The cross at a distance, God up close

I have to confess that I missed Ash Wednesday. I did not realise Lent has come amidst all the busyness and Chinese New Year frenzy.

I started reading Peter G. Bolt's The Cross from a Distance today. I have only done about 30 pages after several hours of reading and it is a really good read. I look forward to snuggling into bed tonight, book in hand.

Here is what Bolt says about "The cross at a distance: God up close":

At the climax of Mark's gospel, Jesus hung on the cross, absolutely alone, deserted by God and people. But at that lonely hour, the narrative introduces some characters who have not appeared previously. In Mark 15:40 we read that a group of women were watching the crucifixion 'from a distance' (apo makrothen). In a sense, these women can be our point of reference. They are given a stance towards the cross that we ourselves share.

The cross is at a distance. It is an event that occurred long ago, in a world and culture that, in many ways, seem to foreign to our own. But, if we understand this cross correctly, we discover that it is there, in that distant cross, that we see God up close.

pearlie
Source: Peter G. Bolt, The Cross at a Distance, Atonement in Mark's Gospel, (Leicester, UK: IVP, 2004): 17.