Today Christians all over the world remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago. I was taught that my sins as well as all the others were responsible for his death. I was also taught that Jesus died so that our relationship with God would be restored. Adam and Eve destroyed the original good relationship and someone had to restore it., But that meaning of the Cross misses the mark.
Jesus’ mission was to show us how to live a life of love, healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The more we live like this, the more we are saved from our sins. In this way, Jesus truly redeemed us. His life was so authentic, it challenged the establishment of his and they decided to kill him. Jesus was true and faithful to the end. We are called to be the same kind of person.
If Jesus had to die to restore our relationship with God, then Judas was a saint because he was necessary for Jesus to be turned over to the establishment. Yet, Jesus said, “woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”” (Matthew 26:24).
Let’s follow Jesus by doing what he did: love all people and act with mercy and compassion.