Examining the Meaning of the Cross, Part IV: The Symbols of the Hebrew Scriptures in the Crucifixion

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 24 March 2011 42 Comments
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Question

A common poem found in the Announcements/Obituary section of most (if not all) newspapers is titled “The Plan of the Master Weaver.” I’m sure you have seen this poem many times, it begins. “Our lives are but fine weavings that God and we prepare. Each life becomes a fabric planned and fashioned in His care. Sometime a strand of sorrow is added to His plan and though it’s difficult for us, we still must understand. That it’s He who fills the shuttle, it’s He who knows what’s best. So we must weave in patience and leave Him to the rest. The dark threads are as needed in the Weaver’s skillful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.” I personally find this brings more discomfort than comfort. It was written, I’m sure, with good intentions but a person has to ask: does it really bring a grieving family any comfort to know (for example) that their child was killed as part of God’s plan? I have to believe that someone (somewhere) has put together some better words of comfort. Something that does not throw us all together into a basket of weaves within the Master Weaver’s plan. What message or words would you suggest to help bring healing and comfort to those who have lost a very dear friend, a colleague, an acquaintance or a family member?

Answer

Dear Mark,

Perhaps “The Plan of the Master Weaver” is not as widespread as you imagine. I find myself only vaguely aware of it and I cannot recall any newspaper in which I have seen it published on the obituary page. For that I am thankful.

I share more than discomfort at this poem. To me it is pious nonsense - to say nothing of being bad theology and even an expression of incompetent biblical understanding. Its author has clearly never read the book of Job!

I do not find the attempt to see good or God in human tragedy either comforting or inspiring. Yes, I am aware that some people find comfort in the idea that everything fits into some redeeming divine plan. I think that makes God a kind of sadistic demon. I first ran into this when just ordained. A young couple had lost an infant through what we called then “Crib Death.” Unaware of this, I preached on tragedy and my unwillingness to try to comfort by asserting that tragedy is all a part of God’s plan. Yet they were comforting themselves with this idea, I learned later, because they had been taught that, if they did not, God might strike again and kill one of their other children. I shudder to think that anyone has been terrorized by that view of God and by that sick kind of religious thinking.

The Book of Romans is often quoted by the defenders of this idea. “All things work together for good to those who love God” is the KJV rendition of this verse. That is not what the text says in Greek and modern versions of the Bible have corrected this verse to its proper rendition, namely that “God works in all things for good.” Tragedy can be creative. People can and do transform their sadness into efforts that benefit the world. I have good friends, who lost their nine-year old son Andy in an accident in Yellowstone National Park and then dedicated themselves to park safety for the rest of their lives. That, however, does not mean that anybody’s death was somehow good or was part of a divine plan to bring about this good result.

It takes great strength to be human and to grapple with issues of meaning, purpose and the realities of pain and tragedy, but that is part of what being human means. Human beings are the only animals who know our adult children and therefore the only animal who can grieve over tragedy in our adult children. We are also the only animal who can enjoy and participate in life time relationships with our own offspring. The fact is that to achieve the latter we must run the risk of the former. The pious use of religion as a kind of panacea or even a narcotic that will dull the pain of life is not the answer. Embracing the potential of life, including its darkest moments as a God-given reality is.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

~John Shelby Spong

 

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