As if we needed such a sign
These crosses stand on Curahuasi’s local mountain and are illuminated by the sun. We have nothing against summit crosses and nothing against a small cross on the neck made of gold or silver. However, the deeper meaning of this symbol makes many people uncomfortable.
Jesus died on the cross for the sins of mankind. Hm, do I need that? I’m an upstanding guy and a tax-paying citizen. And sin sounds like good and evil, as if there are absolute standards. This isn’t the Middle Ages. I’m not going to let a priest tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.
The man who hung on the cross drives some people crazy. Christ as a guru with wise words and a breathtaking charisma – all well and good. But a man who said he was the way, the truth and the life brutally challenges us. He even claimed that God and he were basically one and the same. “Whoever sees me sees the Father!”
Jesus as a healer with children on his lap, talking about cute little sheep – we’re happy to put up with that. But the other thing about his return – from there he will come to judge the living and the dead – no, thank you!
Who wants to carry the yoke of Christ, which he said was gentle? His burden is also light. We don’t want to carry anyone’s yoke. We want to be free and live according to our own maxims. What was Bob Dylan actually thinking when he sang “Slow Train coming” on his LP in 1979?
“Yes, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the Devil and it may be the Lord. But you’re gonna have to serve somebody!”
You will have to serve someone. It may be the devil or God. But you won’t be able to avoid having to serve someone.
Perhaps it happens in a quiet hour that we become honest with ourselves. Then we realize that we have a lot of dirt on us. We have lied and cheated, pretended and pretended. Although we were as indifferent to the plight of others as a cold stone, we still played the socially open-minded role. We acted noble on the outside but were completely rotten on the inside.
And on our last visit to the retirement home, we were overcome with worry that our lives could also be coming to an end and a possible reckoning. An unpleasant thought.
And what about the hope of eternal life that some Christians celebrate at Easter? Who knows what will happen after death? – We switch on the television and watch soccer at the highest level. We plan our next vacation trip to the Caribbean, safe in the knowledge that we have accumulated enough in our bank account to last us until the end of our days.
But what if the man on the cross had actually left his grave on the third day? He really would have been God. The doubter Thomas had formulated it exactly like this: “My Lord and my God!” Then there would be a bottom and a top, absolute justice and this higher, incorruptible authority. Many decisions in our lives would suddenly seem questionable with a bitter aftertaste in our mouths.
As for me, I kneel at the cross and ask for forgiveness for my past burdens. I entrust myself to the one who assured me that he loved me. Who knocked on my door to celebrate a feast with me. And as I look into the sunlight, I look forward to a life in his presence – without sadness, illness, pain and death. Our experiences at Diospi Suyana over the last two decades have proven that Jesus Christ was not just a knocker. He is the ultimate authority. Our attitude towards him determines our happiness. /KDJ (Cover picture: Christian Haupt from Diospi Suyana’s annual calendar)
