“The Gift of the Cross”
Pastor David Hansen
Festival of the Holy Cross
September 17, 2006
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24 & Mark 8:27-38
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Today we celebrate Holy Cross Day. In 325, Emperor Constantine’s mother uncovered the hill known as Golgotha – the place of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. After ten years, on September 14th, 335, the construction of a church on this holy hill was completed.
Today, a church still stands on the same site. It is known by two different names: the Church of the Holy Sepulcher or Tomb, and the Church of the Resurrection. The date of the dedication of this church has become a day for Christians throughout the world to give thanks for the Cross of Christ, to ponder the mystery of the instrument of death that grants us life, and to reflect anew on the importance of the cross in our lives.
Saint Paul tells us that the message of the cross is a stumbling block and foolishness to the world. But that was written two thousand years ago. Today, our culture is covered with crosses.
There are gold, silver, and even diamond crosses hanging around our necks. There are neon crosses glowing in the night. There’s a cross on the bumper of the car that cut me off in traffic. There are crosses constructed along the nation’s highways. And here in Texas, we can’t forget the crosses on our belt-buckles.
We have crosses everywhere. We must understand the message of the cross, right?
I wonder about that. Lutherans, along with most other American Protestants, do not pay much attention to Holy Cross Day. For all of our beautiful crosses, we don’t spend much time actually talking about the cross and what it means.
Last Saturday, I tuned in to one of the Christian television stations. Maybe you’ve also spent some time watching those stations. If so, you may have heard some of the sermons that I heard about how to have a better marriage, how to raise Godly children, and how to be more successful in my life. Yet, I heard very little about the cross.
Plenty is said about the Lordship of Jesus, but very little is said about the hard wood of the cross; plenty is said about the importance of a holy life, but very little is said about how the cross intrudes on our lives.
No, the cross is a little too morbid. The cross doesn’t come with five bullet points about how to live a happier life. Quite often – the cross just simply doesn’t make sense. And so we ignore Holy Cross Day.
Of course, this did not begin with us. Look at today’s Gospel. Peter – the rock of the church – is given a tongue-lashing by Jesus mere moments after proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah. Why? For being offended by the message of the cross.
So what are we to say of these wooden beams? What can we learn from this first-century electric chair? What does the cross mean to our life and faith?
First, the cross means that God loves us.
There are those who object to the cross, saying that the cross represents a mean and vengeful God, a blood-thirst God. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cross represents God coming to us in the midst of what is worst about the human life. God did not become human as king who led a comfortable life, but as Christ on the cross.
God loves us so dearly, that Christ is willing to endure the worst aspects of human life – including death on a cross – in order to draw the world closer to God. That is love beyond measure.
And so we give thanks for the cross today, our sign of God’s great love.
Second, the cross means that our God knows what suffering is and how it feels.
One of the most common questions of the human life is, “Why do good people suffer?” Go into any bookstore, and you can find shelves upon shelves attempting to answer this question. Personally, I don’t know that I have an answer to that question. But I do know that when we suffer, when we are in pain, our God knows what that feels like and is there with us.
There was once a sign posted in a woodshop. In the main work area the manager hung a sign that read, “In case of accident or injury, notify the supervisor immediately.” Underneath these words, one of the workers had scribbled, “The supervisor will kiss it and make it better for you.” That’s not quite what I mean by the comfort of God.
It’s more like the story told about Queen Victoria. Once during her reign, Queen Victoria heard that the wife of a common laborer had lost her baby. Having experienced deep sorrow herself, she felt moved to express her sympathy. So she called on the bereaved woman one day and spent some time with her. Noticing that the woman’s mood was greatly lifted by the visit, her neighbor’s asked what the queen had said.
“Nothing,” replied the grieving mother. “She simply put her hands on mine, and we silently wept together.”
I don’t know why good people suffer. But the cross means that when we weep, God weeps with us. When we feel isolated and alone, Christ knows how it feel and weeps with us. When we feel in pain and forsaken, Christ knows how we feel, and weeps with us. When we feel grief and loss, God knows how we feel, and silently weeps with us.
Or again, it’s like the man who was trying to sell a litter of puppies. Among those who responded to his ad was a young boy. “Please, Mister,” he said, “I’d like to buy one of your puppies if they don’t cost too much.” “Well, son, they’re $25.” The boy looked crushed. “I’ve only got two dollars and five cents. Could I see them anyway?” “Of course. Maybe we can work something out,” said the man.
The boy’s eyes danced at the sight of those five little balls of fur. “I heard that one has a bad leg,” he said. “Yes, I’m afraid she’ll be crippled for life.” “Well, that’s the puppy I want. Could I pay for her a little at a time?” The man responded, “But she’ll always have a limp.”
Smiling bravely, the boy pulled up one pant leg, revealing a brace. “We can limp together,” he said.
God pulls back the veil revealing the cross, and says, “We can limp together.”
And so we give thanks for the cross today, our sign of God’s presence in the midst of our suffering, our sign of God’s comfort and consolation.
Third, the cross means that resurrection and crucifixion, life and death are forever linked.
At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, you cannot visit the site of Jesus crucifixion and death without also visiting the of his resurrection. For those without the cross, death is the worst possible thing. Death is the end of everything, it is the ultimate defeat. But because of the cross, death is never the final word for us. Where death is present, there is also always the promise of resurrection.
Out of the instrument of death and torture comes the gift of life. When our lives appear darkest, that is precisely when we should open our eyes and look for the gift of life that God is working in our lives.
I remember a time when my own life appeared quite dark, shortly after my grandfather’s death. I had grown quite close to Grandpa, when he passed away from a stroke. I was very shaken and upset by his death, and as I was preparing for the ministry, I was unsure of how to understand this loss.
It was one week later, working as a chaplain in a hospital, that I stood by the bedside of a woman who was dying of a stroke. I was able to share my grief with the family, and we all wept together and comforted one another. Out of the darkness of my grief came a little resurrection, the light and life of comfort offered to others.
Thus ever is in our lives, because of the cross: darkness is always interwoven with light, death with life, crucifixion with resurrection.
And so we give thanks for the cross today, the tool of death turned into our source of life.
It truly is a glorious thing, the cross of our Lord Jesus.
Have you experienced pain and suffering in your life?
Has your life ever seemed dark and hopeless?
Has grief ever broken your heart?
Have you ever felt like you are struggling through this world alone?
Look on the hard wood of the cross.
See there the love of God.
Know that because of the cross, we never have to feel alone again.
Trust that the God whose Son died on the cross knows your pain and weeps with you.
And when it seems that death and darkness are overpowering you, look for the light of life and resurrection.
That is the gift of the cross, thanks be to God.
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