This report came up in my Twitter account today.

CUTUD, ANGELES CITY – Dozens of Catholic devotees were nailed to crosses, scores more whipped their backs and others chanted the Passion of Jesus Christ as Filipinos mixed faith and gory ritual on Good Friday.

Watching Tweets yesterday and today, I’ve noticed that we have quite a fixation on the cross and the death of Jesus. Appears that the world at large does too.

Is that what it’s really about?

“I am not doing this for fame or money,” said Ruben Inaje, 48, who has played the role of Jesus Christ at Cutud since 1986. “This is my own way of thanking the Lord. He has showered my family with so much blessings and has saved my life many times.”

Could it possibly be that we’re misguided on our emphasis?

In the neighboring province of Bulacan, five people were nailed to wooden crosses, including an 18-year-old woman and an Australian, who said he was hoping his sacrifice would cure his cancer-stricken mother.

Why do we feel that we must enter into some form of spiritual negotiation with God in order to strongarm him or elicit some sort of pity from him in order to get what we want?

The atmosphere was festive, with hawkers selling bottled water, beer, ice-cream and souvenir whips. VIPs and some nuns watched from a specially elevated “viewing platform”. Some residents offered parking spaces for a fee and others charged 5 pesos (about 10 U.S. cents) for use of toilets. More enterprising people rented the balconies of their homes for television crew and photographers.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that those who don’t follow Jesus will want to do so now.

Could it possibly be that we’ve overdone the cross thing?

Wishing there was a party to go to tonight…feel like celebratng…HE IS ALIVE…seriously, that is FREAKIN AWESOME!!! –Perry Noble

Perhaps we should emphasize the John 10:10 aspect of the whole thing. Maybe, just maybe, the cross was simply the door opener and we’ve been invited to come on in, “cross” over, into life.

The world might be a whole lot more interested in our message…

(Before you hate-mail flame me, think…)