By Cynthia Gaw
During Holy Week we remember that a just God cannot consort with sin. It blocks our relationship with God as it cries out in the blood of Able. We often justify our condition by discussing our mere “guilt feelings,” but our God has atoned for our true moral guilt. The more popular our moral relativism, the more unpopular punishment is. As Dostoyevsky brilliantly shows in his character, Roskolnikov, guilt without punishment is (among other things) torture. It separates people from God, people from other people, and each individual from themselves. Because we are made in the image of this just God, even the most depraved among us has a moral nature that requires a savior, someone who can both take away sin and provide righteousness.
This week as I was reading Marmeladov’s confession to Roskolnikov, the strong voice of the Pharisee within me kept comparing me to Marmeladov. Over and over again I heard this inner voice say, “You are not THAT bad.” It is that very voice that cries out for the crucifixion. Marmeladov, the alcoholic, the cause of his family’s suffering” gets it right.
And He [God] will say, ‘Come to me! I have already forgiven thee once…. I have forgiven thee once…. Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee for thou hast loved much….’ … And when He has done with all of them, then He will summon weak ones, “Come forth, ye children of shame!’ And we shall all come forth, without shame and shall stand before him. … And the wise ones [the self-righteous] and those of understanding will say, ‘Oh Lord, why dost Thou receive these men?’ And He will say, ‘This is why I receive them, oh ye wise, this is why I receive them, oh ye of understanding, that not one of them believed himself to be worthy of this.’ And He will hold out His hands to us and we shall fall down before him… and we shall understand all things! Then we shall understand all!…. Lord, Thy kingdom come!” And he [Marmeladov] sank down on the bench exhausted, and helpless, looking at no one, apparently oblivious of his surroundings and plunged in deep thought. His words had created a certain impression; there was a moment of silence; but soon laughter and oaths were heard again.
I recently saw a young woman wearing a black t-shirt. Upon her chest was an inverted cross beneath which was written the psychological fad slogan of our moment of history, “Believe in yourself.” Here indeed is a clear and honest statement. Nietzsche’s Ubermensch lends itself well to t-shirt propaganda. The gospel, however, requires rational consistency with the sort of complex reality in which we actually live, a world of crime and punishment.
God was dead, but He came alive again. And so will all of us who see ourselves as set free from guilt by Jesus. Our crimes are completely atoned for by punishment upon the completely innocent.