What is, “Isn’t it weird that they’re decorating a torture and killing device like that?”
Ben said that as we passed a few elderly ladies putting the finishing touches on the cross in front of their church this Easter morning. Ya know, I’ve never given it much thought, but it is a little odd when you look at it that way….
March 24th, 2008 at 9:48 am
By virtue of the Resurrection, something formerly ghastly and gruesome becomes an object of beauty, even of veneration. Lignum vitae crux Christi (the Cross of Christ is the Tree of Life). Easter changes everything!
March 24th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
You know, you are absolutely right, and I definitely have my share of symbols celebrating the beauty of the cross! But I think I was struck by Ben’s comment, partly because he just cracks me up with his dry wit, but also because I think we can forget what the cross really was. It is so common and all-around us that the meaning is lost. It really was a device of torture and killing! And WOW–our Lord was willing to let himself be placed upon that on our behalf. It’s nice to see them all prettied-up for Easter, but it’s also good to remember what the cross was historically.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I like Ben’s take on things. And his dry wit. Good point.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:41 am
A friend recently sent me a GK Chesterton quote that paradox is “truth standing on its head to get our attention.” I think this is a perfect example of that. I totally agree with you, chewymom and ben, that we forget what the cross really was. But if we take a closer look, it isn’t innappropriate at all to decorate those awful “devices of turture and killing” when we think of how our paradox-loving, wonderfully surprising God turned the most awful moment in history into a place where life and beauty grows. He does the same thing in our lives, and I’m so glad. I wonder if I saw the same cross. I drove past a flower-filled cross over on Gordon Drive and had been pondering these thoughts. Leave it to two melancholies like me and Ben to be thinking about this stuff! Love the quote!