From “The Cross in our Context” by Douglas John Hall
The cross of Jesus Christ expresses a grave realism concerning human alienation. The crucified Christ represents (re-presents) the ultimate yes of God to the human creature, and therefore to creation as a whole. But the crucified Christ also represents the ultimate no of the human creature to its Creator, and therefore also to its own creature-hood… “Whatever else the cross may tell us,” wrote the late Hendrikus Berkhof, “it certainly proves that we cannot stand God and that (God) must be eliminated if he comes too close to us.”
As much as we turn to the cross of Christ as that “yes” of God…a “yes” that goes all the way into the pain and suffering and death of humankind…the cross of Christ does remind us of how humankind says “no” in the face of our God who is eternally for us. The grace of God is wonderful if it is kept at a distance, like something we can observe, contemplate or study. Then again, when God comes into our own shoes – calls us to walk within God’s Reign – invites us to partake in a life that is self-sacrificing for the welfare of others, we very often back off or run away. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that this story of God for us in all things is a story that we can grasp and enter. Otherwise, we are quick to condemn it all. Grace is not something that fits well into the ways of our world…unless of course we simply want to write or talk about it.
Connection: Does your day ever bring you into a situation in which God has come too close to you? Can you come to grips with how we then have a way of avoiding or pushing away God’s gracious presence for another way to live?
O Lord, let your Spirit take hold of us so that we may be open to your gracious Reign and begin to walk within its life-giving power. When we are afraid of the way of the cross, encourage us as our Lord, Jesus, comes to walk with us into a new life now and forever. Amen.
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