Photograph taken in a small but wonderful museum on the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland; in a place called Kilmartin. It is a very rich place for archaeology from the early days of settlement.
This is part of what was once a standing cross which had been broken up and buried, we know not why. However, it is the head and torso of the crucified Christ that had me spell bound. Arms outstretched on the cross and head drooping in what feels to me like a profound longing. The love of God manifested in a very human way
But this is not easy for us to understand. That phrase, Jesus died for us/me…sometimes seems a bit glib or diffiicult to relate to. But the whole thing speaks to me, being a simple soul, in this figure of God’s profound love, in the person of his Son, on the cross. As Charles Wesley wrote in the hymn ‘And can it be’….. ‘Amazing love, how can it be, that thou, shouldst die for me.’ These words can be highjacked to make God’s love very exclusive, for the so called chosen few. But the love of God is for all of Creation and the cross displays the depth of that love, which is all encompassing.
We can put barriers up and make it difficult to hear the Good News that we are all loved by the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. I remember a piece of advice that I was given by Father Paddy Shivnen, the Catholic Chapalin in the first prison I was Chaplain.; he said this to me in my early days… ‘Barrie, remember to tell the lads that ‘God the Father loves them, and Jesus is crazy about them’ . What profound theology that was and is!
So take a moment to look at the photograph and let the broken cross speak into your heart, and sense the love of God for you and all creation, now and forever.
Musings 