Some may believe that the liberal Christian’s willingness to cut out portions of the New Testament prohibiting sexual sin makes it easier for him to cut out portions dealing with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Maybe it is more accurate to say that the removal of the crucifixion and resurrection story makes it necessary to delete all of the commandments that make the liberal Christian feel uncomfortable.

Seldom has the so-called liberal Christian’s discomfort with the Cross been as evident as in the aftermath of Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. Reviews in magazines like The Nation showed unbelievable hysteria from the so-called Christian Left ending with a chorus of accusations of anti-Semitism directed towards Gibson and his movie.

Whatever anti-Semitic feelings Gibson may harbor, his movie was not anti-Semitic. I would like to personally thank the Jews. Because of their role in killing my Savior, they helped to secure my salvation.

But the so-called liberal Christian sees it differently. He is reminded of his sin when he sees the bloody torture of Jesus of Nazareth. So he asks why we don’t just focus on all of Jesus’ acts of kindness towards the poor.

And that is where my reader finds himself today. When he is not proclaiming that God only intervenes in his life occasionally to (expletive) with him he is out building houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Jesus did posit as his Second Great Commandment that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. But, before we reach out to do good for our neighbors, the First Great Commandment says we must love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul. We can’t do that without moving towards the Cross of Christ when things are stormy in our lives.

It is only when we focus on the horror of Jesus’ death that we realize how much he loves us. And it is only when we believe the resurrection that we know Jesus stands outside of time and hears our cries above the thunder.