“Mirrors that hide nothing hurt me. But this is the hurt of purging and precious renewal-and these are the mirrors of dangerous grace” Walter Wangerin
Wangerin’s reflection is the reading for today and he uses the image of mirror to display the ugly beautiful truth of Christ on the cross. The reality of Jesus dying on the cross reflects our selfish sin in all of its hurtful ugliness. But graciously Christ takes our sinful selves and promises renewal and the beautiful life.
I am often put off by mirrors that show me what I and others clearly know is there. But to think of a mirror that exposes what I have supposedly kept hidden is terrifying. But out of this terror comes what Wangerin calls “purging grace.”
“The mirror is not passive only, showing what is; it is active creating new things to be. It shows me a new me behind the shadow of a sinner.” Walter Wangerin