Whose idea was the cross, anyway? John 3:16 hangs on banners in sporting events; waved by enthusiasts with rainbow colored afros; a right of passage, so it seems, to faith and hope, “16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life…” – a description of salvation history that should not be punctuated with a period, but invited into the stories of our lives. Does this mean that God had an epiphany? Was the cross the perfect plan – a tortured Jesus screaming, “My God, and my God, why have you forsaken me?” If so, what does that mean for me and my suffering?
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| This Stole Made By a Community of HIV/Aides Victims in Naledi, South Africa |
It seems like suffering is not optional in this life. Jesus helps his followers and closest
sojourners in life understand this fact in his journey as he showed them, “…He
must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and
the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised
(Matt 16:21).” If the revelation of God tells us that even divine human
experience cannot avoid suffering, what is suffering all about? I’ve done
enough suffering to know that this is something that I would avoid if I could.
Some would say, “that it’s God’s plan, we all have a cross to bear, God’s will
is a mystery, only God knows why this suffering is important in our lives.”
The image of God, the author of suffering, causes me to
suffer spiritually. I can’t embrace the thought that God requires crosses; that
God depends upon the death of children; that God relies on addiction and abuse;
that God sees hunger and cancer and dementia as necessary ingredients for our
faithful lives. These are OUR crosses and if you are telling me that the cross
was God’s idea, aren’t you also saying that MY cross is God’s idea?
Peter was no more eager to embrace the cross as God’s plan
than I am. Imagine Peter’s emotional response to the proclaimed inevitable end
– “Suffer greatly?!, who says you must suffer greatly? Elder’s Priests,
Scribes?! – I call you Messiah! Isn’t Messiah, God’s anointed, above all those
that would do such harm? Be killed?!!! – That sounds more like defeat than deliverance!”
Sometimes the fears
welling up overwhelm us and shut us down. Sometimes the fears that grow
exponentially in our moments of realizing that we aren’t in control after all
block out the Son and all of the hope that would be proclaimed in our continued
hearing.
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| Sculpted by Artist Lynn Morrison, a testimony to life beyond the suffering |
I was exploring this passage with a group of accomplished men
in our congregation when one of them said something that really hit home. “I
have spent 69 years promoting myself in life…my greatest fear is that the
advantages that I have earned could be taken from me; or worse, be no advantage
at all.” Yes Peter; that is exactly how we feel. Peter saw advantage in his
relationship with Jesus, advantage in his dropping his nets and following God’s
anointed, advantage living hand to mouth – a nomad, a charity case. So, when
Jesus reveals that suffering cannot be avoided, I hear bubbles bursting both
his and mine. (Maybe yours too) We think we should be “self-reliant” when the
good news has nothing to do with self-reliance. It is about God-Reliance.
What if fear did not prevent us from hearing the rest of the
story? Jesus says, “…and on the third day be raised.” The Good news, the God
News, is not the suffering. God is the author of victory not the author of
defeat. God is the author of hope and love, not the author of pain and
punishment. The cross is not God’s idea, it is ours! The cross was the absolute
worst that man had to offer in the time of the Christ event. It represents the
pinnacle of suffering in his day. God declares that suffering may not be
avoidable, but it will not have the last
word. There is life beyond suffering! There is resurrection! There is Being
Raised! There is third day living, life eternal, the life that God has always
intended for each and every one of us.
Christ suffered, died, and was buried, and on the third day
was raised again. Christ got beyond the suffering and lived; that is what I get
from the words “take up your cross and follow me.” Have you not suffered in the
past? Have you not experienced a new path and a new hope, a life beyond the
suffering? This is the life God has for all of us – eternal life, the life God
always intended. Resurrection is easy to believe after you have experienced a
few. Don’t wait ‘till you’re dead to live eternally. Hear the words of God that
uses all things for good, “take up your cross and follow me.” The cross was not
God’s idea, but living beyond the cross is. Let’s do it.
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| Jim Glidden artistically fabricates metal; A therapeutic response as his wife, Diane, suffers dementia |
See how Christ is revealed in the stories of our lives. Come
to church at 9:30 on Sunday and find God empowering each of us to live beyond
the suffering.
899 Yosemite Park Way (E. hwy 140) Merced, CA 95346
