In occasions of failure and defeat, this God showed himself as a liberating God in whom we can absolutely trust because he draws strength from weakness and life from death.
God, does not wish the death and failure of humankind. He makes his presence felt especially in the greatest threatening situations as long as humankind hopes against all hope.
The power of God is shown in the solidarity of Jesus with people who fail. Jesus did not respond to violence with violence but allowed himself to be insulted beyond limit. In the end, he is the “Failed One” par excellence, the crucified, the stigmatized. Jesus fails before the forces of violence, fear, and falsehood. In the drama of the cross, the omnipotence of a powerless and crucified God, who loves until the end, manifests itself.
We clearly know why and how he is moved in his deepest depths by the suffering of the weak and the invalids.
The unconditional and victorious presence of God manifests itself in the crucified Jesus Christ, a Jesus full of sweetness even in the midst of catastrophe. The pain of God is the salvation of humankind while the failure of humankind is the victory of God. In other words, it is the power of God in human weakness. “…Being rich he became poor for your sakes, that through his poverty you might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9); and being strong made himself weak in order to save the weak.
The suffering of God arises from his love, humbling himself and in humility taking part in the failure of humankind, proving in this way that man is infinitely much more than his successes and defeats. This man lets go of all fear, conquers freedom, and is capable of solidarity with the failures of all the marginalized of the earth.
¡This is the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross.!
Extracted from the book “The forces of decadence” by Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga
