UGLY BEAUTIFUL
Holy Week is still a month away but already I have two encounters regarding the use of the cross in the church. One came from a friend whose former faith finds it shameful while another from a netizen who after seeing my photo of United Evangelical Church of the Philippine’s hanging cross, shared a screenshot of a Wikipedia entry on how it was a form of capital punishment in Jesus’ time.
The cross is indeed shameful. Paul acknowledged it in 1 Cor. 1:23 writing how it is a stumbling block to the Jews as it was a form of capital punishment. (If the last words seem déjà vu, go back to the first paragraph.) It’s the modern form of the electric chair or lethal injection but we are forgetting how we serve a God who can make the ugly beautiful. The cross for us, believers, is beautiful because it shows the immense and tremendous love the Father has for us, unlovable sinners, that He should send His Son to die in our place. He could have just let us be on our merry way to hell but, no. He suffered the worst pain a parent can ever have.
And let us not forget the obedience of Jesus to the Father’s will (Luke 22:42). Jesus could have delegated an angel to do the via Dolorosa thing but, no, the Father and the Son were one in their pursuit to save our souls from our original hell destination.
To make people forget the beauty of the ugly cross simply because it was a form of capital punishment back then undermines God’s love for us. If ever there was anybody who should be offended and disgusted at the use of the cross, it should be the Great Apostle Paul, the most Jewish of them all. Who dares send Paul in heaven a Wikipedia screenshot?
The fact that we, 21st century people, need to be reminded of the original history of the cross shows how it has evolved from something ugly and offensive to something beautiful (and, uh, still offensive for some) today. Unless I am mistaken, the cross has ceased to be a form of capital punishment a long time ago. For us, Pinoys, our first exposure was in 1521. We never knew the cross to be an electric chair. It was God’s love at first sight for us.
Arguing about the use of the cross distracts us from the One who died on it and rose again. It distracts us from the love demonstrated in the act. It’s missing the forest for the empty tree. Our cross today is beautiful because it is empty. The body that died in it rose again and more than 500 people saw Him carrying about, including His enemies who sanctioned His death and resorted to lying about His resurrection (Mt. 28:11-15). It’s like talking about an empty electric chair when its former occupant is in the room with us. When we do that, we are playing into the hands of the foe that was defeated by the empty cross.
Of course, the gospel does not stop at the cross for that is only the death of Christ. Grace isn’t complete at Christ’s expiration on the tree but it’s His resurrection that showed He is God who overcame death by meeting the Father’s perfect demand for complete holiness. For those who are still offended by the sight of the empty cross in the pulpit, feel free to use an empty grave.
Holy Week is still a month away but already I have two encounters regarding the use of the cross in the church. One came from a friend whose former faith finds it shameful while another from a netizen who after seeing my photo of United Evangelical Church of the Philippine’s hanging cross, shared a screenshot of a Wikipedia entry on how it was a form of capital punishment in Jesus’ time.
The cross is indeed shameful. Paul acknowledged it in 1 Cor. 1:23 writing how it is a stumbling block to the Jews as it was a form of capital punishment. (If the last words seem déjà vu, go back to the first paragraph.) It’s the modern form of the electric chair or lethal injection but we are forgetting how we serve a God who can make the ugly beautiful. The cross for us, believers, is beautiful because it shows the immense and tremendous love the Father has for us, unlovable sinners, that He should send His Son to die in our place. He could have just let us be on our merry way to hell but, no. He suffered the worst pain a parent can ever have.
And let us not forget the obedience of Jesus to the Father’s will (Luke 22:42). Jesus could have delegated an angel to do the via Dolorosa thing but, no, the Father and the Son were one in their pursuit to save our souls from our original hell destination.
To make people forget the beauty of the ugly cross simply because it was a form of capital punishment back then undermines God’s love for us. If ever there was anybody who should be offended and disgusted at the use of the cross, it should be the Great Apostle Paul, the most Jewish of them all. Who dares send Paul in heaven a Wikipedia screenshot?
The fact that we, 21st century people, need to be reminded of the original history of the cross shows how it has evolved from something ugly and offensive to something beautiful (and, uh, still offensive for some) today. Unless I am mistaken, the cross has ceased to be a form of capital punishment a long time ago. For us, Pinoys, our first exposure was in 1521. We never knew the cross to be an electric chair. It was God’s love at first sight for us.
Arguing about the use of the cross distracts us from the One who died on it and rose again. It distracts us from the love demonstrated in the act. It’s missing the forest for the empty tree. Our cross today is beautiful because it is empty. The body that died in it rose again and more than 500 people saw Him carrying about, including His enemies who sanctioned His death and resorted to lying about His resurrection (Mt. 28:11-15). It’s like talking about an empty electric chair when its former occupant is in the room with us. When we do that, we are playing into the hands of the foe that was defeated by the empty cross.
Of course, the gospel does not stop at the cross for that is only the death of Christ. Grace isn’t complete at Christ’s expiration on the tree but it’s His resurrection that showed He is God who overcame death by meeting the Father’s perfect demand for complete holiness. For those who are still offended by the sight of the empty cross in the pulpit, feel free to use an empty grave.