At the Cross

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14)


The painting above was executed by that master of religious art, El Greco, whose Spanish name literally means "The Greek," a painter whose dramatic compositions often carry something of the mystique and depth of feeling found in Greek Orthodox icons. Immediately noticeable in this particular composition are the anachronistically placed donors, two men of late medieval Spain, standing at the cross where Jesus is slowly bleeding to death. The historicity of Jesus' death is emphasized in the superscription that Pontius Pilate, a figure known to history and archaeology, made for the King of the Jews. And yet, like time travelers, these two donors stand in this historical moment where they do not seem to belong. What is the artist trying to convey? I believe that El Greco was not merely paying the bills and giving homage to his patrons. I believe there is a deep Christian mystery here. On the one hand, the crucifixion of Jesus is the most important historical event; to deny its historicity is to be alienated from the faith. At the same time, Christians are not called to live merely in an imaginary past, or to live retrospectively looking at history. Rather, history lives on in us, as we gather around the cross of Christ, and worship the Son of Man who died for our sins.

In our day to day existence, there are many things that we think are wonderful, and many things that we think are horrible. Somtimes, we allows these things to eclipse the truth that should radiate from us. When we stand at the cross, all our fears melt away, for Jesus has already conquered sin and death through his great sacrifice (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). Moreover, in Jesus, we realize that all of those "wonders" of every day life that we cling to melt away as well, because everything pales in comparison to the wondrous glory of Christ our Savior. To live is Christ, and to live well in eternity, we need to humble ourselves at the foot of the Cross, like the two donors in the El Greco painting, who merely look up in awe and love. As Jesus said, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15)