There is a pastor of a church in my town putting up a 250ish foot tall cross near the side of the highway. This thing is supposed to cost a couple million bucks. Now the man, a church pastor, has the money to do this. It's his money. God bless him. He can do as he wants with it. And he has chosen to spread the word of Jeeeesus. I'm not mocking Jesus, by the way. I heard a dude say Jeeeesus on YouTube and I thought it was funny. Anywhoozle... The pastor has chosen to use this money to spread the word. Or has he? It's like advertisements for Coca Cola or the TX Lottery. These things are sooo ubiquitous, do they really need advertisements? Especially in this market? Yeah. Jesus. Cross. We know. But more to the point, what word is he trying to spread? It's easy enough to say "The Word" and even easier to assume The Word of God, but if you look at it for more than, like, a minute "The Word" he'd be spreading would be his own. There's about a bajillion churches where I'm at and none of them are out here helicoptering their congregations for all to see how massive their... congregations are.
The cross has been the proclaimed symbol of Jesus for over two millennia. But is it really? Let's say Jesus the sequel happens and you, for whatever reason are standing face to face with him and he asks, "What do you know of me?" Would you hold up a cross and be like, "I bought this on Amazon in remembrance of you. This is usually enough to get people to think I'm a good person." Or will you prattle on about pretending being nice to people unconditionally and how evil rich people are? Would you start projectile verbal vomiting scripture at him and show him how good you are remembering things he may have said? Wouldn't it be better to say that you've done what you can to help who you can while making sure you can do for yourself as much as possible?
The cross is what he died on. It was the vehicle of his demise. When you see people airbrush memorials on their cars of a loved one, do they put a hospital bed, smashed up car, bullet, or cancerous cells? No. It's usually that person's face maybe with something that person loved. Maybe not the greatest example to lend to my point, but it's related.
My point IS that the true symbol of Jesus is his teachings. Empathy and acts of compassion through that empathy. Compassion. Action. Compaction! Or something. Anyway, not only these acts,
but taking care of yourself to not be the one in need.
Knowing when to stand up for yourself.
Understanding those around you and accepting them. Not liking them, necessarily, but coming to terms with their existence and letting them be.
And many, many more!
I don't want to sit here a have a dissertation on how stoopid the cross is. That's not what this is at all. You can have your crosses, that's fine and dandy. But how about bedazzling yourself with some of his teachings while you're at it?
"Who are you? Just WHO are YOU to be telling ME how hold myself to the Jeeeesus standard?"
I am the man that gets cut off in traffic and have the finger thrown at me like I'm the asshole by a person driving a car with the Jesus fish on the back.
I'm the guy that sees a person be an absolute shit to another person and in the same or very next breath mention having to go to church on Sunday.
I am the teen that gets lied about by a deacon's wife and no one stands up for me.
I am the kid that watches the same people go to the front of the church when they play Cast Your Cares Upon Jesus knowing full well they aren't doing anything to better themselves.
I am the one who stole. I am the one who lied. I am the one that maybe doesn't have a pirate's gallery of sins to atone for, but has done plenty wrong and cringeworthy.
I am not perfect by any means, but I am the dude that sees bullshit all over the place and has something to say about it. Look inside yourself. Realize what you do. Don't double down on it. "Search your feelings. You know it to be true." - Darth Vader. 1977
Image source: https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/12/9.-Kosolapov-This-Is-My-Blood-550x331.jpg