Is the Cross necessary? ...

Monday, March 25, 2013. Easter is coming, and you might expect some words about the events which are celebrated at Good Friday and Easter Sunday. But perhaps you have other problems … ?!

Other problems …

The world is full of difficulties. This weekend for example … But let us step back for a moment. Perhaps you have been sitting calmly in your living room. Or you had real trouble, you might have been fighting for your life. Both options are reality for some of us. My wife and myself have been traveling this weekend. And we have seen deep difficulties talking to old and very good friends.

At the same time, we have been monitoring the news about Cyprus, about the difficulty of a whole little state to survive. We have been reading about the fury of people, both in Cyprus and in France, in the UK, in Germany. Different perspectives, with everyone loosing some money, but some in immediate danger.

We had to talk and think about responsibility a lot this weekend. We had discussions of the type: who is guilty? Who has failed? Who has not done what he or she should have done? We had the discussions in our private environment, and we had the discussion on a general level, on a social level, on a European level!

I cannot forgive! I cannot go on like that! …

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When you are deeply hurt, you might say: I cannot go on. And the feelings are real, the experiences are real. You cannot continue the way you have been doing things. But who is guilty for which step. Perhaps you failed many times. And others failed, again and again. They did not do, what they should have done!!

The cross is a symbol of death. It is a symbol of justice. It is a symbol of all these things which have failed, failed completely. The cross of Jesus is exactly this: you have failed. I have failed. It is not as it should be. We know that it is not good. God knows that things are serious. This is why he chose the cross as his key symbol. He knows that we fail. He knows that our friends fail.

Some people have their difficulties with the cruel reality of the cross. But reality is cruel. We all know this, we experience the ignorance and failures of many people. We experience the difficulties of mankind. Is the cross necessary? If you think human, you need a symbol of failure. You need a symbol which shows: forgiveness is necessary. Justice is needed. Death, termination, the end of what hurts … is the only way. Is the cross necessary? Yes, it is. Just to be realistic. Just to be real. We need it, the cross of Jesus! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts