Mapu Jamir IAS (Retd.)
Dimapur
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. The Word became flesh and the flesh came in the form of Jesus Christ and dwelt among men full of grace and truth. He was the light. The light shone in darkness and the darkness could not overcome it. {John chapter 1: 1-14}. This man was condemned to death on the cross. The cross recounts the sufferings of Jesus from condemnation to crucification to burial. This Jesus faced it with serenity and without regret. This marked the sign of faith and hope.
In this Holy Week, tens of millions all round the world will attend church and participate in services that relive the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many will engage in the meditative adoration of the cross and the congregants will sing, “Let the water and the blood/From thy wounded side which flowed/Be of sin the double cure.” They too may more vividly imagine the cross and the blood. And they all maybe more inclined to ponder over a question: why did Jesus die? How His death does give atonement that led to the salvation of humanity. This in fact divided the theologians and clergy for centuries with no end in sight.
The atonement “is the centre piece of Christianity and it is what distinguishes it from all other religions,” says Giles Gasper, a religious historian. By incarnation, death and resurrection Jesus triumphed over Satan and rescues humanity from evil. This is also the debt Christ pays for humanity and is achieved by all conquering divine nature of Christ.
There is no history, so far, about crucification of a God. So also there was nothing romantic about the cross. Crucification was the fate of political prisoners in the Roman Empire. For Jews only criminals and the cursed persons were crucified in the cross. The Gospel tells us that Jesus too was crucified outside the wall of Jerusalem along with two criminals. None would expect a religious leader and a loving hero to die the death of a criminal. This could not have been the fate of a man who worked wonders and in many ways represented the hope of the Jews. Jesus was expected to free His followers from imperial rule and grant them divine blessings. Neither happened. Instead He was crucified. Joseph Flavius, a Jewish historian born in the year Jesus was crucified records that the practice was rampant in Jerusalem during his time. Hundreds of patriotic Jews were crucified during the Roman invasion of Jerusalem. The important question is why only the crucification of Jesus persisted so long in memory to become the focal point of Christian faith and worship. Ever since, Christians tried to understand the crucification of Christ. “Crucification eludes interpretation,” says a contemporary theologian. Yet every new generation of Christians has interpreted and drawn strength and inspiration from the cross because Christians did not see the event of Jesus’ crucification simply as an event in time. This is the window looking into eternity. They were not interested over the mere facts but were after the truth. Cross is not a historical event but a spiritual gospel. The cross is a glory of the reality of God breaking into time and into human affairs.
Generation of oppressed and poorer Christians have belief that Christ suffered with them as well as for them. Jesus stood up for them against abusive authorities and culture by identifying with them. Jesus was more a friend to their souls who walks with them and talks with them. Sometimes this suffering and sacrifice of Jesus has been used as proxy or substitute for one’s wrong doings by spiritual counselors. “Cannot a person benefit from someone else suffering. My brother saved me from getting beaten up more than once by taking the beating himself.” Countless women were advised to accept beating by their husbands like Jesus carrying the cross. An over emphasizes on the suffering of Jesus will generate more violence. Mere glorification of death and suffering and thereby making forgiveness the burden of the victim is being treated as bad theology by many today.
For long, Christians treat Jews, as the “Christ killers.” This was the source of Christian contempt for the Jews. Jesus’ presence and His popularity was a threat to the ruling religio-political structure that subjugated and dehumanized men. Being poor without even “a place to lay His head” Christ symbolizes God’s preferential love for the oppressed and the exploited. They were desperate to liquidate the alternative power structure. In modern times many Christians look upon the crucified Jesus as a “murdered Jesus.” Even today violence and destruction for political or personal gain are common occurrences. There is a new type of killers who deals in money power that harms not only the wrong doers but also the entire community. The silence and passivity of the large majority of good people are responsible for the unchecked growth of the forces of evil and its horrible descendents. It is imperative that good people should be assertive in defending truth and fight those forces that degrade and negate human lives and dignity. Jesus too was responsible in cleansing the dirt in the temple of Jerusalem.
Jesus is the prince of peace. He stands for a very radically different role model for promoting peace on earth. He did not succumb to the temptation of power, position and dominion. He did not perform economic miracles by turning the stone into bread. He asserted that spiritual and moral values only can resolve man’s growing hunger. Hungry people need bread but can be earned rightfully. This warrants commitment to equality and justice without discrimination.
The church being the representative of God on earth has the advantage of pulpit to give powerful voice to promote peace and to oppose violence of all kinds. The church today has to demonstrate through the power of the Spirit that Jesus is alive and that His gospel is true. The world needs to see the manifestation of the presence of God. The church service and the Christian worship should not be a mere ritualistic exercise-a mechanical response. The soul is asleep, there is absolutely nothing happening inside. Good Friday cannot be really divine unless people participate in the spiritual awakening. Let us expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.
