Holy Tuesday ~ The Foolishness of God

"Urban Cross"
Alan Montaine

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Those of us who have grown up with images and prayers and hymns about the cross probably cannot fathom how outrageous it is to proclaim a condemned and crucified man our God and Savior. Even today we want a strong, powerful and victorious God who will put all those other sinners in their place and show the world who is in charge. We want Christ to be powerful and victorious so we can show everybody else that we are right and on the right side.

But that is not how Christ makes himself known. He makes himself known on the cross, in suffering, among the weak and powerless. The proof that we picked the right Savior will be proclaimed this Sunday, in the resurrection. But the way to Resurrection is full of doubt, pain, suffering and loss. This is foolishness to the world. It is foolishness to me. God's foolishness is our salvation.