FINDING GOOD NEWS IN THE PROMISE OF DESPAIR
If I could recommend only one theological book to anyone, it would be The Promise of Despair: The Way of the Cross as the Way of the Church by Andrew Root. I first encountered this book, or I should say, this book first encountered me, in my capstone religion class in college. I had heard great things about it from my fellow religion majors who were older and had already taken the course. However, I was wholly unaware of how impactful this relatively short and accessible 161-page book would be on my theological worldview and faith life. I was unaware of the sweet gospel comfort these pages would bring me.
While I grew up in the Lutheran Church, it was not until I went to a Lutheran college that I fully felt at home in the Lutheran tradition. It was there where my religion professors, many of whom were ordained Lutheran pastors, enlightened me about the rich heritage of the Lutheran tradition and its theology. This book opened my eyes to aspects of Lutheran theology that I had never encountered before but would become foundational to my faith. One of these vital aspects was Martin Luther’s theologia crucis or “theology of the cross.”
Andrew Root, known mostly for his work in youth and young adult ministry, writes accessibly without compromising theological articulation. Ironically, despite teaching at a Lutheran seminary and being raised Lutheran, Root does not necessarily currently consider himself a Lutheran. Nevertheless, this remains the greatest book I have ever read about theology of the cross.
The theology of the cross centers on where God is revealed. The fullest revelation of God is in the last place one would think to look, in the executed rabbi Jesus from Nazareth hanging on a cross. In the crucifixion, God is revealed to be genuinely and faithfully with us, not just in joy and life but, maybe more importantly, in suffering and death. In a world where loss, troubles, and suffering constantly encircle us, we need a God who finds us, is with us, and does not leave us amid our death and despair. As Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in one of his letters from a Nazi prison, “The Bible directs people toward the powerlessness and the suffering of God; only the suffering God can help.” (1) Similar to Bonhoeffer, reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann found comfort in the theology of the cross while a prisoner in an English war camp. Upon reading Jesus’ final words on the cross in Mark 15:34 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”), he reflected, “Here is someone who understands me.” (2) Root’s very accessible and relatively short book explores a theology and a gospel that proclaims precisely this type of God.
Luther says, “A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is.” (3) For Root, following in this tradition, being a theologian of the cross means no longer following the world in its death-denying ways. Root claims, “As this book unfolds, we will see the great paradox of the gospel, that we can only overcome death by entering it.” (4) The denial of death can be seen all over our society and culture. Just look, for example, at the language we use concerning death. We often do not say someone “died.” We say someone “passed away.” Frequently, we do not call them “funerals.” We call them “celebrations of life.” We deny death so much we don’t even want to acknowledge its reality with the words from our lips.
However, denying death will do nothing to defeat death. Christ did not win victory over the grave by staying as far away from it as possible but by entering into it. This, of course, does not mean that Jesus was always enthusiastic about his death. Jesus still struggled in agony on the night before his death and felt the most horrible things this world has to offer, including feeling abandoned by God. Jesus never denied the reality of death or despair.
In the same way, the church should not live in denial of death or despair. If it ever attempts to comfort those experiencing such despair, the church has to start facing the pain, grief, and death that exists in the world. As a body of believers and a community centered around the crucified God, the church must join the people in their suffering and doubt. However, to do this, the church must first be a community truly centered around the Christ of the cross.
If the community is not with its people and the world in the dark, it is not there in the light. The community must be there in the suffering and despair if it hopes to be there in the rejoicing. If the church ever hopes to be a community that doesn't fade away, it must be open, honest, and willing to plunge into the dark depths of despair. It must be willing to be a burden-sharer as well as a cross-bearer. This is what Root means by “the way of the cross as the way of the church.”
Death comes for us. No one, not even God incarnate, not even the word made flesh, escapes it. Yet, within this promise of despair is the promise that when entering into despair, one encounters the living crucified Lord. (5) God willingly takes on suffering so that God can be with us, truly with us. So, we find God on the cross, not on a throne. (6) We need not search for God in the temple or the palace, for we find our God of love right beside us in our suffering and agony. If the cross is the way of Christ, then as Christ’s church, the cross is also our way.
The way of the cross is the way of love, and, thankfully, love is stronger than death. Love is the only thing prepared to become weak and give itself up. In the cross, God welcomes death into God’s own being so that the Trinity itself might be opened up to humanity. (7) "Death has fallen in love. Death tried to hide in the shadows, but God entered the darkness." (8) God has taken death into Godself, and thus death has been changed forever. Death now exists suspended in the between the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit. It has become part of God’s love story. On the other side of death is the hope of resurrection. Death has lost the power to separate or destroy. All this is wrapped up in “the promise of despair,” and what good news there is in this promise!
A professor of mine dared to proclaim in class one day, “Theology of the cross is the gospel!” At the time, I was skeptical. However, since then, in my own faith experiences training to become a pastor, his words resonate increasingly every day. It assures that we are not left alone in our suffering, in our death, in our despair. Christ is with us, so God is with us. In this, Jesus fully embodies the name “Emmanual,” which literally means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Just as Christ is with us in death, we are with Christ in the new life of resurrection.
Advent is my favorite season of the church calendar. It is the season of anticipation, waiting, and hope. After reading The Promise of Despair, I have a new appreciation for the hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” In the midst of beginning a new church year and awaiting the return of Christ, we sing; we plead for Emmanuel to come. We do so while resting assured in the promise of Luther’s theology of the cross. God is truly with us in all things, especially in our despair, suffering, and death, as we wait in hope for resurrection and the life everlasting.
I was able to meet Root at an academic conference in England. There, I told him just how much I loved this book of his and how much it has impacted and shaped me. He thanked me for my kind words and remarked that of his books, this one gets talked about the least. I was saddened but not surprised. Barely anyone I meet has ever heard of this book, which is a great shame. I have either recommended it to or simply purchased it for so many that I have lost count. I recommend it once more to you, dear reader, now. I hope this book does for you what it did for me: reveal the good news within the promise of despair.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2015), 465.
Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, 40th Anniversary ed. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2015), ix.
Martin Luther, "Heidelberg Disputation (1518)," in Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, Kindle eBook ed., ed. Timothy F. Lull and William R. Russell (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2012), 15.
Andrew Root, The Promise of Despair: The Way of the Cross as the Way of the Church (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010), 8.
Ibid., 77.
Ibid., 73.
Ibid., 118.
Ibid., 89.
