Good Friday (3/25)

In the time of Jesus, crucifixion was the most fearsome sign of state sponsored terrorism.  The Roman authorities used it as a preferred form of intimidation, expressly intending for the barbaric practice to strike dread into the hearts of everyone and so force compliance with their way of rule.

People were horrified by the ghastly sight of rebellious bodies nailed high to crosses.  Often crosses with corpes lined major roads leading into key cities of the empire.  The cross was meant to serve as a terrible terrifying reality.

God responds to human brutality with love and mercy.  That is what inspires Saint Paul to proclaim unapologetically one thing above all else: Christ crucified! (1 Corinthians 1:23).  In taking all the evil of the world upon Himself, Jesus really dies.  However, sin and death do not speak the final word – no!  All the evil able to be mustered and heaped upon our Blessed Lord Jesus is conquered by the always greater love and mercy of God!

From a tyrannical point of view, the cross is an instrument of torture and death.  Followers of Jesus Christ see it as the supreme symbol of love, harkening the tsunami of divine mercy that was unleashed upon all people of all time. Intentional disciples do not scurry away from the Cross of Christ, but instead lift it high and keep their sights set squarely upon it.  After all, it is by Jesus’ Cross that we have been saved and redeemed.

Gero Cross (2)

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