The Cross

Psalm 33:1-8; I Corinthians 1:18-31; Mark 15:22-30

I have friends who visit relatives in Elmira NY throughout the year.  They have told me about a church in downtown that sits fairly close to the road but every Lenten season they put up a big cross in the front lawn with a sign that has the words from Lamentations 1:12, “Is it nothing to you,^* all you who pass by?”  It was with this question that I reflect a little more spiritually about the cross.

How many of you have a cross hanging in your home?  Maybe you have one that stands on a desk or a nightstand?  Do you have one that has a special meaning?  Like the cross that was your grandparents or maybe you have a cross necklace that was given to you from a special person.

I have numerous crosses in my office and in my home.  Many of them have a special meaning but I have to admit that I don’t always pay attention to them every time I walk by.  In fact I don’t think I could tell you which walls have crosses and which don’t.  Does that mean they have lost their meaning?

It is easy to get too accustom to things.  We put a picture on the wall of a loved one and we love it but soon it just becomes a part of the wall and we don’t notice it.

If you’re a regular attender here would you notice if the big cross that hangs on the wall behind me was gone on Sunday morning?  Your first reaction is probably to say, “Of course I would notice!”   But from similar past experiences, I would guess we might notice, something was wrong but it might take a couple minutes to realize what it is and that the cross was missing.

I say that not because we don’t appreciate the cross but because it is always there and we just assume it will always be there.

If you have ever read the Old Testament Book of Esther you may or may not have noticed something different about it.  Did you know the name of God is not mentioned once in this book.  I had read it numerous times before and because I just assume God is in all of the Bible and knew who it was referencing I never noticed that God was not really mentioned until I took my first OT course.  I put it there in my mind but it isn’t there.  Habits and customs create assumptions and sometimes create images that are different than reality.

During the Lenten Season Barb Paul has agreed to care for the altar area and help us to visually experience the season.  I hope you will be aware of what is here each week.

There will be subtle changes throughout the season and as we move from week to week I encourage you to look for the differences.  The focus through Lent will be the cross.

Why would we be focusing on a symbol that is so common and before us every Sunday all year long?  Maybe because it is so common and familiar?

The cross is so much more than just a pretty pendent we wear around our neck or carry in our pocket or hang on our wall.

If we were to go back to even before the time of Jesus, we would read that the cross was an ancient instrument of torture and execution, especially in times of war.  My Bible Dictionary states, “Grisly spectacles involving the crucifixion of sometimes hundreds or even thousands of victims were arranged for the intimidation of besieged cities, the punishment of conquered peoples, or the deterrence of rebellious slaves or troops.”

The cross was a gruesome site that brought fear and anxiety to all who knew and had seen its use.  Yet in today’s world we purposefully place a cross right here at the center of our sanctuary.  Why do we do this?  Are we that sadistic?  Do we even think about that kind of image?  Of course not!!!

When we look at a cross we see a sign of hope and love but we need to be careful to not forget what really happened on a cross years ago for each and every one of us.  This Lenten season we are going to be encouraged to look beyond the pretty brass cross, beyond the shiny metal pendent that hangs around our necks, or the many pretty crosses we may have all around us.  This Lent we are going to remember the cross that brought pain, agony and humiliation.  Not because we like to see others hurting but because we need to be careful that we don’t forget!  We must never forget what Jesus endured for the sake of all our sins.  It was with his hands and feet nailed up against the rough hard surface of a tree that he took with him the sins of the whole world.  There was nothing pretty or shiny about the cross of Christ.  When we remember the meaning of the cross – we remember the love, mercy and grace that makes the cross beautiful for us.

I was thinking, yes, the cross was the tool of crucifixion and that Jesus did feel the death of his human body as he hung upon that cross but something else died on the cross – our own punishment for our sins was put to death.  It is only through the ugly painful death of Jesus Christ on the cross that we have Easter morning to celebrate.

It is through the blood of Christ shed on the cross that we are made clean from the dirty sinful people we are.

In our reading from 1 Corinthians 1 today it begins with, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…”  The people who do not believe in the saving power of Jesus do not understand the cross.  There are those who still see it as simply a place of torture.  We though who believe know that through the cross we are saved.

You will notice on the cover of your bulletin the acrostic for the word, CROSS.  In thinking of the cross and the meaning behind it, these words seemed to describe it best.  Our Lent the sermon series will be based on one of these words each week so that we might fully understand the cross and celebrate it on Easter morning: 

Christ Redeemed Our Sinful Souls.