• SOULPRINTS: A Journey Beyond the Cross

• VIEWFINDER: Spring Flowers at the Bright Star

• LARRY’S LEUKO LOGBOOK: Hello, Leuko

Good Friday brings every Christian face-to-face with the Cross. The shock, the gruesome suffering, the reaction of disciples—all aspects demand our attention. Across the centuries no fewer than seven theological ideas have explored beyond the Cross to consider the Why question. “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.”^[1] Why? How?

I believe the central truth is found in the love of God that has always operated in the universe. God’s love emerges in the pervasive energy given to every creature for life. The cross of Jesus expresses the pinnacle of God’s connection with the universe. This Jewish man collaborated with the God who relentlessly interacts with all in a transformative way. Jesus’ awareness of God pervaded every facet of his experience. His complex psychology, the same as all humans, developed a unity of life with the God. His ministry of self-emptying love and powerful teaching caught him in a political-religious machine that could not tolerate dissent. Jesus choose the path of love which collided with the sins of Roman oppression, fearful Jewish authorities, and Messianic fervor to bring a horrific death by crucifixion.

But it was not simply the death of another martyr to a noble cause. God the Father experienced the agony of the Cross in union with Jesus.

Because God is connected to all creatures, and was especially active with the obedient Jesus, God suffered as Jesus suffered: vulnerable, reviled, and condemned. The Almighty was not a distant spectator who turned his back on the dying Jesus, as some classic doctrines teach. Instead, “In Christ, we see that God is a cross-bearing God and not a cross-building one.”^[2] Such a vision of God rewrites the misconceptions of God as impassible and without emotions in unmoved perfection. “The cross is a divine experience as well as a divine action. Humanity and divinity were united in the suffering of Calvary… the cross is nothing less that the suffering of God himself.”^[3]

In this complete union of God and humanity, a new connection with God was forged. The 13^th century Scottish theologian, John Duns Scotus, explained, “The cross was a freely chosen revelation of Total Love on God’s part… The cross, instead of being a transaction, was seen as a dramatic demonstration of God’s outpouring love, meant to shock the heart and turn it back toward trust and love of the Creator.”^[4]

Our journey beyond the Cross is a journey to the pinnacle of shared, transformative, love.

 [1] 2 Corinthians 5:19

[2] Tripp Fuller, Divine Self-Investment. SacraSage Press, 2020. p 124

[3] Clark Pinnock and others, The Openness of God. Intervarsity Press, 1994, p 45-6

[4] Scotus, quoted by Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ. Convergent, 2019. p 144

(Thanks to so many of you showing interest in my Leuko Logbook and the journey with Leukoplakia/Oral precancer. Here’s an excerpt from Part Two. You can read all of Part Two on the Substack “Signposts for the Journey” blog. A combined Part One and Part Two is now on Youtube or listen to a podcast version on Buzzsprout (or your podcast provider).

Sobbing, Jan rushed to me with the phone in her hand, crying, “Bub just passed away!” The call from her family brought the tragic news her only brother and daily email partner was dead from a sudden cardiac event just hours before he was to leave the hospital. A few days later I sat with her and three of our children grieving the great loss. A bad fall just days before brought a severe shoulder injury and hospitalization. He had made progress toward dismissal when something went terribly wrong. The crash team rushed to his side but he couldn't be revived. The storm of grief with its emptiness, regret, confusion, and even anger rippled across the entire family. My eulogy preached to an overflowing crowd that day in June 2022 remembered a vibrant, joyful man, distinguished professor of psychology, wise patriarch--gone all too quickly. Saying good-bye felt so profoundly hard for all of us in that Joplin, Missouri funeral chapel. The dark specter of Death stood too near to me once again.

I’m recounting the story about the funeral because, little did we know, a diabolical virus had slipped into our bodies to hitchhike back to Texas. Jan fell ill and I followed soon after. That deadly devil who had brought death and misery to millions, COVID 19, had arrived….

[Weeks later]my symptoms worsened. Large sores on my tongue made eating painful, especially with spicy, hot, cold, crunchy, citrus—well, just about anything. Jan produced a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast for the entire family though nothing tasted normal to her. I chewed carefully to avoid the sores that throbbed with every bite. But, dear God, I didn’t back down from the pumpkin pie!

There is much more to this story… Follow the links above for the entire story.

The Bright Star, my home in West Texas, has endured a dry winter. Farmers have suffered with too little moisture to bring up crops and the blossoms of Spring are tardy. But there are a few wonderful things happening in Mid-April! The Arctic Blue rose made a pioneering appearance in the backyard, while the Lilac bush showed off on the front sidewalk.

Interested in more TRACKS FOR THE JOURNEY resources? The TRACKERS FACEBOOK Group is for you! I’ll post questions, comments, inspirations, and other cool stuff that promotes well-being.

This week the discussion concerns Easter memories, sacred and secular. What has meant the most to you around this wonderful observance?

Join the TRACKERS Community with this link and let’s talk well-being!