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| Lake at Mt St Francis |
you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
Saint Augustine observed, “The heart is attracted to love as iron is drawn to a magnet.” Seeing Jesus lifted on the cross our hearts fly to him.
Our traditional cross is almost certainly not an accurate image of what actually happened. The cross is probably not the right shape, nor could a man be held on a cruelly upright pole by three nails. That he was crucified we have no doubt, but the practice had been banished for many centuries before the first Christian artists dared to imagine what it looked like.
Our traditional cross, however, describes a very profound mystical truth. Jesus appears to be held aloft not by the nails but by his own choice. It is love that keeps him there. If he has been rejected by earth and abandoned by heaven he remains there between earth and heaven, passionately offering himself to both. He has bound the two warring parties together with his own body, “by a bond that can never be broken.”
The lover of God finds this sight irresistible. It is the surest demonstration of God’s love for us, and an infallible sign of our love for God. Despite all of our sins, crimes that range from the murder of Abel to the holocausts of the 20th and 21st centuries, humanity still loves God. Jesus has spoken for us and his word is true. Despite the scandals of natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, the cross reveals God’s pure and passionate love for us. Jesus’ willingness to be there speaks louder even than the blood of Abel which cried to heaven for revenge. Though we have murdered our God, he has decreed we are not guilty of deicide.
As we approach Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter we fix our gaze on Jesus. He will draw us through the despair of crucifixion to the glory of Easter. By his obedience to the Father he teaches us the meaning of human life, and we follow.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.