The Paradox of the Cross
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The dialogue between Jesus and his disciples from the gospel reading for the fifth Sunday of Lent comes right before the beginning of the Passion of our Lord. Jesus knows well what is going to happen to him. As every human being he is afraid and troubled as he is about to enter his passion. But at the same time, he knows that that is this is the will of his Father for him. He knows that any seed that does not die remains fruitless and alone—it fails to accomplish its mission.
Our society is pressing us constantly to be successful in different the aspects of our life. We receive that message daily and everywhere—on TV, in the movies, social media, advertisements, at school and in our families. In our society no one likes losers. From our youngest age we have been striving to get success in relationships, sports, education, career, etc. And yet, the truth is that it is impossible to win always and everywhere. The truth is that on regular basis we fail somehow every day. People with many life accomplishments know well the bitter taste of failure. But they also know how not to give up.
The situation in the gospel reading seems to prove that Jesus is at the top of his popularity. He just brought Lazarus back to life, then he entered triumphally the city of Jerusalem greeted by the enthusiastic crows and now even Greek pagans are seeking to see. What else can you expect? Finally, Jesus gets his momentum.
And yet he is not concerned about his popularity and approval ratings among his contemporaries. He knows well that his mission is to enter the cross and nothing can stop him from that. He knows that if one wants to share the glory of the resurrection, one needs to enter the shame of the cross. For Jesus, the true success—our redemption, goes through the failure and the shame of his cross. It goes through rejection, suffering and helplessness of the cross. Something that none of us is able to embrace.
But that is exactly the good news for us. Paradoxically, the cross of Christ is a sign of hope and strength for us. Because there where we feel weak, defeated, disillusioned, sinful, and lost Jesus wants to have an encounter with us. He doesn’t need our glory, accomplishments, and victories. There where all our human strength and intelligence fails, he can manifest his own infinite power. That’s why we shouldn’t be ashamed of the cross of Jesus, because for us Christians it is a sign of victory. It is the tree of life of a new garden of Eden which brings us eternal life.
As we enter the last part of our Lenten journey, let us find a moment for personal reflection and mediation on the mysteries of our salvation. Let this moment give us peace and strength as we strive to follow our Lord in his way of the cross to the glory of the resurrection.
