"The very form of the cross, extending out into the four winds, always told the ancient Church that the Cross means solidarity: its outstretched arms would gladly embrace the universe" (Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Heart of the World 13)
Without a cross you cannot design a compass to orient yourself and direct your navigation. Without a cross, you could not build a structure of many stories. Building and navigating are pivotal to the mission of Jesus when we consider what He accomplished through his death and resurrection. There is nothing more global than the passion of Jesus our Lord. As Paul writes: "Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, growns into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:12-22).
What is wrong with the world? Paul speaks of two major problems. Man is estranged from man, and more importantly, man is estranged from God. Through Jesus Christ, man may now rejoice with man, and find love in God. Jesus Christ builds us into a temple, makes us into one united kingdom of holy citizens, triumphing over the death of this world, over the running down of the universe! Sometimes people ask me, "Are there extra-terrestrials? If there are, would Jesus have to die on every planet?" I have even heard a similar comment made in a recent film or television program, the exact name of which escapes me at the moment. I do not know if there are extra-terrestrials other than angels and demons, "cosmic powers" and "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12), but I do know that if there are, they are subjected to Christ, and that Christ's one redeeming death conquered the entire universe. Christ embraces the universe, because it is to save the universe that He died and rose from death.
There is no other story known to man as powerful as the Good News. The Good News is a story about the Son of God, who lived a perfect life, helped people, and taught us the meaning of life and the truth about our being. Though he was murdered unjustly, he then conquered death through resurrection. Just as an electrical cord will only fit into its proper socket, so the Good News is the one story that fits our cosmic and personal problems. Jesus Christ is not an answer to life; Jesus Christ is life (John 14:6) and the only answer to life. He is embracing you whether you know it or not, and wants you to open the door and invite him into your life. Again, it may sound minimalistic, and it may sound childlike, but make no mistake: the New Testament teaches us that Jesus Christ is the answer to all global problems, all natural problems, all existential problems, all personal problems: "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Let us draw near to God through our Lord Jesus that we might be transformed, that our thoughts might take on the very form of the cross, that we too might reach out to embrace the world in love, faith and hope and thus be the true children of God.
