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It sounds almost blasphemous to mention the two symbols, cross and swastika, in the same sentence and yet in some ways they have much in common. Let me explain.

Recently I saw the symbol of a swastika on the side of a young Cambodian man's motorbike while on the other side his motorbike displayed a Playboy logo. This time the feelings of offence were tempered by amusement and awareness that symbols carry different meanings for different people. Symbols can be forceful evokers of emotion but it’s not the symbol itself, but the meaning, or interpretation we attach to it which gives it its power. And these meanings change with the context.

Many Cambodian's know very little about twentieth century European history. And for most of its 3000 year history the swastika symbol had very different meanings to what I attach to it with my knowledge of Nazi Germany, World War 2, and the holocaust. The word swastika originates from Sanskrit and contains two words, “to be” and “good”. It has been used in various cultures to represent life, sun, power, strength and good luck. It has often been painted on objects to defer good luck to that object. It’s easy to imagine why the young Cambodian man wants good luck when riding his bike on Cambodian roads, although to survive the Phnom Penh traffic perhaps driving carefully and wearing a helmet would be more prudent!

So, thanks to Adolf Hitler choosing the swastika in 1920 to be the Nazi party insignia and flag, the symbol changed from one of good luck to one that denoted violence, hate, murder, genocide and anti-Semitism

But what about the Cross?

In first century Israel, crosses were used by the occupying Roman forces for public execution and a deterrent against revolt against the empire. The word excruciating, comes from the word crucifixion. However, not only was it an excruciating way to die it was also seen as one of the most shameful and disgraceful ways to die and was usually reserved only for the most despised criminals and enemies of the Roman state which, in Israel, obviously included Jews. There are also records of mass crucifixions, for instance, following the Jewish revolt in AD70.

And so in the context of first century Israel the symbol of the cross was every bit as horrific as the symbol of the swastika for the Jewish victims of the Nazi regime. Both symbols struck terror into the hearts of a people oppressed by a totalitarian regime. Both symbols spoke of violence, oppression, genocide, and were used to murder Jews.

A recent visitor from America to Cambodia asked me why I wear a cross. He told me about how, thanks to Britney Spears and Madonna, crosses and crucifixes seem to have become a trendy piece of jewelry. It seems the meaning of the cross has gone through as dramatic, although opposite, transformation as the meaning of the swastika.

The symbol of our faith, in the context of the first Easter, was every bit as horrific as the swastika, and yet now it is simply a decoration, as common-place and domestic as an earring, or a necklace, as trivial and sentimental as jewelry adorning pop stars and models.

So what does it mean to us when we read the words of Jesus, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”?

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a martyr in Nazi Germany, a victim of the swastika, said, “When Jesus calls a man he bids him come and die.”