Justice in the shape of a cross
by Francis Moloney, Curate in the Holy Trinity Team in Redditch
There is a question which is asked by many people, whether it’s those who believe, those exploring faith or those seeking to disprove faith. The question is “why does God allow suffering?”. It’s not my intention to even begin to answer that question, but I bring it up as I do believe it is relevant to this week’s theme. At the very heart of the Christian faith is the image of Jesus Christ, God himself, the God of justice, suffering and dying.
What does the cross have to say about justice? There are things in the world which, humanly speaking, make no sense whatsoever. Whether it’s the violence of war, the suffering faced by those living with painful diseases or any other adversity. Often, we cannot see the rhyme or reason for atrocities. We find it particularly difficult to deal with when the suffering being caused can be blamed on an individual or a group of people. “Where is God?” We might, validly, ask.
The bible says:
“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them” (2 Cor 5.19, NLT).
The work of Jesus on the cross allows God to no longer count people’s sins against them. Not only did Jesus achieve this, but he also lived by it. Jesus was tried unfairly, as a result he was tortured and publicly mocked and finally they drove nails through his hands and feet and hung him high from a cross. One of the most striking moments in scripture is when, despite the physical pain that Jesus suffered at the hands of the soldiers, he prays for them. He prays:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23.34, NIV).
The cross is the means for God’s justice. Jesus on the cross is both priest and victim, the perfect trap for sin. Even the sin of those who tortured him. The cross is not only the means for justice it also a sign to us that the God of justice knows what injustice feels like. God knows what is to be wronged because in Christ he has suffered.
In the time of St Paul people found the logic of the cross to be foolish. St Paul responded powerfully to these critics saying:
“the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor.1.18, NIV).
Justice in the shape of a cross is powerful, not only is it the means for those who believe to be reconciled to God, but it shows us that the God of justice is not alien from our suffering.
