The Triumph of the Cross ~ In my heart

The Triumph of the Cross is Emmanuel.

God is with us despite ourselves...always.

I pray I will be with God always...

...despite myself.

I see Jesus hanging there...

I know what we put him through to get there:

the humiliation    the mocking    the scourging    the nailing

I am not sure that my humanity would be so quick to forgive.

Then I hear Human Jesus' word differently.

Perhaps Human Jesus hanging as the New Fruit from the New Knowledge Tree was finding it hard to forgive on his own.  

THAT's when he called on God to help to forgive.

I hope when I am so hurt...

so angry...

prone to revenge

I will call out to God for help 

"Father, forgive them" 

because right now I am struggling.

 Do this for me until I am able to Be With You.

I am blown away.


I pray I learned this lesson.


I pray I apply this Knowledge from this strange fruit hanging from this new Knowledge Tree.

I hold that The Cross was ~ still is in too many ways ~ a natural consequence of Jesus’ words and actions. Jesus bucked the religious system. He challenged everyone: the righteous and societal sinners alike ~ you and me. I believe Human Jesus understood this; that it didn’t take Divine Jesus to ‘prophesy’ the catastrophe...

It is our propensity to judge one another.
We judge God’s Word relentlessly to support our personal agenda.
Man alive, we judge Jesus through Jesus’ own words and actions.
We judge The Word manifest in Flesh.
And we kill him…

Matthew shares a public event with Jesus, “I have not come to abolish the law…”

Jesus responds to others’ question, “What is the greatest commandment?” through the Truth: Love God completely and Love each other completely. This is rather radical.

To love God is to follow the commandments as outlined in the Tablets. God’s commandments are concrete and measurable. I can see clearly when I break any of the Ten. The Ten are behavior based.

It is much more challenging to clearly define Love One Another, Turn the other cheek.

The Greatest commandment Jesus outlines requires an attitude adjustment.

Matthew reports concrete and measurable examples Jesus does offer,

“If someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, 

let him have your cloak as well. 

And if anyone requires you to go one mile, 

go two miles with him. 

Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.

'You have heard how it was said, 

You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 

 But I say this to you, 

love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Alright...

AlrightAlright...

Jesus told us the Greatest Commandments. We broke (break) both of them.

We killed Human Jesus.
We killed Divine Jesus.
And yet,

God returns to to each of us by name,

"Mary!"

This is the Triumph of the Cross.

I will begin daily journalling with Advent. I look forward to exploring how Jesus’ attitude toward another manifests in his daily walk, in his teachings, in the miracles.

Let’s sit back for a bit. Breathe and feel our hearts sigh...