Fixing to a Cross

Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi ; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, "Who do people say that I am ?" They told Him, saying, "John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets." And He continued by questioning them, "But who do you say that I am ?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." Mark 8:27-33

The Christ, the Messiah, the long awaited one. He would deliver Israel, He would gather the tribes together. Jesus, Son of God, our Redeemer.  He was heralded  as a king while he rode into Jerusalem on a colt. But it seemed shortly after that  all darkness and evil went out to meet him when he  was arrested and handed over to Pilate, accused of plotting against the Roman Empire.

 Jesus, the Son of God, who gave his life as a ransom for the many, was sentenced to death by means of crucifixion.

Crucifixion, or in the Latin, "crucifixio", literally means, fixing to a cross. 

Crucifixion, as we know, is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. This mode of putting someone to death was largely used among the Greek and Roman  Empires from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. The threat of the "cross" was a way they used to warn off any possible heretics, criminals or other offenders. It was a way of saying, so to speak, that if you "cross us", this will happen to you.

But Jesus changes all of that because while he is  on the cross he does the unthinkable. He looks at his perpetrators, the very people that have done this to him,  and he asks the Father to forgive them. Jesus interrupts evil with forgiveness from the cross.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christians looked at the cross in a different way. For them, the cross had become victory,  something no longer to be feared. The cross became the symbol of Jesus Christ, the one that ransomed his life for many.

  

 "Dear children! Also today I call you to
prayer. In this time of grace, may the cross be a sign-post of
love and unity for you through which true peace comes. That is
why, little children, pray especially at this time that little
Jesus, the Creator of peace, may be born in your hearts. Only
through prayer will you become my apostles of peace in this world
without peace. That is why, pray until prayer becomes a joy for
you. Thank you for having responded to my call."BVM, Medjugorje,November 25, 1999

Crucifixion 

Catholicism