It is much too grand, it is much too glorious to speak of the true depth of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice is “totally enigmatic and impossibly intricate.” I am humbled to speak of it. Yet I feel that the Spirit has given me language to express His love, and I invite your attention as we speak of Christ in our hearts together this morning.
“He is a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” A gardener, His vineyard is laden with loathsome and bitter fruit. A shepherd, His flock is scattered and his sheep astray. A healer, His hands are helpless in his homeland.
Christ teaches, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Does man grieve alone for his own fall from grace? Are miracles fallen on blind eyes only mourned or forgotten? Christ fell on His face, and pled, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And the cup remained.
In this too, seeing Christ, we see the Father.
“And the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept. And Enoch bore record of it, saying: Thou art merciful and kind forever, How is it that thou canst weep?”
And the Lord said to Enoch, “Behold these thy brethren, the workmanship of mine own hands, I [have] given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they choose me, their Father, but behold they are without affection and they hate their own blood. Wherefore for this shall the heavens weep.”
A creator, our Father’s tears fall to drown His creations. Our father, His heart breaks for the sins of His children. A God, even a human God, He knows what is to have a broken heart.
You, His child, know too. You are men of sorrows, women acquainted with grief. A father, you offer fish but your sons seek for stones. A mother, your children cry and cannot be comforted. A servant, your eyes behold suffering too great and your own acts of service too small. A sinner, forgiveness for your sins seems too far away.
Where can you turn from such sorrows as these? Where does your Father turn?
And the Lord said unto Enoch, ‘Lift up your heart, and be glad. . . Look!’ and [Enoch] looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men.”
A Savior, the Son of Man suffered for the sins of the world. A redeemer, the Son of Man broke the bands of death for his brethren. The Son of God, Jesus Christ submitted to the Atoning cup, and in so doing, provided the power for His Father’s infinite plan of happiness.
The Father’s happiness--fulfilled through the submission of His Son. The Father’s sorrow swallowed--by the sacrifice of His Son.
“And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and he will take upon him death, and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, that He may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”
The Father’s happiness--yes, mankind’s happiness--fulfilled through the sorrow of the Son. A sorrow chosen freely. A sorrow not shirked, but embraced. A sorrow born willingly both in life and in His own death. “And who shall declare His generation? For he was cut out of the land of the living.”
He died, they say, of a broken heart. Where can a Savior, even our Savior, turn in a plan that requires sorrow as the price for salvation?
“When thou shalt make His suffering an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.”
The Savior’s happiness--fulfilled through your acceptance of His suffering. The Savior’s satisfaction, reflected in your choice to live like Him. Your Savior’s sacrifice, mirrored by the sacrifice of your heart.
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost.”
Your happiness, even Christ’s happiness, even the Father’s happiness--fulfilled through your acceptance of His sorrow. A sorrow chosen freely. A sorrow not shirked, but embraced in life and in death. For this is what it means to carry the name of Christ: “to bear one another’s burdens that they may be light, to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”
And yet, behold the sorrows of your life, not chosen freely. A cup you would have pass, if your will could be done. The cups that remain. With these sorrows our Father salts the earth with your tears. For He has other children, also in darkness who, having not His Son, and are hopeless. He has other sheep who, knowing not His Son, are faithless. Your faith in Him is their savor of salvation. Your Christ-lit candle, their hope in heaven. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
A Savior, His Atonement is more infinite than our sin. A redeemer, His love is stronger than our pain. A healer, He asks only that we give Him our brokenness. He turns our hearts into offerings, gifts of submission we give to our Father. He turns our sorrow into service, gifts of understanding and compassion we give to each other.
It is much too grand, it is much too glorious to speak of the true depth of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice is “totally enigmatic and impossibly intricate.” We are humbled to have experienced it. Let us turn to the words of Christ, himself who said: “With God, anything is possible.”
With God you have the strength to overcome temptation and live righteously. With God you can ever return as the prodigal to the home of a loving Heavenly Father.
With God you experience the joys of new birth as you welcome His children into your homes. With God you carry the heaving heartaches of loneliness or infertility.
With God you receive release through healing and freedom from pain. With God you endure the crucible of the refiner’s fire.
With God you are given the miracle of being united with a far away loved one, to establish a home and begin a family. With God, you gather manna in wilderness for as long as it takes--
Until there is no longer “sorrow as the cloth” or joy as the horizon. Until there is living only and simply, With God. Which is to live with Christ. Which is eternal life.
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. . . That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”
With eternal life, which is with God, you are the gardener, the shepherd, and the healer.
With eternal life, which is with God, you are “the tender plant, the root coming forth out of dry ground,” the rose that blossoms among desert thorns.
With eternal life, which is with God, you are “the spring of water . . . the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in”
With eternal life, you are the chorus of angels, shouting Hallelujah! Hallelujah! As the heavens reverberate, the clouds tremble with joy, as the earth breaks forth in the grand cacophony of unfurled spring.
“[Jesus Christ] is the Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of heaven; who so cometh at the gate and climbeth up by [him] shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they... for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy.”
Praise be to our Almighty Father, who in His infinite love sent us His Son! Praise be to the Son who in His infinite love made good our broken hearts! Praise be to my Savior Jesus Christ forever and ever. His love is precious above all other things for it has healed me. I love Him. He loves you. His love will heal you too. I know that He lives and that His Atonement is real, for I have received a personal witness of that truth. And I bear you my witness of Him today, this beautiful hopeful Easter Sunday, in His name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sister Doe (Anonymous)
Sacrament Meeting in USA
April 2012
“He is a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” A gardener, His vineyard is laden with loathsome and bitter fruit. A shepherd, His flock is scattered and his sheep astray. A healer, His hands are helpless in his homeland.
