by the Cradle

God became a man to save us from our sins, which he did finally and completely on the Cross. We commemorate his death and resurrection on Easter, but his suffering on our behalf began much earlier than that. We would do well to remember that at Christmastime, when we celebrate our savior's birth.

Seminary professor Bob Tuttle, in his 2006 book, "Shortening the Leap," puts that in perspective poignantly: "The Jesus of glory still bears the marks of the Incarnation, and not just in his hands, his side and his feet, but in his navel, because the suffering began in the manger, not on the Cross."

Tuttle continues: "All of the Incarnation was a passion narrative -- cradle to grave. Mel Gibson's movie The Passion doesn't know the half of it. It hurts God to be squeezed into sperm and implanted in a mama."

Bishop Fulton Sheen, in his "Life of Christ," made this very point as he put Christ's incarnation in terms of a gripping metaphor. "It is hard for a human being to understand the humility that was involved in the Word becoming flesh," wrote Sheen. "Imagine, if it were possible, a human person divesting himself of his body, and then sending his soul into the body of a serpent. A double humiliation would follow: first, accepting the limitations of a serpentine organism, knowing all the while his mind was superior, and that fangs could not adequately articulate thoughts no serpent ever possessed. The second humiliation would be to be forced as a result of this 'emptying of self' to live in the companionship of serpents. But all this is nothing compared to the emptying of God, by which He took on the form of man and accepted the limitations of humanity, such as hunger and persecution; not trivial either was it for the Wisdom of God to condemn Himself to association with poor fishermen who knew so little. But this humiliation which began ... when He was conceived in the Virgin Mary was only the first of many to counteract the pride of man, until the final humiliation of death on the Cross."

These great theological thinkers don't make this stuff up. They're not fashioning their theology out of whole cloth. God's revealed Word tells the story.

The writer of Hebrews explains: "Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, describes it this way: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

I think we sometimes forget to emphasize sufficiently that Christ's selfless, substitutionary death on the Cross so that we could live was preceded by his 30-plus years on this planet as a human being, suffering all the indignities of humanity so that he could fully experience, literally in the flesh, what we created mortals experience -- and far worse. (His separation from the Father and his acceptance of God's wrath for all of our past, present and future sins were greater suffering than we could imagine, well beyond anything any of us will ever experience.)

Our God is personal and relational. He created us in his image to enjoy fellowship with him and with one another. Our omniscient Creator doesn't merely understand our suffering intellectually. He doesn't just comprehend our human relationships by way of analogy in the sense that he has always enjoyed fellowship within the Holy Trinity.

Jesus Christ became and remains not just the Deity but a human being who has related to us and continues to relate to us not just as our God but also as a person.

Among the unspeakable marvels of God is that though he is utterly beyond our comprehension -- his perfection, his infinity and his wisdom are unfathomable to us -- he is also wholly accessible to us. He not only is available but invites us to have a personal relationship with him.

Because he loves us, he died on the Cross for us. But never forget that years before he completed his work on the Cross, he was born for us -- as a little, dependent baby in his earthly mother's arms -- in Bethlehem.

It is the event of his birth that we celebrate at Christmas, without which there would have been no Cross, without which there would be no life everlasting for us.

because the suffering began in the manger, not on the Cross."

I question this 'teachers' theology. It was God's great joy to become incarnate.

Tuttle continues: "It hurts God to be squeezed into sperm and implanted in a mama."

That settles it. This buffoon has no concept of the incarnation. God's incarnation was immaculate and had nothing to do with the transmission of bodily fluids. That is what makes this advent the most unique in the universe. The Master came to Earth outside of the scope of simple procreation and became Immanuel.

“Seminary professor Bob Tuttle, in his 2006 book, “Shortening the Leap,” puts that in perspective poignantly: “The Jesus of glory still bears the marks of the Incarnation, and not just in his hands, his side and his feet, but in his navel, because the suffering began in the manger, not on the Cross.”

Tuttle continues: “All of the Incarnation was a passion narrative — cradle to grave. Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion doesn’t know the half of it. It hurts God to be squeezed into sperm and implanted in a mama.”

Was this a “slap” of the face of the Christian faith in general, but in a special way, to the RCC?

“Cat’s In The Cradle”

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin’ ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you, Dad
You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home, Dad
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let’s play
can you teach me to throw”, I said “Not today
I got a lot to do”, he said, “That’s ok
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, “I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him”

Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while”
He shook his head and said with a smile
“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home son
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, Dad
You know we’ll have a good time then

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind”
He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job’s a hassle and kids have the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you”

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin’ home son
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, Dad
We’re gonna have a good time then

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s5r2spPJ8g

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.