the cross

 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ( I Corinthians 1:22-24)

It's offensive and not a nice conversation starter in polite company.

In fact, according to Greg Gilbert's chapter in Don't Call it a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day, sophisticated Greek and Roman people did not "even utter the word cross in polite company." It wasn't uncommon either for the Roman government to line major roads into the cities with dying, dead and rotting humans who had undergone crucifixion, for display purposes. Shock value. Rotten flesh, writhing misery, stench, slivers in already shredded flesh, bodily fluids.

That is a far cry from the shiny smooth gold ones attached to the front of many churches.

Last week as we were driving we listened to this CBH CD of old songs, songs that unless I specifically purchase recordings of them from many decades past, one would not hear anywhere else. It occurred to me why we sing very few old cross songs much anymore: they are raw. And they don't have happy peppy themes involving rivers flowing and such. And they make me feel bad about myself. They don't lead me to believe I'm the one one who was wronged. I am the one who was wrong.

We, as Christians, want our message to be liked. Just like we like to be liked. We'd much rather be the one offering the sweets and not the castor oil. So apparently somewhere along the way, we've sanitized the message. Like it's our message to tamper with. Like we thought up the whole idea of redeeming generations of mislead, lost, even beligerent people by taking their place, dying a nasty crimnal's death. Like any of us stepped down out of heaven and was willing to be put on public display, in maximum agony.

No, wait, that's not right. No, but that's what Paul means when he says "Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles".

A "stumbling block" and "foolishness" for those who change their name or message to be less offensive to those they supposedly want to reach. Of course, that would seem logical if we are the ones trying to bring them in. But when God is doing the bringing and we get that straight, then we offer the message, straight up, no spin, leaving God behind the scene drawing hearts to Himself.

Really, there is so much in our churches that we've wiped pristine, polishing away the raw roughness and beauty of the original message. We get hung up on clean carpet and having enough space that we (perhaps) inadvertently put a "closed" sign for God on fingerprint-less front doors.

Oh I would much rather be involved in something that neither I nor my children get dirty or contaminated with germs. I like places that I can put in the same two hours a week and get in my clean car and drive home while patting myself on the back for my work.

But many times, the places where God is working are hot and have germs. There are dirty people there too with germs. Sometimes they take longer than my allotted two hours and they get in my face. And things are rarely predictable and calculated. Usually it takes a long time to see results too.

In her book, "If", Amy Carmichael writes this: "If monotony tries me, and I cannot stand drudgery; if stupid people fret me and little ruffles set me on edge; if I make much of the trifles of life, then I know nothing of Calvary love."