A Pastoral Word. . .
Pastor Mark Adams
March 25, 2021
A Franciscan University in Ohio recently posted a series of ads on Facebook to promote some of its online theology programs. Facebook rejected one of them because it included the representation of the crucifixion in this picture.
Tom Crowe, the school’s web communications director, says he doesn’t know why only the one clearly depicting the San Damiano Cross was rejected. “It may have been the algorithm or a low-level staffer who has something against Christianity,” Crowe said. “For whatever reason, Facebook rejected the cross.” Whoever the Facebook monitor was gave this reason for the rejection: “We find the depiction of the cross shocking, sensational, and excessively violent.”
The Franciscan University responded with a blog post that no doubt surprised Facebook: they agreed with Facebook’s assessment! The Franciscan university posted:
“Indeed, the crucifixion of Christ was all of those things. It was the most sensational action in history: man executed his God. It was shocking, yes: God deigned to take on flesh and was ‘obedient unto death, even death on a cross’ (Philippians 2 v 8). And it was certainly excessively violent: a man scourged to within an inch of his life, nailed naked to a cross and left to die, all the hate of all the sin in the world poured out its wrath upon His humanity.”
They went on to say that:
“It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus on the Cross but His love for mankind: He was/is God, He could have descended from the cross at any moment. No, it was love that kept Him there. Love for you and for me, that we might not be eternally condemned for our sins but might have life eternal with Him and His Father in Heaven.”
By the way, Facebook has since apologized for the mistake saying:
“Our team processes millions of ads each week, and sometimes we make mistakes. We apologize for the error and have already let the advertiser know we approved their ad.”
Kudo’s to our Catholic brothers for using all this as an opportunity to SHARE THE CURE!
Yes---Jesus’ death on the cross was a shocking, excessively violent and brutal thing. Why? Because on that dark day, Jesus bore on His body the brutal consequences of the sins of all mankind: all the brutality, all lies, all the lust, all the selfishness, all the gossip, all the racism, all the greed, all the pride, all the theft, all the murders, all the abuse, all the terrorism—all of it was poured out on Jesus that day.
That’s why He didn’t come to earth in our day and age and die of lethal injection. He died an ugly death because our sin is an ugly thing. Remember, as the University inferred, it is only when we understand the nature of Jesus’ death that we begin to comprehend the extent of His love for sinners like you and me.
Keep the SON in your eyes!
Mark
Tom Crowe, the school’s web communications director, says he doesn’t know why only the one clearly depicting the San Damiano Cross was rejected. “It may have been the algorithm or a low-level staffer who has something against Christianity,” Crowe said. “For whatever reason, Facebook rejected the cross.” Whoever the Facebook monitor was gave this reason for the rejection: “We find the depiction of the cross shocking, sensational, and excessively violent.”
The Franciscan University responded with a blog post that no doubt surprised Facebook: they agreed with Facebook’s assessment! The Franciscan university posted:
“Indeed, the crucifixion of Christ was all of those things. It was the most sensational action in history: man executed his God. It was shocking, yes: God deigned to take on flesh and was ‘obedient unto death, even death on a cross’ (Philippians 2 v 8). And it was certainly excessively violent: a man scourged to within an inch of his life, nailed naked to a cross and left to die, all the hate of all the sin in the world poured out its wrath upon His humanity.”
They went on to say that:
“It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus on the Cross but His love for mankind: He was/is God, He could have descended from the cross at any moment. No, it was love that kept Him there. Love for you and for me, that we might not be eternally condemned for our sins but might have life eternal with Him and His Father in Heaven.”
By the way, Facebook has since apologized for the mistake saying:
“Our team processes millions of ads each week, and sometimes we make mistakes. We apologize for the error and have already let the advertiser know we approved their ad.”
Kudo’s to our Catholic brothers for using all this as an opportunity to SHARE THE CURE!
Yes---Jesus’ death on the cross was a shocking, excessively violent and brutal thing. Why? Because on that dark day, Jesus bore on His body the brutal consequences of the sins of all mankind: all the brutality, all lies, all the lust, all the selfishness, all the gossip, all the racism, all the greed, all the pride, all the theft, all the murders, all the abuse, all the terrorism—all of it was poured out on Jesus that day.
That’s why He didn’t come to earth in our day and age and die of lethal injection. He died an ugly death because our sin is an ugly thing. Remember, as the University inferred, it is only when we understand the nature of Jesus’ death that we begin to comprehend the extent of His love for sinners like you and me.
Keep the SON in your eyes!
Mark
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