Images and Meanings of the Cross in African Christianity

Abstract

Several months ago, a Rwandese university student' came to discuss with me something he considered very urgent. He needed my input as a teacher of the Bible and as a pastor. After exchanging light conversation over tea, he leaned forward, and requested, "Tell me about the cross. Tell me about what happened on Jesus' cross. How did he die? Describe what happened." He wanted me to describe in detail exactly what took place in a Roman execution. What did Jesus Christ experience on the cross? So I began, explaining what I knew both from the biblical accounts, as well as from physicians' reports on the probable physiological and psychological effects of Jesus' final two days on earth. We talked of psychological crisis of being betrayed by one who had been a close friend and trusted associate, and of the taunting and mockery by the soldiers. We discussed the injustice carried out by those entrusted with religious leadership and with political authority, both supposedly established to promote the well-being of the people under their jurisdiction. We explored the physical brutality of the whipping, the crown of thorns, and finally the procedures for crucifixion itself, as we know of it. Rev. Dr. Marta D. Bennett is a lecturer in the Department of Post Graduate Studies Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya. After hearing my graphic description then student said, "if after all that, Jesus could still say, "Father forgive them," I guess we need to forgive as well." He explained that he had just been reading the Gospels, particularly those last words of Jesus, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). He had recently received fresh news from his home in Kigali about the soldiers who had taken over all their former property, and who had threatened his father with death if he ever came near home. coupled with all the other atrocities his country had experienced in the past few years, this act enraged him deeply. The bitter Rwandese was arrested by the words of Jesus on the cross. As he prepared to meet with his sister to write a letter to their father, he was ready to say that they must forgive those who were acting as enemies. We went on to discuss the implications of Jesus' death on the cross, especially in light of the Rwandese genocide of 1994. Towards the end of the discussion, he concluded, "The only hope for Rwanda is Jesus because the blood of Jesus is thicker than the blood of the tribes. and in his blood, we have hope."