Berita NECF Newletters

Corruption and the Culture of the Cross

Corruption and the Culture of the Cross

The cross is the emblem of Christian culture. God could have used His power to destroy Satan and his works, as quoted by de Bracton, but instead, He used the cross to defeat Satan. An important thing to note is that the cross symbolises the means God used to redeem mankind from sin, including corruption. That is why in Christian culture, corruption can be dealt with only by taking a severe, unbending approach.

This was demonstrated by our Lord when He entered the temple and drove out the traders. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Then he said, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of robbers" (Mark 11:15-17)

Three thoughts to meditate on the culture of the cross.

 

The cross and morality

God is holy. Moral law is real. God will judge (and had judged) sin. But the holy God does not need to destroy sinners, for Jesus Christ has taken the sin of the world upon himself. Forgiveness is possible.

That is what Good Friday and Easter mean to followers of Jesus Christ. Thanks to the cross of Christ, we now have a firm basis - empirical, historical and philosophical - for affirming moral absolutes without that same moral law condemning us. That is why we regard the cross as not another religious idea but in fact, it is good news - the gospel.

It is the only available force that can withstand and push back the storm of moral relativism that is coming upon the secular world. Without the cross, the world has no foundation whatsoever for affirming moral absolutes, for calling corruption by its name - sin. The cross also delivers us from sin.

 

The cross and suffering

The practice of corruption has no regards of who might suffer. In fact it widens the gap between the rich and poor. Jesus was mocked by the men who were guarding Him. They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?" Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him by dressing him in an elegant robe, placed a crown of thorns on his head, stuck him with a staff and spat on Him. They then took off the purple robe and put His own clothes back on. Even when He was hung on the cross, one of the criminals hurled insults at Him, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" Jesus had to endure the system.

Three areas of suffering that Jesus went through.

  1. Shame - He refused to be ashamed of what they wanted Him to be ashamed of. Instead, He made them ashamed of what they ought to have been ashamed of.
  2. Persecution - In the garden of Gethsemane, the disciples fled and left Jesus to face the persecution alone.
  3. Martyrdom - the cross is the way into the kingdom of heaven because it makes death - the ultimate weapon of the kingdom of Satan - impotent.

 

The cross and community

Repentance means to take individual responsibility for our sins and to accept God's grace for our salvation. It is right to be concerned with the flaws in our society, but the cross calls us, first of all, to come to terms with our own flaws and transgressions.

The centrality of the cross draws individuals from all walks of life to form a community. This community has its identity in Christ which adequately embodies faith, hope and love. The cross has triumphed because it succeeded in creating a voluntary community of disciples - the Church.

Corruption is a social issue, and community problems usually do not have individualistic solutions. For example if a village is infected with malaria caused by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water, you cannot resolve the problem by just cleaning your own backyard caused by the mosquitoes that breed in stagnant waters, Our safety is dependent on an organised, united effort by the whole community. So it is with corruption.

Corruption is a highly infectious and debilitating disease. It has become a major issue all over the world and will increasingly become a concern if it is not checked.

The Church has been called to play the role like that of the anti-virus program for a computer. Its presence in a community should deal a blow to corruption that is happening in the community and put a stop to the rot. That is the ideal that the Church should labour tirelessly towards.



[ Back ] [ Print Friendly ]