The Passion of Barack Obama

On Monday Barack Obama hosted an Easter Prayer Breakfast that included a number of Christian leaders, some of whom serve as his administration’s advisors on faith based initiatives. His remarks clearly identify his personal faith as a Christian. He testified:

“I can … tell you what draws me to this holy day and what lesson I take from Christ's sacrifice and what inspires me about the story of the resurrection.

“For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind's eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire. The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world -- that the Son of Man was not to be found in His tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen.

“We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him. We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.

“And such a promise is one of life's great blessings, because, as I am continually learning, we are, each of us, imperfect. Each of us errs -- by accident or by design. Each of us falls short of how we ought to live. And selfishness and pride are vices that afflict us all.

“It's not easy to purge these afflictions, to achieve redemption. But as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered -- by faith in Jesus Christ. And the possibility of redemption can make straight the crookedness of a character; make whole the incompleteness of a soul. Redemption makes life, however fleeting here on Earth, resound with eternal hope.

“Of all the stories passed down through the gospels, this one in particular speaks to me during this season. And I think of hanging -- watching Christ hang from the cross, enduring the final seconds of His passion. He summoned what remained of His strength to utter a few last words before He breathed His last breath.

“'Father,' He said, ‘into your hands I commit my spirit’ Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today. Their meaning can just as truly be lived out by all of God's children.

“So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord. And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.”

In my estimation we each have a narrative by which we comprehend our individual lives. Try to imagine how Mr. Obama’s looks at his astonishing life, in light of his personal testimony.

Perhaps he sees himself as the classic Christian “suffering servant,” bearing scorn and derision for a greater good: “to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.” And how does he endure? By committing his spirit to his God, as he offers up the sacrifice of Self.

Further imagine that most immediately Mr. Obama is understanding the travails and eventual success of health care reform, one of the most significant transformations of American society, through this classic narrative. (I think this is reasonable. And it was my immediate response upon reading his words.)

Let’s call this narrative “The Passion of Barack Obama.”