Reflections - Christianity Without the Cross

Christianity without the Cross

Unthinkable

Jesus defeated Satan not by His miracles or healing of the sick and the disabled, or by casting out demons, or by the gift of knowledge, or by His wisdom, or by prayer and fasting. 

He defeated Satan by His death on the Cross and by his resurrection. Through intense 'pain' and 'shame' – two 'sufferings' that Satan has made believe is unbecoming of man. It is the ace up Satan's sleeve that we often fall prey to when we are unwilling to accept sufferings that come our way. 

Jesus said, "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow in my steps is not fit to be my disciple" (Matt: 10:38). When we think of the Cross, we think of a heavy burden. But Jesus assures us that "His yoke is easy and his burden light". 

Not everyone is destined for martyrdom, but all of us who call ourselves Christians are certainly called to give as much of ourselves as needed to help another human being. And, this can be a daily occurrence in our life by: 

• The choices we make: our every thought, word and deed can lighten someone's 'load' financially, socially, psychologically, physiologically, and more importantly, spiritually
• Our response to situations when we find ourselves on the other side of the fence 

Let's accept that we, as human beings, are basically selfish. This selfishness comes from a sense of insecurity that there may not be enough for us to completely satisfy ourselves. When there is limited food set on the table, there is a greater tendency to eat more. 

The cross that Jesus wants us to carry, perhaps putting it too simply, is the shedding of this selfishness. When we examine ourselves, we will discover in what areas we are detestably selfish. 

With our wealth (not tithing as the Word of God exhorts us to); with our health (spending too much time exercising and body improvement); with our time (no time for anything but our own pursuits); with our spirituality (praying only for our very own needs); with our property (owning more than needed to live decently); knowledge (using it only to enhance our own professional growth) and with our way of life (spending it on pleasurable pursuits). By no yardstick this is an exhaustive list. It cannot be. Man’s selfishness is legendary. You don’t have to look beyond too far. Just from the window of our house or our car will tell the tale of our selfishness.  

As we begin working on each area where we believe we are lacking, we will discover what Jesus meant "my yoke is easy and my burden light". It frees us in ways unimaginable. But that is not as important as the impact it will have on people around you. You would have graduated from a "narcissistic" approach to life to a "Christ-centered" approach to life, where you are always on auto-give mode. 

And, the amazing truth is, unknowingly, you enrich yourselves in that very area that you have resolved to give in. You will have more than you imagined in wealth, health and happiness. Though that should not be the goal of giving. The goal of giving is to ‘unload’ to feel lighter and better in the Spirit. The Spirit is light. Read it whichever way you wish.

It will also prepare you for the times that God wants to use you more powerfully. The trials that he will put you through would easily 'kill' a worldly man. Having fortified yourself with the goodness of God in every area of your life, it will be a wellspring of strength. All the time in the gym or gulping tonics hardly bears comparison with what God can offer a willing spirit. For the worldly man trials are a curse to be responded by means that drive you only deeper into ill health, depression and penury. 

If you view your suffering is the Cross referred to by Jesus – you will be saved. However, if you view your situation as a curse, you have damned yourself from ever recovering. These are the choices we make. These are the responses we cultivate. 

Choose wisely and respond with tenacity to unexpected situations and our life will be what God conceived it to be – blessed in every way and to everyone! As Christians we are called to live the Gospel. We are called to carry our Cross - as our Lord God did!  

Reflections - 'It is finished'

'It is finished'

When a high-ranking bureaucrat in government retires, the perks of the office disappears and so do favor seekers. All or most develop weak memories or become amnesiac, even resentful of the man.

In Luke 6:19 we learn that wherever Jesus went, “... the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all”.

Other than the hecklers calling for his crucifixion, where did rest of the ‘multitude’ go when Jesus was arrested, stripped, beaten, bore His cross on the Road to Calvary and was crucified between two thieves at Golgotha?

Did the 'penny finally drop' for the 'multitudes' that Jesus' kingdom was not of this world? That He was not going to call down fire from the heavens on the Romans? That He, ‘... who would destroy the temple and build it in three days' (Matt 27:39) was not going to draw on his miraculous powers to win back Jewish sovereignty over Israel. If anything, Jesus appeared to be only interested in the Jewish people turning to "repentance, baptism and receiving of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:36-41)

Once it became apparent that Jesus was as helpless as them when it came to it came to Rome's control over their land and its inhabitants, the Jewish leaders could goad the people to bay for his blood. 

