2nd Sunday of Lent, 2022 - The Foolishness of the Cross

There is perhaps no greater symbol of the Christian faith than the cross. Christians of all stripes identify with the cross. Even non-Christians associate the cross with Jesus and Christianity 

The cross is the primary symbol of our faith. It occupies a prominent place in our sanctuaries. We use it to adorn our homes. We wear it as jewelry and use its image on our clothing. We put it on our vehicles to identify ourselves as Christians.

Throughout Christian history, the cross has pointed to Jesus as a reminder of his death and resurrection. What other symbol captures the heart of the Christian faith as does the cross?

Like much of Jesus’s message, we have domesticated the cross. We have sanitized its image. We have tamed its message. We have made it palatable so that it is easy to swallow.  We forget that, in Jesus’s day, the cross was a scandal. It was a cruel, painful instrument of execution for those who dared to defy the power of Rome or challenge her ways. It produced a slow, excruciatingly painful death. It was a form of torture.

Crucifixions were always done just outside the gates of the city, on a major road entering the city. They were a graphic reminder to all who saw — and you couldn’t not see it — of what Rome would do to any refused to submit to her authority. Crucifixion portrayed complete and utter defeat at the hand of the dominant political power. It was commonly accompanied by public ridicule and abuse that added the proverbial “insult to injury.” It stripped the crucified of any value or dignity or identity other than that of a convicted criminal. It delivered ultimate humiliation and defeat as it inflicted suffering that caused death.  

Paul said the message of the cross, when viewed from the world’s perspective, was foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). In a world that valued power, it represented powerlessness. In a world that valued winning, it represented defeat. In a world that operated out of a look-out-for-ole-#1 spirit, it represented failure. The cross stood for everything the world despised and hated. Yet, it proclaimed the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18, 24).

The cross stands as a constant reminder that the ways of the world are at odds with the ways of God. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8). The cross is a reminder that we, as the followers of Jesus, think from a different perspective. It is a reminder that we are called to a different way of living. 

As we walk this Lenten journey, take time to meditate on the cross. Allow it to once again be for you the power and wisdom of God.