This story just in from NY Times, the (ahem) paper of record (not)
Thieves Take Figure of Jesus, but Not the Cross
Who made off with Jesus?
The question hung in the air of the Church of the Holy Cross in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday after caretakers noticed that a 200-pound plaster rendering of Christ had been removed from a wooden cross near the church\’s entrance.
Three weeks after a metal money box disappeared from a votive candle rack at the church, the fact that a statue was stolen was less surprising than how it was stolen.
\”They just decided, `We\’re going to leave the cross and take Jesus,\’ \” said David St. James, 49, a caretaker who helps maintain the sacristy of the church, on 42nd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. \”We don\’t know why they took just him. We figure if you want the whole crucifix, you take the whole crucifix.\”
I don\’t understand the motivation of someone to do this. And while I don\’t support thievery on any level, I DO support taking Jesus off the cross! When Christ died on the cross, it was for our freedom. He died and that was that. He rose again, and He was not on the cross any longer. The very POINT of the empty cross is that Jesus is NOT there any more. He is Risen! He is ALIVE!
It bothers me that many traditional \”churches\” keep Jesus on the cross, figuratively speaking. Instead of reminding people of the victory we now have over death and the penalty of our sin, keeping Jesus on the cross reminds us of our guilt. I understand some people like it, but MY Jesus is no longer on the cross. Thank God.