In fact, the Jewish leaders were so opportunistic that they got the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate to do what they could not do themselves; to condemn Jesus to death under the Roman law. Not just that. Their chicanery continued. He was cast as a 'King of the Jews' and projected as someone standing up to the Roman emperor and deserving of the severest punishment: crucifixion.

Cicero, commonly regarded as the greatest orator in the history of Rome, was a Roman Senator and Consul who lived about 100 years before Pontius Pilate was Procurator of Judea. A lesser known fact is that Cicero was a prosecutor, a Roman lawyer.

He described crucifixion as "a most cruel and disgusting punishment", and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen's body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears".

Scourging whips and the cross were the murder weapons – death by crucifixion. Cicero’s accusation of Verres in court (for premeditated murder of a noble Roman citizen) described how humiliation, psychological and mental anguish were part of the excruciating, long lasting torment of the scourged victim nailed to the cross, a fate reserved only for slaves at that time.

The Jews, from hailing Hosannas switched to hurling abuses; Jesus was a disappointment and a disgrace to them. He did not live up to their hope.

Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt and gave them the Laws; the Jews were good with it even though it was strict, harsh and very patriarchal.

Jesus simplified the ten commandments to two: Love God; Love Your Neighbor; to remove some of the harshness of the Law, which gave the Jewish leaders disproportionate power over the Jewish people with focus more on customs and rituals, then truly worshipping Yahweh as 'God the Father'.

In fact, what Jesus taught, displeased most the self-appointed keepers of the Law who wanted to see him dead.

…But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation… (John 11:49-51)

Jesus spoke of the Fulfillment of the Law in Matthew 5:17-20: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

“So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

While the scribes and Pharisees were keen to protect their authority over scripture and temple offerings, and keep the Romans out of their hair; the people wanted only one thing: overthrow of the Roman rule and heavy taxes levied on them; until then salvation could wait. 

Rejection of Jesus by the Jews was a gift to the gentiles who were quick to embrace Jesus' teaching and claim salvation for their souls by atonement and rejection of what was sinful.

The sprinkling of people at the Jesus' crucifixion stood in stark contrast to the surging crowds around Jesus during His ministry.

For there were only four at the foot of the Cross.

“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27)

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.  Therefore, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (John 19: 28-30)

After three years of crisscrossing Judea and Galilee, healing-delivering-fish catch and feeding – raising from the dead – and teaching, with hundreds and thousands, touched by his hand and his teaching; there were just four at the foot of the cross. With smattering of onlookers and soldiers.

The disciples, other than John the Evangelist, were nowhere to be seen; the rest who wanted to make Jesus king, who sang Hosanna and ‘threw their garments on the road’ (Mark 11:8-9) welcoming the conqueror; got busy with the Sabbath preparations – when Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) – lay limp and abandoned on the cross.

The four at the foot of the cross, tell us a poignant story of ‘what makes a family’ - beyond the kith and kin.

Mother Mary: … can a mother desert her son? (Isaiah 49:15)

Mother Mary’s Sister, Mary: … can a sister ever desert a sorrowing mother?

Mary Magdalene: … can the demon delivered ever desert her deliverer?

John the Beloved Apostle: … can a confidante ever desert the confider, who amongst many confidences pointed out to him Judas as His betrayer?

Also offering to help bring down Jesus from the Cross and with the burial formalities, were Nicodemus the learned Pharisee (who visited Jesus in the cover of night) and Joseph of Arimathea, who gallantly offered his own grave to the “Son of Man” who during his days of ministry “had no place to lay His head”. (Matthew 8:20)

Virgil, an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period, a few decades before Jesus’ birth, wrote, “Amor vincit omnia, et nos cedamus amori. Love conquers all things, so we too shall yield to love.” 

God is Love. The Son of God is the living testimony of Love. And, His Spirit, He sent to us, testifies to that Love, and encourages us to Love … unto who, where and when it is needed … even unto death.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”. (1 John 4:18)

Jesus’ love was perfected in the three Mary’s and in John. If you had a wish wouldn’t your one desire be for Jesus’ love to be perfected in you, and every member of your family – and all who are dear to you – your children, your parents, sisters and brothers, your friends, and who at different moments in your life delivered you when you were in want?

Recognize who is family and go forth and spread the love!