The Cross: From Shame to Glory

August 30, 2024 - Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

1 Cor 1:17-25

Crucifixion was one of the most cruel methods of capital punishment in the ancient world. It was reserved for those who opposed the rule of Rome and for runaway slaves. The criminal was stripped not only of his clothes but also of his honor. Then, he was fastened to the cross with either ropes or nails. But it was not only the manner of death that was horrifying—it was slow in coming and excruciatingly painful. It was the fate of the body after death that was worse than death itself. The body was usually left for the birds and dogs to eat, and what was left was thrown into a public grave.

That this sign of an ancient capital punishment became a symbol of hope, protection, and salvation is remarkable. Our ancestors in faith of Jewish origins found in their Scriptures the means to transform its meaning. The risen Christ explained to His disciples that He had to suffer the cross to enter into His glory, explaining the Scriptures to them, and opening their minds so they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:26-27, 44-45). And so, the disciples began to understand the meaning of the cross from a biblical perspective.

In Isaac carrying "the wood of the burnt offering" to a mountain in the land of Moriah, they saw Jesus carrying the cross to Mount Golgotha (see Gen 22:2,6). When reading about the mysterious suffering servant of God punished for the sins of others, offering his life for the salvation of others, and disfigured by the sufferings he had to endure, they saw Jesus hanging on the cross (see Isaiah 52:13-53:12). And when they read about the righteous condemned by the ungodly to a shameful death, they saw Jesus condemned to death on the shameful cross (see Wisdom 2:12-20).

For Christians, the crucified Christ has become "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:24). We associate power with might, and its best image is a bully—an individual person, a group of people, or a nation—that gets what they want. We associate wisdom with cleverness and shrewdness, and its best image is someone who by hook or by crook wins over others and gets to the top. God's power and wisdom are different, something that we are unable to grasp unless it is revealed to us.

Paul preached the message of the cross not through words alone but through his lifestyle as well. It was a life devoid of comfort, always in danger of death. And yet, nothing and nobody could stop him from sharing the Gospel. Paul's life had a meaning that the contemporary person is constantly in search of and cannot find. Paul's life was more adventurous than any contemporary person can dream of. But it was all secondary to that great apostle. He lived and died for the One who first loved and died for him. And when this love of Christ for him was revealed to him, it changed everything. Since then, the cross ceased to be a symbol of torture and shameful death but a sign of God's boundless love for humanity.

Spend some time meditating before the crucified Christ and discover the same love of God for you that Paul discovered. Then, go and tell the world about this incredible love of God.