Given all the discussion that preceded the release of "The Passion of The Christ" I knew that experiencing Mel Gibson's extraordinarily graphic and poignantly loving portrayal would provide fodder for new insight into a great many areas of life. One of those areas that is of great interest to me as a church musician is worship. The Apostle Paul provides an unambiguous reference to the Passion in his teaching on worship.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual [or reasonable] act of worship." (Romans 12:1)
Standing at the foot of the cross of Christ provides the most excellent "view of God's mercy". We would do well to linger there, surveying the wondrous cross, looking into the face of our Savior, the very face of Mercy. Jesus' crucifixion also presents a striking picture of what it truly means "to offer our bodies as living sacrifices". That's explicitly what He did. God the Son's self-offering to the Father on our behalf was and is, throughout all eternity, the supreme "act of worship".
What is a disciple of Christ to do but follow in the Masterís footsteps, imitating His example. "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:15,16) Here we have both the vertical (God-ward) and horizontal (man-ward) application of this call to worship ... to relinquish all that we are and have to God. United with Jesus, our unceasing song of surrender is, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
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