The Primacy of the Cross

"What is unique about the death of Christ – and what makes the Crucifixion so definitional to our faith – is not that another heroic martyr has died. Rather, what makes the Crucifixion of Christ unique is the claim (which I affirm) that on the Cross it is the fullness of God who dies – not just God’s spokesperson or representative or proxy or Spirit or shadow or even simple human Son; rather, it is God’s own self who is put to death by a combination of civil and religious authorities in a way that is brutal, shameful, public, and painful." Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, as part of a sermon series on the Crucifixion. The Scripture lesson is 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.