What I like in this cross is that the body of Jesus is not the usual muscle guy like that we normally see. This image is beyond norm. I like this, not because my body can relate, but because this shows a lot of the vulnerability of Jesus. Even in His being a human, in this image, his body is depicted seemingly not perfect.
Isn’t this a perfect depiction of our God who loves? Our God goes beyond norms just to save us. It is unthinkable that God became man, truly man, even embracing suffering and death. This is actually what genuine loving is. True love goes beyond norms or set conditions—unconditional. True love can accept not just the good but also those considered not so good. True love can radically forgive because it is always accompanied by mercy and compassion.
A PDL shared in one of the programs inside the Medium Security Compound, he said, “Maybe one of the reasons why God has allowed me to be here is that this is His way of showing me His radical love and forgiveness. And because of this love I felt from Him, I will always value now my life, my new life. This has changed and continuously changing me into a person who I thought before I could not become.”
May we discover and encounter this lenten season His radical love for us. Amen.
