I recently discovered that I didn’t understand the correct meaning of the word sanguine. I had heard it many times but thought it meant sad or melancholy. However, as I did some research, I found I was quite mistaken. The word first and foremost is a color, “blood red.” Further, it means to be optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. Other synonyms include hopeful, positive, disposed to look on the bright side, confident, cheerful, cheery, bright.
This reminds me of how for most of my life I also misunderstood what biblical priests were. I generally think of them, perhaps like you, as men who wear white colors and lead communion in the more liturgical churches. But, then I learned that the role of priest in the Old Testament was a pretty nasty job. Reading through Exodus I came to realize that it’s probably not a job I would’ve aspired to. Whereas we look backwards at the Cross through communion, week after week the priests gave themselves to the slaughtering of animals as a symbolic means of pointing towards the Messiah (Jesus). Somewhat like being a butcher in a meat processing plant, their work was bloody and sweaty. I can only imagine that in the desert heat of the summer months that there would have also been the stench of blood and rotting corpses from the process.
This reminded me of how I originally misunderstood Good Friday. For most of my childhood years, this is how I felt about Good Friday. I remember seeing the date on my grandma’s calendar and asked her what it meant. Hearing about the crucifixion didn’t sound very, well good. Good for us but not so much Jesus, but now I have a much different view.
In 1918, during WWI, under Woodrow Wilson, the US committed troops to fight against Germany in Europe. It was technically called the American Expeditionary Force and it was commanded by General John “Black Jack” Pershing. He was a graduate and later an instructor at West Point and known for being a very “no-nonsense” kind of general. In WWI, he fought every day for 47 days and overwhelmed the German forces that had occupied France for 3 years. He was so determined and successful that most military historians believe that as a result of Pershing, the Germans asked for an Armistice. However, Pershing, felt that the job wasn’t done and that in order to completely put an end to German militarism that they would have to be completely destroyed and occupied. His plan was rejected and in a few decades, they’d have to do it all over again, i.e. WW2. At the Cross, Jesus defeated sin once and for all. Whereas spikes were driven through his arms and feet, He drove spikes into sin. He finished the job for us. It is finished.
