Mount of Beatitudes
I’ve never been one to wear a cross. I have a handful of them in my dresser that have been gifts to me on various occasions. Partly, it is because I’m not much of a jewelry person. A greater part of it is what that cross means and how it has been usurped by Christians of another persuasion. Even though the Resurrection redefines the torturous purpose of the cross, it just seems rather odd to see diamond adorned crosses around someone’s neck. And I’m not talking about those that simply wear it as jewelry but those that wear it as an act of faith.
N.T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope, and Saved from Sacrifice by Mark Heim speak to the symbolism of the cross and the common understanding of substitionary atonement that is so prevalent. I can’t wrap my head around the notion that the God of all Creation would intentionally send Christ into the world to redeem us through violence. The violence inflicted was the act of human beings. It was the act of sinful people. It was motivated by fear and politics. God is not a puppetmaster playing games with us.
Diana Butler Bass articulates this much better than I ever can, in a blog she wrote for Beliefnet. Check it out and let me know what you think.
In case you are wondering, I bought a Jerusalem cross on my last day in the Old City. I wear it as a reminder of my own humaness – my own sinfulness – my own need for God’s redeeming grace.
I’ve also struggled with our focus on the cross. Whenever I listen to hymns or contemporary Christian praise music celebrating or “giving thanks” for the cross, I just balk. The cross was an implement of torture, on which a dear friend died. When I think of it, I don’t feel celebratory. I feel ashamed.
What matters, I think, is not that Jesus served as a scapegoat. It is that even in the height of his suffering, the grace that filled him was unbroken. It is that Spirit of grace and forgiveness that saves.
The cross is worth keeping around for the reasons you articulate…it’s a reminder of our “need for God’s redeeming grace.”