Tower and Town, April 2019 (view the full edition)Clergy LetterOne of the earliest symbols of the Christian faith was a fish. The Greek word for a fish is ichthys and using the Greek alphabet can form an acrostic for Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour. But the symbol that is most associated with Christianity is the Cross. Most people know that and do not give it a second thought. It is often used in jewellery - people wear a silver or gold cross around their neck. Yet it is a most extraordinary thing. In ancient Rome, crucifixion was a most hideous form of torture and slow execution - much worse than hanging. Yet if someone started a new religious movement with a gallows as its prime symbol, it would be considered macabre. This month, once again we will be remembering the crucifixion of Jesus. And once again, this awful event will be celebrated not as a terrible defeat, as crucifixion was usually regarded, but as a victory. It came to be seen as a victory because of what followed: the resurrection. This is what Easter is all about. From the earliest times, such as in the writings of St. Paul, the Christian Church has reflected on the meaning of Jesus' death. There have been different understandings about why it happened. All of them see it as in some way being God's answer to sin - human rebellion - and the way we can be reconciled to God. God in the person of Jesus has paid the price for all our failure to be the sort of people God has called us to be and to lead the lives he wants us to lead. The problem of evil and suffering is one of the great barriers to faith. How can a God of love allow so much evil to happen. The Christian faith believes in a God who is not remote but who, in the person of Jesus, has entered into all the pain and suffering. The cross was the consequence of pure goodness encountering the evil of this world and taking it upon himself and when he rose from the dead overcoming it, breaking its power. The cross, awful as it is, is a demonstration of how much God loves us. It also has the power to change us if we allow the new life of Jesus to enter us by his Spirit and transform us into the people he wants us to be. David Maurice |