By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
March 7, 2021: 3rd Sunday in Lent
Exodus 20: 1-17; 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25; John 2: 13-25
The Crucifix is the symbol of “the foolishness of God”, says St. Paul today. Where does the folly lie – in the fact that God loves humanity beyond all the limitations and defects found in it. True love not only does not hurt, but takes the hurt on itself without any complaints. The Crucifix, apart from being the sign of this great love that God has for God’s children, it is a standing message from God, a lesson for whole Christian living and a reminder of what we are and what we are up to. It is a challenge that invites us to be mindful that in our daily Christian life we are on our way to the Cross!
On our way to the Cross – that is a description of our life as Christians; that is the call given to each of us disciples of Christ to grow towards; and it is also a check on our way, to ensure we remain on the right path all through our lives!
The Cross is a Judgement
Whenever we see the Crucifix it has to remind us of the wretchedness of humanity. The first reading speaks to us of the covenant, the contract, made between the people and the Lord and the Cross, as the Gospel presents to us is the picture of all the atrocities humanity ventured into, disrespecting all those commandments. Just as that day when Jesus had to take the whip against them, so does the Cross today convict us of our failures and atrocities today! What was happening at the temple was an outright breach of the covenant…and the same is happening all over the world today – injustice and inhumanity, ungodliness and devilish craze for power and possession is making humanity so wretched. The Cross is a summary of all these!
The commandments given to the people ensured the right place for God and the right place for one’s brothers and sisters. Both of these were at stake in the Temple as Jesus saw it, that was the reason for Jesus’ anger flaring up against them: that they pushed God out of the Temple area and they pushed the poor and the penniless out of the bounds of the temple area. This was unacceptable to Jesus, the greatest of prophets of God, the Son of God, the righteousness of God! The Cross is not merely a symbol of love but a reminder of our wretchedness, and what we made of God’s love for us.
The Cross is the Salvation
In the Cross, Jesus did not only take on himself our suffering and sin, he took on himself our weaknesses and shame too! That is why over and beyond the judgement we have in the act of rejecting God, we are assured and affirmed that we are loved by God, loved immensely and unconditionally – can we ever understand it? No, we cannot, because it is foolishness and has no rationale…it is the folly of God! That is where our salvation lies – that we are loved, not because we deserve it but because God has deigned it so. God has promised us God would love us and God so loved us that God gave the Son, for our life and resurrection. The Cross is the summary of this love, of this folly.
The Cross saves in the very fact that Christ became human like us, lived and died like us and showed us we are all on our way to the Cross and we have the responsibility of choosing the Cross to be saved. It is an offer, a gift, a grace and at the same time a challenge, a call and a commitment required of us to choose the Cross. There are umpteen alternatives proposed by the world and the culture around – what is going to be my choice? That shall decide whether I shall be saved or not. The Cross saves.
The Cross is the Law
The Crucifix is the epitome of the Christian law – Jesus summarised the entire set of commandments of the people of God into one word: Love. And he gave us the spelling of that word as, C R O S S. Taking up pains not for my own sake but for the will of God, taking up challenges not to prove myself but for the sake of the good of the other, taking up sufferings on myself not to show how heroic I am but to show that there is meaning in living for others and living for love… that is the way to the Cross. That is the law given to us as brothers and sisters of the Son of God, the Lord of the Cross. The Cross is the guideline given to us.
There is an episode narrated in the life of St. John Bosco, who had invited his elderly mother to come and stay with him and take care of his orphan and street kids. The elderly woman was so exhausted with the ruffians that the kids were, in a very short time. She went to her son and told him she could not manage and she wants to leave. Don Bosco in a gentle voice told her, “Mother please feel free to leave. I do not want to force you. But before you leave just have a deep look at this and do what you wish” and he pointed to her the crucifix that hung on the wall. Mamma Margaret, changed her mind and remained in the Oratory taking care of those kids, until her death!
Today, as Jesus entered the temple, so does he enter our lives, our personal lives, our family lives, the life in our faith communities, the life in our societies… what would be his reaction. Just take stock: have we given the right place to God, and the right place to our brothers and sisters? Are we really on our way to the Cross?
We know, the right place or the right perspective is not the order of the day! What is the sign that the Lord poses in front of our eyes: not the whip but the Cross, the Crucifix! That is the folly of God. The love of the Lord takes the pain on itself; the crucifix reminds us that every time we hurt humanity, we hurt the Lord; the continual inhumanities perpetrated, the rising crimes against the weak and the voiceless, these are clear signs that the world stands in need of repentance and conversion!
The folly of God, the crucifix alone can drive home the true lesson: love until it hurts!
Love never hurts!
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.