“The cross is the banner of what we do to one another and to God.” – Richard Rohr
Down Off the Cross – Resurrection Series – Part 6
PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7
You know, they were right when they said to Jesus as he hung on the cross:
“We heard you boast that you could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! Why don’t you save yourself now? If you’re really God’s Son, come down from the cross!” Even the ruling priests, with the Jewish scholars and religious leaders, joined in the mockery and kept on saying, “He saved others, but he can’t even save himself! Israel’s king, is he? He should pull out the nails and come down from the cross right now; then we’ll believe in him! He says he puts all his trust in God, so let’s see if it’s true, and see if God really wants to rescue his ‘favorite son’!”
Because that’s the kind of God, we all want: Warrior King, Almighty Conqueror, Powerful and Victorious. The kind of God that could take himself down off the cross and defeat his foes is the kind of God that could defeat ours, too. Right?
But that’s not what he did.
Jesus channeled his might and power and strength into vulnerability, humility and weakness. He surrendered himself to the hands of humanity. He became humanities victim. As Richard Rohr says: “The cross is the banner of what we do to one another and to God.”
God’s idea of overcoming is not nationalistic or capitalistic. Jesus didn’t take control that day. He didn’t find a donkey’s jawbone on the ground as Samson did, or stones by a river like David did.
He surrendered.
And rather than pulling himself down off the cross and defeating his enemies in a single thrash of his eternal sword, he said:
“Father, forgive them.”
Forgiveness was his weapon of choice.
The worst thing that could ever happen, happened: The Saviour of the world was crucified. Killed right in front of his followers. There was no TV or movie moment where an opportunity opened up for his life to be saved. He surrendered to the path.
The ugliest thing in the world happened: we killed our own God. And then three days later (destroy this temple, and in three days I’ll rebuild it) the most beautiful thing came from it:
Resurrection.
If God can bring life to a place like that, what can’t he do?
God is present and involved. Willing to suffer with us, experience death with us. He bottles our tears and hears our cries. He buries our dead seeds, and instead of bringing flowers, he waters them believing that they’ll grow.
Christ's death and resurrection put grace in charge. Grace over domination. Forgiveness over vengeance. Practice over religiosity.
He is the light that the darkness cannot extinguish. Not by and because of brute force, but by Spirit. (Zech 4:6).
Jesus conquered with grace, forgiveness, humility… it is these qualities that midwife resurrection; that rebirth things we thought were long dead.
After he had resurrected and was gathered together with most of his friends and followers, the first thing Jesus did, John said, was:
Breathe in them.
(Remember the connection between spirit and breath?)
Then he said:
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”
We don’t just benefit from the resurrection life of Christ; we become partakers of it. Which means we get to live it out in our real flesh and blood lives, here and now. “Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is heaven, through me.” Because we’ve seen that the worst thing can happen and it is not the final thing.
God’s death ended in life.
Resurrection is possibility.
Go to Part 7 – Within your Reach »
Written by Lizzy Milani
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