Posted on 04/03/2015 4:48:06 AM PDT by NYer
Q: I had a friend ask me why Catholics have crucifixes in our churches — don’t we believe Jesus has risen? Why do we keep Him on the cross?
A: First of all, you would want to check out 1st Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 23. Paul says, “…but we preach Christ crucified…” Why does Paul preach Christ crucified? Doesn’t he know Jesus has been raised from the dead? Of course he does! But, he knows that it is through the power of the crucified Christ on the cross that the bonds of sin and death are broken. As he says in verse 24, Christ crucified is the “power of God.”
1 Cor 2:2, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Again, didn’t Paul know that Jesus had risen from the dead? Of course he did.
Paul preaches Christ crucified because an empty cross has no power. The cross that bears the beaten, battered, and bloodied body of Jesus Christ, however, that cross is the “power of God”. So, we “keep Jesus on the cross” because we too preach Christ crucified. And the crucifix reminds us of not only of God’s power, but also His love for us – giving His only begotten Son up for suffering and death.
Also, here in this life we do not share so much in the glory of the Resurrection, as we do in the suffering of Jesus on the cross; after all, we must take up our cross daily if we are to follow Jesus, as it says in Lk 9:23.
And, we must die with Christ in order to live with Him as Romans 6:8 tells us. Where did Christ die? On the cross. The crucifix serves to remind us of these things.
One other passage to keep in mind is Galatians 3:1, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?” Did you catch that? Jesus was publicly portrayed, before their “eyes”, as being crucified. Sounds kind of like they may have been looking at a crucifix, doesn’t it?
We compassionate Him with gratitude for all He suffered for love of us. We see it as a reminder that puts our own suffering in perspective. We remember that, if necessary, we must die for Him: of not by giving our lives, by dying to ourselves as He Himself said. We remember what St. Paul said about how he made up for in his body what was lacking in the Suffering of Christ, so to offer up our daily Cross, taking it up and following Jesus. The image is a very profound statement.
A reminder of the suffering Jesus endured for us, which we do tend at times to take for granted, or even forget. It’s human nature. We need reminders sometimes.
Amen!
Well put! Amen, and thank you!
I’m not being sarcastic, just drawing a parallel: He is no longer in a Manger, either. Do you keep Christmas?
Shortly put, the Talmud recounts that when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the sins of the Jewish people were taken away each year on one day, Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies with a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people for the preceding year. Each year, a scarlet thread was affixed to the entry to the Holy of Holies, and miraculously, when the sacrifice within was accepted, the thread would turn white as a sign that the sins had been forgiven. Well, the Talmud recounts that, for no clearly identifiable reason, the miracle ceased to take place about 40 years before the destruction of the Temple. In other words, after about 30 A.D. the thread never again was turned white! We know, as Christians, that that was precisely when the Temple sacrifices lost their efficacy — at the moment of the Crucifixion, about 30 A.D., when as a sign of the fact the curtain in the Temple was rent in two (Matthew 27:51). Thus to Christian eyes it is evident that the Talmud itself attests to the truth of Christianity. Jewish scholars have an alternative, not very convincing, explanation of why the miracle ceased to occur — that God had stopped forgiving the Jews their sins because too many of them had committed the unforgivable sin of following Jesus !
I'm Roman Catholic. Your tag line caught my eye. John Paul II referred to the Jewish people as "Our Elder Brothers in the Faith" and I was raised being taught that the Jews are "G-d's Chosen People." Jesus to us is the fulfillment of the Covenant, and, as the Jews wait for the Messiah to come in glory, we wait and pray for His return. We share a great deal. My Mom and I used to celebrate a kind of Passover, or attend a Seder meal to celebrate what G-d did in our lives- we got passed over, although not in the same way, when my Mom was ill, was sent home to die, all 88 pounds of her! She lived into her 70's. Her Jewish doctor had come to check on her after Rosh Hashanah with yarmulke and all. He said he had prayed for her, and wished her a "Happy New Year"- words that gave my Mom hope- hope that there may be a life ahead for her after all, if there was a new year ahead for her. Then she could raise the toddler waiting at home. When I got older I would give her a card for the Holiday to commemorate that time.
We would get ourMenorah and read each night from one of the Books of Maccabees, part of our Canon, lighting the candles.
