Andy at Think Christian posted this article about the cross. He asked whether or not the cross as a symbol still has meaning or if it has become so commonplace that it doesn't mean anything anymore.
"Has the cross reached this state—is it so commonplace that it has no real value as a symbol in 21st-century America? When you see a cross—in a church, in a museum, on a website or a business card—what do you feel? Awe, sorrow, humility, worshipfulness, annoyance, anger, or nothing at all? Has it retained its symbolic power and majesty after so many years of use and misuse? Or is it now just a decoration, one whose historical and cultural baggage actually gets in the way of meditation on Christ’s sacrifice?"
He asks if we should be offended that Madonna and Kanye West have used crucifixion imagery in a worldly way.
Predictably, someone commented that we need to reclaim that image for our faith. Once again, I am shocked at the idea that we are trying so hard to "defend Christ", as if he needs that from us. Is that why Christ formed the church? To have a group of people to police the image of God? To ensure that someone would look out for him? Or to carry out the Great Commission?
Phil 2:5-11 reads:
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
If Christ didn't focus on his image, why should we? If Christ wasn't worried about his "rights" why should we be? Do we really think that our purpose is to defend Christ?
In the garden of Gethsemane, after Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, one of the disciples (Peter) pulled out his sword & cut off the ear of a soldier to try & stop him from arresting Jesus.
"'Put your sword back in its place,' Jesus said to him, 'for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?'" Matthew 26:52,53
Defending Christ is not our job. Jesus said 15 times: "He who has an ear, let him hear." When I read about Peter cutting off the soldier's ear, I think that God, the ultimate author, was being blunt with his symbolism. When we try to defend Christ, are we cutting off the ears of those who would listen? And does the form our defense takes matter? In other words, if "all who draw the sword will die by the sword", doesn't that mean that if our sword is our words, our words will betray us? If our sword is politics, our politics will fail? Whatever form our defense of Christ takes, Satan will use it to turn it around on us, and ultimately, on the image of Christ.
We have to stop fighting for our image and the image of Christ. We have to see that the more we fight for that image, the more damage we do to it.
I will continue to be awed by the cross as the ultimate example of Christ's humility. I hope that I never allow that meaning to become common or banal in my mind. And I hope that Christians will always see the underlying meaning of that hunk of wood. But I also hope that we will never allow the excuse of defending a piece of wood come between the church and our purpose.
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5 comments:
I have been checking your site if not daily every other day waiting for something new to read. Jason gave me a cross necklace for Christmas that I have been wanting for years. Much nicer than anyone I had imagined and I sat in awe of it for what seemed like hours. Not because of the diamonds and white gold that adorn it, not because my husband actually remembered that I have wanted one for years (ok maybe just a little that he finally remembered) but in awe of its meaning to me. The spirituality of the symbol and the beliefs we all should hold dear.
Thank you for writing another beautiful thought provoking blog.
Love to all, take care and talk to you soon.
Great thoughts here April. I really like the idea that Jesus doesn't need an organized action to defend a symbol he never refers to. The cross definitely means more to us as the symbol of our salvation than to Jesus as the way he achieved our salvation. Thanks for sharing.
All I can say is...well said.
We should never be on the defensive...we are call to go and preach good news. It is so simple, but I think we get into the defensive "thang" whenever we don't "go"...Smiles
Am doing some catch up. Thanks for your post. Just got through posting part 2 to the fishing post. Hope to read more from you!
Many of the Supreme Court decisions on separation of church and state contain similar warnings: religion is serious business. When we attach religious symbols to government buildings, stationery, seals, etc. we inevitably trivialize something that has deep, sacred meaning. Justices Harry Blackmun and Brennan wrote a good deal in this vein about prayer in public schools. It is SERIOUS, don't let it become a routine ritual of government. Or, as James Madison wrote, we must protect our faith from the profane hand of the civil magistrate.
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