If there was anything good about seeing the movie, the Son of God , it was how it reminded us of the extreme heinousness of the cross. For two thousand years later, I believe many of us have forgotten the excruciating pain, the shame, and the horror of crucifixion on a cross. Our society has turned the cross into a hallowed symbol, a pretty piece of jewelry. We are no longer appalled at the nature of Christ’s death, and we no longer grasp the significance of what it means to share his sufferings and to imitate him in death as the Apostle Paul admonishes us to do.
So we live as what Paul calls “enemies” of this cross. We see our religion only in terms of benefit and advantage and are not prepared to share the humiliations and suffering that commitment to Christ involves.
In thinking about the cross in relation to other world religions, the symbol for our faith is indeed a curious one. The cross is a symbol of suffering, shame and death. It is like having the electric chair as the symbol for our God. Think for a moment about other religions. Most have us have visited Chinese restaurants and have seen a statue of Buddah in the foyer. There he is, fat and happy: arms crossed; eyes closed; serene; peaceful; introspective; contemplative. Compare that with the cross: cruel; painful; degrading, humiliating; lonely. This is who our God is, and it is who we are called to imitate. This is who we are called to be, and this is where we are called to go.
The good news is that you do not need to live long in this broken world to become grateful that our God is the God of the cross. For the world in which we live is not a serene, peaceful world where we have the luxury to cross our arms and close our eyes introspectively, contemplating it all. We live in a world where 15 year-olds take guns to school kill their classmates. We live in a world where the hearts of 44 year-old men stop beating as they sleep at night. We live in a world where malignant tumors grow inside of us and we are often unaware until it is too late. We live in a world where our automobiles crash crushing the life from us. We live in a world where tornadoes and earthquakes and floods strike without warning.
Yes, thank God that our God is the God of the cross— A God who knows what it is like to suffer as we suffer; A God who knows humiliation, who has experienced loneliness, who knows pain; A God who has entered our broken world to participate with us in our suffering.
In this season of Lent, may this be the God we imitate.
May we regard our religion as an opportunity to lose ourselves instead of an opportunity for advantage. May we through our church, with the help of our God, give of ourselves to others. May we go to those places of suffering and shame of heartache and heartbreak and even death and participate in it. May we suffer with others, as God suffers with us. May we imitate Christ and pick up and carry our cross.
Just Love 