It is hard to conceive of a more foolish misinterpretation of Christ's vicarious suffering and death, which, mind you, seemed a folly already to the Greeks. The masochist seeks suffering for the sake of suffering. But the Crucified One has suffered the appalling force of death and all powers of destruction in order to free suffering humanity from their might. This he was capable of doing only because God himself acted in him. And Death's dark sway was ended.
Death is still around, of course, inflicting deep wounds on the world every day.
But it will not be victorious. The gospel is the message of victory, intended to reach the entire world. It gives us a new understanding of God. It makes us see God as the source of all life that is even capable of suffering death. In this unity of life and death that ultimately results in life, God is none other than love.