Psalm 19.7-10│1Kings 3.6-14│1Corinthians 2.1-10│John 14.18-23
Psaumes 19.7-10 |1 Rois 3.6-14|1 Corinthiens 2.1-10|Jean 14.18-23
The Cross
I didn’t know very much about St John of the
Cross before I wrote this piece.
One
thing that I have learned was that John had a vision of the crucified Jesus
which inspired him to draw a picture of Christ on the cross, an image which is
still an object of devotion in Avilà in Spain and inspired Dali’s work ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’. John’s drawing shows the crucifixion from the
Father’s point of view; the moment when God’s work of redemption was completed
as Jesus cried ‘It is finished’.
In
Advent we look forward both to celebrating the birth of Jesus and to his coming
again, both of which, seen from the Father’s point of view, are part of the
story of ‘God so loved the world’
The
cross has a central place in the story of salvation, as the Apostle Paul
writes: .
‘For
I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’
He
chose in his preaching in Corinth, not wisdom and clever speaking but the
vulnerability of his crucified Saviour.
‘My
speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’
It
was the power revealed in the weakness of the crucified incarnate God that Paul
chose to glory. Intelligent language
had its place but not above the cross of Christ.
All
that is above the cross is the gaze of God himself upon his beloved Son and
upon the world for which he was dying.
And
in that rejoice, in that we exult and before that image we sing our songs of
praise
Those dear tokens of his
passion still his dazzling body bears,
cause of endless
exultation to his ransomed worshippers:
with what rapture gaze we
on those glorious scars!
Je n’ai pas eu la pensée de savoir parmi vous autre
chose que Jésus-Christ, et Jésus-Christ crucifié … et ma parole et ma
prédication … reposaient …sur une démonstration d’Esprit et de puissance, afin
que votre foi soit fondée, non sur la sagesse des hommes, mais sur la puissance
de Dieu.
Notre joie et nos chants de louange doivent être
centrés avant tout sur la croix de Jésus, par laquelle le Père révèle son amour
au monde.
John
Wilkinson
Image: Drawing of the Crucifixion by St. John of the Cross, c. 1550 By St. John of the Cross - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVeTzVSt1V1sPw4o26ZsxNMZf5vpVoeJXoQ2nekqyKvc2A0bGejPPDqRbI_U_XIBSg6fudghPRL6j3ciqJWVkruwAsjfVBab3PJ1jURik-vJJ0cS89uq2-3VucxsjOPi28KtY3cPkUcA/s1600/drawing-by-st-john-of-the-cross.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16045100
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