Look at the Cross

Translated from the original by Ana Giménez.

(I am told that The Christ was chiselled on the wall by an Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner).

Today´s post wishes to draw attention to the importance of the Cross of Christ from the victims´ look, supported by the new European philosophy born after Auschwitz.

After democratic revolutions, and freed from Church´s protection, an influential section of Philosophy (Hegel), believed that the world had found the indefinite path of progress; they knew it would have a cost in human lives,but considered them collateral damages to progress, “innocent flowers fallen  down  by the side of the triumphant path of History”.

Some thinkers were brave enough and with their shrewdness to discover the tramp before the huge catastrophes of the 20^th century.  Kafka, Franz Rosenzweig, and very few more, foreshadowed the tragedy. The communist Walter Benjamin called them “Fire detectors” “Feuermelder”. They unveiled the great mistake of the idealist Philosophy, when it broke all the mirrors in which we could gaze at.

All but one, turning an idea in the essence of existence: which could be the idea of nation, race, class struggle, etc. They revealed that the idealist Philosophy was an ”ideology of war” in which the human being was considered a disposable object. Instead of a victory the idealist Philosophy turned out to be an accomplice. Having seen what had happened, the fire detectors fell short.

After totalitarianisms and fascisms, Philosophy had to start from scratch. Behind progress, downfall appeared and the abandoned innocent flowers by the side of the path were reckoned to be in the millions. A symbol was chosen, Auschwitz. The start and end point of this new Philosophy are the victims. From a marginal place they were to take up the core of philosophical reflection.

By assuming this way of thinking, we Christians, look differently at the cross of Christ. The Crucified is the Victim par excellence. When we meditate on the cross of Jesus we discover our pain and learn to look at our neighbour´s sorrow as well as to be supportive.

The cross is an act of God´s Love where we can find the strength to protect the victims of the world. “To help the Crucified”, final cry by Teresa, which means to lower the world crucified from their cross and pass from cross to resurrection. Ourselves and themselves. This is our unique liberation “weapon”.

 (I have copied a few ideas from a great lecture from the Sapnish philosopher Reyes Mate: “Auschwitz, acontecimiento fundante del pensar en Europa, (o, ¿puede Europa pensar de espaldas a Auschwitz?) / ”Auschwitz, base event of European thought (or, can Europe think with its back to Auschwitz?). Year 2003. Apart from his books I also follow Jesús de René Girard´s anthropological view of the cross. Very few theologists follow this strand of thought; thanks to Rahner´s disciple (one of the best theologists of the 20^th century, although he didn´t write a single line about the victims) J. B. Metz, we have a deep reflection on the role of the victims in current Christianism. Liberation Theology in its best versions has also the victims as its starting point. 

(To be continued)