St. John the Evangelist said
You're using Passion incorrectly here. "Passion", when referring to Our Lord's Passion, does not mean passion in the modern sense: a passionate love, a passionate kiss. Passion comes from passive, to receive; passion as opposed to action, patient as opposed to agent. Our passions are the things that move us "passively", without an act of our will; which is why they can often contradict our will. Basically, Passion means to be moved or acted upon, and in this case it refers to all the suffering Our Lord suffered - that's His Passion.
Whereas I would agree that the word "Passion" here refers to the sufferings of Christ - I would argue that even this definition has a direct relation to His affectionate desire for martyrdom (that is, the chance to prove his love for us). In fact, if we dig deep enough, we might even discover that the Bible translators' decision to substitute the original word "Sufferings" with "Passion"
stems from Christ's desire to suffer for us. In other words, His martyrdom came to be known as "His Passion"
because it was the object of His greatest desire. At the very least, there can be no doubt that when Christ referred to His martyrdom as "My Hour", it was done in an affectionate sense. This was the single most anticipated, and longed-for event of his earthly life. He clearly had a passion for it. This is beyond question.
On the same note, we must admit that this peculiar definition of the word "Passion", never existed prior to Christ's earthly sojourn. The original Greek doesn't even use the word "Passion" - but "Suffering". So why the translator's substitution? Why was the word "Passion" eventually chosen by the translators in place of the original Greek word for "suffering"? Was it intended as a euphemism, similar to the Church's decision to refer to the day of Christ's agonizing torture and death as "Good Friday"? Perhaps. But I believe it goes deeper than that. I believe the Holy Ghost is behind the substitution. I believe the reason is because God wants us to remember that Christ desired to die for us. His martyrdom was not something He dreaded, or would have preferred not to undergo for us. No. He called it "My Hour" because it was the moment He longed for. Ultimately, He lived out this great passion of His
through suffering. This, I believe, is why His martyrdom is referred to as "His Passion".
St. John the Evangelist said
Furthermore, God did not desire to die on a cross. He desired to redeem mankind, and death on a cross was his chosen means to that end. Christ did ask the Father not to have to die in this way, but only according to the Father's will; well, it was the Father's will that Christ should die on the cross, so Christ obeyed.
I would have to take issue with your opinion here. First of all, whereas Christ had two wills, they never conflicted with each other, but were always in perfect union. His human will never conflicted with His Divine will. This would prove an impossibility. What you are implying here, if I understand your statement correctly, is that Christ's Will conflicted with that of the Father's. In other words, God's will conflicted with God's will. This is theologically impossible, whether you are referring to Christ's human, or Divine will. God cannot contradict Himself.
Secondly (following the same train of thought as above), God most certainly desired to die on the cross. In fact, one could argue that the method of torture and death we know as crucifixion was inspired by God Himself - through the agency of the devil, of course. If we look at the curious design of the human body, we must come to the inevitable conclusion that it was designed with the crucifixion in mind. The main nerves of the wrist, for example, are in the perfect location for crucifixion. The same is true of the main nerves through the feet. Furthermore, the position of the body during crucifixion is perfectly conducive to horrible suffering because of the specific design of the body. Breathing becomes difficult, the lack of oxygen eventually resulting in muscle cramps so sever that (according to one doctor) rigor mortise actually sets in while the victim is still alive. And the list goes on. It is even curious to note that the victim's survival instinct - a consequence of our Fallen Nature - prevents him from dying of his own will. Crucifixion is also the only torture for which the otherwise barbaric Roman soldiers supplied an elixir to deaden the initial shock. In short, it is the most painful torture known to man. In fact, the very word "excruciating" comes from "crucifixion".
The point being, this method of death was inspired by God because it was the most painful torture one could possibly suffer - and therefore the most perfect means of gaining the most souls. For this reason alone, Christ desired it. This is not to say that I believe the Father positively desired that His Son suffer pain in reparation for our sins. Again, Christ could have shed a single tear and this would have been more than sufficient to satisfy Divine justice. But again, this method of death was the most perfect way to gain the most souls. In the end, this was the whole reason for choosing this method of atonement. And yes, God most certainly desired it for that reason alone.
Topic: Did Christ really fear His impending martyrdom? (Read 5156 times)