God's Genius

     "The mystery of the cross is intolerable considered from without--which is why it is intolerable for such a large number of Christians who consider it as such.  If considered from within, one discovers the cross as the victory of love, and as a means.  The cross is not a stopping point.  The cross is a passageway; it is a Passover.  The cross is God's true 'passage.'  But one does not stop or remain there.  One does not abide in the cross; one abides in love. . . .  The cross is wisdom if viewed in the light of faith, that is, from the inside, as God himself views it."  (Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, O.P.)

     Many people dismiss the cross: "It is just not my tradition," or "It makes no sense," or "It breeds weakness and tolerance of injustice."

     The cross, however, is the most sophisticated reality in human history.
     The cross is God showing us how to find power in weakness--this is more sublime than finding power in strength, which is obvious.  Finding power in weakness, richness in poverty, gain in loss, now THIS is what requires genius, the genius of God.

    In the cross, we find our healing: "By his wounds, you were healed," (1 Peter 2:24).  The healing of our wounds, the healing of our pain, is not in escaping pain, which is again obvious but banal.  God's healing is in the embrace of the cross, by which Christ displays the perfection of humility, the perfection of obedience, the perfection of gentleness, and the perfection of love.