In his series CHIP K of thebandwithnoname continues his examination of onethe key factors ofChristianity, the cross.

Chip Kendall

OKAY, OKAY. So now everyone's all hyper about Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ. The cross of Jesus has suddenly shot to popularity and God has become the latest buzzword of tinsel town. Finally people are beginning to see just how significant those two crossed wooden planks truly were. There are even pirated copies of the film circulating in this country and, perhaps more importantly, some misguided nations have even banned the film. It would appear that Jesus has once again become a rebel. So why did this naked God-man wind up dead on a tree, anyway? Here's another story to give you a glimpse of the mystery and magnitude of a not-so-popular cross.

Miss McGillis wasn't the most chatty teacher in her school. She spoke eloquently enough during her lessons, but outside of class time she mostly kept to herself. The other teachers and many of the students would frequently ask her why she seldom spoke outside of class, and her simple, soft reply would always be the same: "Actions speak louder than words."

Though none of the students would ever admit to actually enjoying school, they each secretly loved their classes with Miss McGillis. She made them feel important and special. She taught them to always be themselves, no matter what other people said. She was kind and gracious and was always considerate of her pupils, unlike pretty much all of the other teachers. However, there was one slightly odd thing about Miss McGillis. Her socks. For some reason, she always wore stripy, brightly coloured, knee-high socks. And she must've had a dozen or so pairs, because they never smelled and they never seemed to wear out.

One day, the head teacher decided that enough wasenough. This was simply not in accordance with schoolpolicy. This foolishness had to end. Miss McGillis wassetting an unsatisfactory example to the entire school,and if she were to continue wearing those ridiculoussocks, even for one more day, then she could consider herself sacked.

And that's precisely what happened. The next day, when Miss McGillis' brightly coloured feet stepped into her classroom, she found the head teacher sitting at her desk, disapprovingly shaking his head. Without a word, she left and never returned. The buzz spread round theschool like wild fire. More than once that day the students could be heard chanting, "Sacked for socks sucks! Sacked for socks sucks!" But probably the best demonstration of loyalty to their favourite teacher occurred the very next morning. They all turned up to school wearing stripy, brightly coloured, knee-high socks.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to theground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24-25)