Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Holy Cross: Beyond the Jesus Brand

The cross is a brand on billboards and bumper stickers; a talisman in vampire movies.  Writing a meditation for Holy Cross Day in the September 2019 issue of Forward Day by Day, the rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church of Camillus, New York defined the significance of that icon in a way that makes sense to me. I quote Jon M. White, verbatim:
Galatians 6.14a.May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Jesus' ministry is invitational, not coercive. He responds to the faith of those who seek him with healing and wholeness - he does not demand their obeisance or obedience. Jesus reserves his sharpest words for those who impose barriers on loving responses to the world's pain.
The cross reminds us that the oppressive powers of evil must always be resisted, not co - opted. The death and resurrection of Jesus reminds us that the kingdom of God is made manifest when we name and confront evil, when we work to destroy its power and undo its effects. But the generative power of God is too great even for death, and the cross of Christ reminds us of God's victory over evil on our behalf.

The day's reading from John 12.31-36 also refers to Jesus's being lifted up on the cross to draw others to him.

I'm responding here to the alternative to those other understandings of the crucifixion's efficacy, as ransom paid to Satan, or satisfaction paid to a retributive God, or sacrifice of an innocent. Those spoke to earlier generations more than to mine. But White says it simply: God in Jesus showed us how to confront evil with love, and the resurrection gives us courage to face the consequences.


Photos: From St. James, Marietta, the cross carved into the doors to the nave, where I peaked in one night to see the illuminated altar; the cross made for Lent by longtime parishioner Bill Johnson, with naturally cracked wood at its heart.
















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