Christ teaches, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Does man grieve alone for his own fall from grace? Are miracles fallen on blind eyes only mourned or forgotten? Christ fell on His face, and pled, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And the cup remained.
In this too, seeing Christ, we see the Father.
“And the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept. And Enoch bore record of it, saying: Thou art merciful and kind forever, How is it that thou canst weep?”
And the Lord said to Enoch, “Behold these thy brethren, the workmanship of mine own hands, I [have] given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they choose me, their Father, but behold they are without affection and they hate their own blood. Wherefore for this shall the heavens weep.”
A creator, our Father’s tears fall to drown His creations. Our father, His heart breaks for the sins of His children. A God, even a human God, He knows what is to have a broken heart.
You, His child, know too. You are men of sorrows, women acquainted with grief. A father, you offer fish but your sons seek for stones. A mother, your children cry and cannot be comforted. A servant, your eyes behold suffering too great and your own acts of service too small. A sinner, forgiveness for your sins seems too far away.
Where can you turn from such sorrows as these? Where does your Father turn?
And the Lord said unto Enoch, ‘Lift up your heart, and be glad. . . Look!’ and [Enoch] looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men.”
A Savior, the Son of Man suffered for the sins of the world. A redeemer, the Son of Man broke the bands of death for his brethren. The Son of God, Jesus Christ submitted to the Atoning cup, and in so doing, provided the power for His Father’s infinite plan of happiness.
The Father’s happiness--fulfilled through the submission of His Son. The Father’s sorrow swallowed--by the sacrifice of His Son.
“And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and he will take upon him death, and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, that He may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”
The Father’s happiness--yes, mankind’s happiness--fulfilled through the sorrow of the Son. A sorrow chosen freely. A sorrow not shirked, but embraced. A sorrow born willingly both in life and in His own death. “And who shall declare His generation? For he was cut out of the land of the living.”
He died, they say, of a broken heart. Where can a Savior, even our Savior, turn in a plan that requires sorrow as the price for salvation?
“When thou shalt make His suffering an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.”
The Savior’s happiness--fulfilled through your acceptance of His suffering. The Savior’s satisfaction, reflected in your choice to live like Him. Your Savior’s sacrifice, mirrored by the sacrifice of your heart.
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost.”
Your happiness, even Christ’s happiness, even the Father’s happiness--fulfilled through your acceptance of His sorrow. A sorrow chosen freely. A sorrow not shirked, but embraced in life and in death. For this is what it means to carry the name of Christ: “to bear one another’s burdens that they may be light, to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”
And yet, behold the sorrows of your life, not chosen freely. A cup you would have pass, if your will could be done. The cups that remain. With these sorrows our Father salts the earth with your tears. For He has other children, also in darkness who, having not His Son, and are hopeless. He has other sheep who, knowing not His Son, are faithless. Your faith in Him is their savor of salvation. Your Christ-lit candle, their hope in heaven. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
A Savior, His Atonement is more infinite than our sin. A redeemer, His love is stronger than our pain. A healer, He asks only that we give Him our brokenness. He turns our hearts into offerings, gifts of submission we give to our Father. He turns our sorrow into service, gifts of understanding and compassion we give to each other.
It is much too grand, it is much too glorious to speak of the true depth of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice is “totally enigmatic and impossibly intricate.” We are humbled to have experienced it. Let us turn to the words of Christ, himself who said: “With God, anything is possible.”
With God you have the strength to overcome temptation and live righteously. With God you can ever return as the prodigal to the home of a loving Heavenly Father.
With God you experience the joys of new birth as you welcome His children into your homes. With God you carry the heaving heartaches of loneliness or infertility.
With God you receive release through healing and freedom from pain. With God you endure the crucible of the refiner’s fire.
With God you are given the miracle of being united with a far away loved one, to establish a home and begin a family. With God, you gather manna in wilderness for as long as it takes--
Until there is no longer “sorrow as the cloth” or joy as the horizon. Until there is living only and simply, With God. Which is to live with Christ. Which is eternal life.
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. . . That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”
With eternal life, which is with God, you are the gardener, the shepherd, and the healer.
With eternal life, which is with God, you are “the tender plant, the root coming forth out of dry ground,” the rose that blossoms among desert thorns.
With eternal life, which is with God, you are “the spring of water . . . the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in”
With eternal life, you are the chorus of angels, shouting Hallelujah! Hallelujah! As the heavens reverberate, the clouds tremble with joy, as the earth breaks forth in the grand cacophony of unfurled spring.
“[Jesus Christ] is the Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of heaven; who so cometh at the gate and climbeth up by [him] shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they... for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy.”
Praise be to our Almighty Father, who in His infinite love sent us His Son! Praise be to the Son who in His infinite love made good our broken hearts! Praise be to my Savior Jesus Christ forever and ever. His love is precious above all other things for it has healed me. I love Him. He loves you. His love will heal you too. I know that He lives and that His Atonement is real, for I have received a personal witness of that truth. And I bear you my witness of Him today, this beautiful hopeful Easter Sunday, in His name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sister Doe (Anonymous)
Sacrament Meeting in USA
April 2012
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