Power - such a wide range of images and ideas comes to mind by the word power. Perhaps you are thinking of people who have power, such as wealthy, influential persons, leaders of nations and corporations, media celebrities, generals and admirals or common people who rally together for a just cause.
Power is also perceived as physical strength in athletes or as aggressive, oppressive behavior in bullies. We have our high-tech power tools which can also have power over our life-styles. We also think of power as various forms of energy for our utilities.
Yet there is a more powerful symbol and expression of power than all of these: the cross! Listen to these enlightening words: "For the message about the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The message of the Cross for believers in the 1st Century was a living Word of power which gave them power for living! Early Christians understood the power of the Cross as the power of love, God's love, which gave their daily life meaning, purpose and hope. They saw in the Cross God's power overcoming the powers of sin, death and evil. The message of the Cross helped them to endure slander from their neighbors and persecution from their enemies.
But those who did not believe in Jesus Christ back then regarded the Cross of Christ as scandalous and ridiculous. They wanted to see power like in the days of Moses or in the epic tales of Hercules. Friends, little has changed in people's attitudes about Jesus in 2000 years. The message of the Cross is still foolishness to those who are perishing.
Think of people you know who have made cynical, skeptical, critical comments to you about the Christian faith, perhaps even your participation in a local church. Yet think back to the images of power - powerful people, institutions, empires and corporations. All of these come and go, rise and fall, live and die. What endures? What is everlasting? The Bible puts it this way: The grass withers, the flower fades - surely the people are grass - but the Word of the Lord endures forever! The message of the Cross lives on, and its power still transforms lives and changes history.
The Cross proclaims the power of God, the power of love expressed so well in the words of John 3:16. This is the power of God who in Christ reconciles the world to Himself and saves people from a life of alienation, separation, desperation and condemnation. And as we live as people of God, marked with the Cross of Christ forever, we understand power from God's perspective. Rather than building empires for our own glory or striving for our 15 minutes of fame, we seek first the Kingdom of God to which we belong as God's beloved children. We pursue a lifestyle summarized so clearly in Micah 6:8 - to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.
As Martin Luther understood the message of the Cross, he wrote, "If you have a true faith that Christ is your Savior, then you see immediately that you have a gracious God. For faith leads you up and opens up the heart and will of God to you. There you see sheer, superabundant grace and love. That is exactly what it means to 'see God,' not with physical eyes, with which no one can see Him in this life, but with faith, which sees His fatherly, friendly heart, where there is no anger or displeasure. Anyone who regards Him as angry is not seeing Him correctly, but has pulled down a curtain and cover, even a dark cloud over His face. But in scriptural language 'to see His face' means to recognize Him correctly as a gracious and faithful Father, on whom you can depend for every good thing."
The Rev. Gary Soop is pastor at Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church.
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