The Gospel
In her journal, one of my ancestors relates her eagerness to go to a Klan rally in her town. Her best friend picked her up and they rode around town to see the Klansmen gathered. Their presence brought "order and quiet" everywhere they went, and "Not a Darkie could be seen for a mile." She says, "we loved it... those were the days!" To her, the Klan rally honored white citizens like her as the dominant social group, and excluded black Americans as she felt they should be. The Klan came as a group, to the center of town, to burn a cross to publicly demonstrate the social hierarchy.
The Klan's burning cross demonstrated their power. Today we wear crosses as jewelry. We think of the cross as fashionable. But that's the opposite of what it meant for Paul and the people of his day. Matthew tells us that "those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads" (27:39). Ulrich Luz explains, "For outsiders Jesus has definitely been a failure as God's representative and as messianic king. A messianic king on the cross who has failed, a healer who cannot save himself, a confidant of God whom God abandons, a divine man who does not embody strength and life is a laughable figure." Crucifixion was so humiliating and grotesque that Cicero, a Roman statesman, said the word "cross" should stay away from a Roman citizen's thoughts, eyes, and ears. It was a death for nobodies. James Cone argued the lynching tree is America's closest parallel to the cross. It would have scandalized my ancestor to see a black man being lynched and think of Jesus dying on the cross. Why identify God with someone degraded by their community? There was nothing more disgraceful than calling people to worship a crucified man accused of blasphemy and treason. To associate yourself with Jesus' shame was shameful. But Paul declared that he was not ashamed of the gospel because he knew it was God's power for salvation. My ancestor thought power came from white men clearing the streets. But God's power looks like a dishonorably crucified man rising from the dead. It's not a magic spell. I've tried shouting the gospel at people, but there were no results. The gospel's power saves everyone who believes. It came to the Jewish people first, and then to everyone else. It doesn't sort us into ethnic hierarchies, but unites us as a strange people that worship a socially despised man.
How does your community distinguish between insiders and outsiders?
What does it tell you about Jesus that he allowed his community to treat him like a nobody?
What tempts you to be ashamed of the gospel?
With a friend, talk to each other about when and why you tend to not talk about your faith. Then pray together, "Jesus, your gospel saved us. Give us the courage to be known as your disciples."
Sources:
Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21–28, Hermeneia (Fortress, 2005).
James H. Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree (Orbis, 2011).
Cicero, Pro Rabirio Perduellionis Reo 16.