This is a window into the meaning of the cross. Absorbing the worst that human beings can offer - crooked religiousity, petty political systems, individual betrayal, physical torture with whip and thorn and nail and hammer and spear - Jesus enters into the center of the thunderstorm of human evil and takes its full shock on the cross. Our evil is brutally, unmistakably exposed, drawn into broad daylight, and judged - named and shown for what it is. Then, having felt its agony and evil firsthand, in person, Jesus pronounces forgiveness and demonstrates that the grace of God is more powerful and expansive than the evil of humanity. Justice and mercy kiss; judgment and forgiveness embrace. From their marriage a new future is conceived.
I believe that we must be always reforming, not because we've got it wrong and we're closer and closer to finally "getting it right," but because our mission is ongoing and our context is dynamic. From this viewpoint "getting it right" is beside the point; the point is "being and doing good" as followers of Jesus in our unique time and place, fitting in with the ongoing story of God's saving love for planet earth.
HIGHLY recommended reading.
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