“When Jesus hung on the cross, a great unseen cosmic battle raged in the heavens—and in the end, Christ triumphed over all the forces of evil and death and hell.”
We live in a divided world. One of the biggest challenges the world face today is that of war. The worldwide concern about the arms race, and the cry for peace rising from the human community around the world.
“The specter of nuclear war is akin to a corporate Golgotha: it threatens to kill with prolonged pain and torture; it allows us to have conversations with the enemy, even as we face death; it dramatizes our relationships to others who are crucified; it reduces our possessions and property to stakes in a cruel game; it limits onlookers like the women at the cross — to watching and praying from afar, powerless to stop the destruction. Yet this cross of the threat of unthinkable war, like the cross on which Jesus hung, sometimes speaks to us of forgiveness and redemption. Jesus forgave those who crucified him, blessed the thief dying with him, and charged others to care for his mother. In the pain of that cross the wonder of God’s love and care was shared, and the nature of human faithfulness became known”
“The increasing awareness of the horror of nuclear war is also generating faithfulness. In the peace movement there is promise. Against this threat of war our historic divisions and differences and our nationalistic and ideological loyalties pale. Because nuclear war is unthinkable to everyone, the call for peace transcends and ignores every human difference, making us one.
How ironic that out of the threat of war we experience the promise of unity. Christians are joining with other Christians; Christians are joining with peoples of other faiths; peoples of all faiths are joining with those of little faith. Is the threat of nuclear calamity a cross pointing toward Easter?
Or consider the struggle for human rights. Throughout the history of the world there have been peoples suffering terribly under oppressive rule and inhumane social systems. In the past, family structures, slavery and caste kept many from recognizing or challenging social injustice. Today, however, certain common understandings of human rights are emerging among the majority of the world’s population. National and international organizations formalize and seek to protect these rights for everyone. World opinion and global communication keep nations and leaders accountable.
Yet the very technology which crosses cultural barriers also allows new forms of oppression to flourish. In recent years many people have lost some of their basic rights. Terrorist conflict, martial law and no representative governments distort the quality of life for millions of citizens around the world. It is a depressing Golgotha scene where a few soldiers gamble for the possessions of the crucified.
But in the midst of this pain, the faithfulness emerges. The shared knowledge of injustice is empowering. Because neighbours refuse to pass by on the other side, resistance does not always lead to martyrdom. In the midst of massive human-rights violations, the promise of human dignity draws diverse people’s together. A more global awareness of human-rights violations is calling people everywhere to speak out against and to work to assure that every person has fullness of life. Is this another cross pointing toward Easter? The words of Barbara Brown Zikmund lives on even in this day and age.
Does the Cross burden you to stand up against injustice?