I've read "Excerpts From the Talmud," by H. Polano. I never appreciated the story of Noah as I did then, and enjoyed reading so much that followed Scripture in detail!
I guess you see Jesus the way Catholics see the Reformers: as those who followed one who broke away. Please remember something. Jew or Christian, we worship the G-d of Abraham and His Spirit. In times to come we will need to find that common love, because we have the same enemies and it frightens me. I, too, long for my Messiah to return in Glory as you do yours. As a Catholic, I believe they are the same. May we meet one day in eternity, in peace forever! I hope I have not offended you with how little I know. I would like to know more.
G-d bless you, and all those whom you love!
Was anyone saved by the cross?? Anyone ?Anyone???
What the heck are you talking about? Are you asking if anyone was saved by the wooden cross? Or the Cross (ie. Christ’s Redemptive Death on the Cross)?
I don't detect any sarcasm.
I DO celebrate Christmas.
Did you have the impression that I have a problem with the cross? Earlier, I wrote this: I love the cross - but my Savior is not on it anymore!
In that post I made a comparison of the words "crucify" and "raised" in the New Testament. Did you see it? What do you think?
The issue in this thread is not "What's the power of the Cross?" The depth and meaning of the Cross is immense.
The question is "Why Do Catholics Keep Christ on the Cross?"
For me, the answer has to do with the eternal perspective. He died to pay for the sins of the world: past, present, and future. God's love is so great that he sent His Son to pay the price for my sin. "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin."
I am saying absolutely NOTHING that diminishes the cross.
I am saying (and you can see God's perspective on the subject by studying those 41 verses), the POWER for the believer's new life is in Christ's resurrection and ascension. That's why we celebrate on Easter Sunday.
Good Friday is a somber time of remembrance. For the only time in eternity the Father turned his back on the Son because of MY sin. That is where the real suffering was. And if it had not been for that, the debt would still be mine to bear (God will turn his back on all who do not accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.)
If you're still reading: thank you. You asked specifically about Christmas. Romans 6:3,4 says
"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Notice the believer's "identification" (some call it the "exchanged life") with Christ's death, burial and resurrection? Believers have been resurrected to new life with Christ. That perspective is an eternal perspective and it ends with my resurrected life - and later my ascended life, by the way ("glorification.")
Again, I am not diminishing the cross. If you think that, then you're wrong. I am saying that Christ was taken off the cross before the sun set. He was immediately buried in a tomb and three days later He rose from the dead. About 40 days later, He ascended into heaven. He is seated on the right hand of the Father.
I don't think of Christ eternally on the Cross. When I see the cross, I see the cost.
When I see the throne, I see my Lord and Savior. The manger is empty. The cross is empty. The tomb is empty. The throne is too magnificent to imagine - because of His Glorious presence!
” I beheld, and, see, in the middle of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the middle of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain”
Thanks and God bless you!
Thank you for the wonderful post! I read through several times as our journeys have their own kind of similarities! I, too was a cradle Catholic, and was blessed with good instruction, at home, in Church, and in most of my schooling- all parochial, but high school had some teachers who took advantage of people's limited access to the documents, and promulgated their own ideas, instead of what was in the documents. I argued, but felt betrayed, so I went looking elsewhere, too! My story of on my FR homepage. I was drawn to Judaism, but could not deny my Jesus as the Messiah. As I said, had I known of Messianic Jews, i would have seen if anyone of them would have accepted me.
Modesty is a rare thing nowadays, and is more and more derided today. When i was little, my Mom clipped and saved assn article from a syndicated columnist in our local news paper. When I was old enough (she had kept it on the family Bible all those years. It was called something like, "Soon They'll Stone Virgins." Boy, was she right! A lot of insight- who would imagine things would get this bad?
How wonderful that you had Jewish roots! What a beautiful heritage! From my earliest childhood, I was taught that Jesus was born into a Jewish family, part of G-d's Chosen People. Benziger's Bible history had tons of footnotes making parallels between Old Testament figures and Jesus. We learned both in tandem, as we have The Readings for Daily Mass (which Salvation is kind enough to post for us in several versions with commentary.
The time has come for me to say my prayers and sleep. Of its alright, I would like to finish my response.
In the meantime, a day full of the joy and peace and blessings only He can give!
Shalom, : )
Grateful
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