We know him in his death

As our Blessed Lord put it, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man you will recognize that it is myself that you look for.” He did not even say that it was by his teaching that they would understand. It would rather be by his personality that they would grasp the meaning of his coming. Only then would they know, after they had put him to death, that he spoke the truth. His death, then, instead of being the last of a series of failures, would be a glorious success and the climax of his mission on earth. And that’s the great difference in the pictures and statues of Buddha and Christ. Buddha is always seated, eyes closed, hands folded across his fat, sleek body, intently looking inward. Christ is not seated on this earth. He’s lifted up, he’s enthroned. His person and his death are the heart and soul of his teaching. The cross and all that it implies is the very center of his life.