By John Fencik, Director
Catholic Formation Services

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God!” (1 Cor. 1.18)

Before his encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus road, Paul believed that the message of the cross was indeed foolishness. But he came to understand the life-changing power of the passion and death of Jesus – a power that radically transforms all creation, all life! From this understanding, Paul would develop his theology of salvation.

During his missionary journeys, Paul’s message met resistance both from Jews and Gentiles. “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” (1 Cor. 1.22-23)

Why a “stumbling block” for Jews? A gospel grounded in the crucified one would shatter everything they believed and expected. As Paul himself experienced, this gospel called for a major shift in one’s view of how God had worked through His people in the plan of salvation since Abraham. It called for a radical transformation of self, which occurs when one accepts the crucified One and enters into his death and resurrection through the life-giving waters of Baptism!

Why “foolishness” for the Gentiles? The Greek philosophy of life was based on reason and logic. Although they had a pantheon of gods who seemingly interacted in humanity’s affairs, it was beyond comprehension – illogical – to believe a god became incarnate, let alone died for insignificant humans. “Therefore it is inconceivable to believe that a God could end up on a cross! And we see how this Greek logic is also the common logic of our time.” (Benedict XVI, General Audience, 29 October 2008)

The problem is that the Cross makes Christ appear “weak.” Could this be the mighty God of creation, the flood, the Exodus and Mount Sinai? Could this be a Greek god who controls nature and the destiny of humankind? But for Paul that is precisely the paradox – for in weakness (the Cross), one sees the absolute power of God – the power of His love that embraces all people, the power of his grace that can transform everyone, even a persecutor of Christians! In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul often speaks of “weakness” and “power.” He reminds the Corinthians that it is in our weakness that God makes us strong and Paul knew this better than anyone. (cf: 2 Cor. 11.30, 12.9-10, 13.4-5, 13.9)

Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection became the center of Paul’s theology. Although distinct historical events, their impact was apocalyptic because they have truly transformed all of creation forever! The death of the Lord is that one perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus has completely atoned for our weakness by taking on human nature and then re-creating it by his power as the God-man. When Paul speaks of the cross, he means Christ crucified! When he speaks of Christ crucified, he means Christ risen! When he speaks of Christ risen, he means the exalted Christ of the Parousia! Paul did not want Christians to lose sight of what preceded Easter morn – namely, the death of Jesus our salvation! Jesus crucified was a reality on which Paul must have meditated often. “…may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Gal. 6.14)

What Jesus had endured brought joy to his life, his heart, and his soul.

Since this joyful message of God’s love as seen in the Cross is so crucial, Paul is compelled to walk the paths of the Empire with a story that he never tired of telling: Jesus Christ loves us and he died for our sins. Paul believed one can never hear this enough – regardless of how close to Jesus one might be!

Pope Benedict XVI said: “Paul has renounced his own life, giving himself totally for the ministry of reconciliation, of the cross that is salvation for us all…We should build our lives on this true wisdom: To not live for ourselves, but to live in the faith in this God, about whom all of us can say: ‘He loved me and gave himself for me.’ ” (General Audience, 29 October 2008)


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 25, No. 3, March 20, 2009.