“The only things that are certain are death and taxes,” goes the popular wisdom. And death and taxes are two things about which we feel powerless. In other words, the only certainties in our lives, death and taxes, we experience as outside of our control. We can all say with certainty: “I will die.” Can we find some other things, some positive things, to be certain about?
Maybe in the Bible provides some positive certainty? But what do we hear from St. Paul: “While I was with you I would speak of nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul offers no wisdom, no answers, no eloquence. He offers as the only certainty “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” If he had talked of Christ the teacher who showed us how to live, that would be something good to be certain about. If he had spoken of the Risen Christ in power and glory, that might have been better. If he had spoken of Jesus who loved sinners and little children, we’d like that for a certainty. Yet none of these pinpoints where Paul places his emphasis: I preach Christ crucified, he insists. The Church throughout the ages has echoed that same theme. It isn’t the Good Shepherd or the King of Glory we enshrine in our houses of worship. It is the image of the crucified one which commands our attention. Why, of all things, do Paul and the Church remind us of the cross? Why is the certainty of Christ crucified so terribly important?
For St. Paul, the cross reveals God’s unconditional acceptance. Even when Jesus went to the cross he was still God’s beloved, still completely accepted and loved by God. We keep the cross in front of us as a reminder that no matter what we do in life, no matter what happens to us, we are unconditionally accepted by God. We don’t have to accomplish anything special in order to have God’s love and no matter what life dishes out we have God’s love. Unconditional acceptance by God is the context in which we can live out our uncertainty with peace. Instead of having a certitude in understanding the world, the cross testifies to hope in God’s future. Jesus approached the cross with confusion and fear. “Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me.” Yet he could still, even though feeling confused, say “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Like Jesus there are going to be some things which we don’t understand. We keep the cross in front of us as a reminder that we can always hope in God’s future even in the midst of doubt. We can endure the uncertainty of the moment because the cross demonstrates that in God’s own time all will be well. Christ crucified embodies that we don’t have to be in control because God is. Or as St. Paul puts it: “Your faith rests not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”
