As you look upon the cross, what do you see? What feelings are stirred in you? How do you respond?
There are four responses to the cross. For a growing number it is merely a symbol – one of many symbols in the religious marketplace, all similar and indistinct – be it the cross, the Muslim crescent, the Ying and Yang, the Star of David – to each the response is one of casual disinterest. For others the cross is an object to be scorned, insulted, hated even, as it speaks plainly and confronts life's choices and courses. It is a symbol to be removed from the public square by any means. We have seen this growing response in many places but perhaps most strongly right now in Europe where the Christian identity continues to be lost, at least for a time. For a third group the cross is foolishness. It represents the natural outcome of the actions of a man set upon his own destruction. This man Jesus would confront all the political powers and forces of his day with no chance of winning or even coming out alive. What foolishness. There are many today ignorant of the good news that hold this position. “You Christians call this day good – Good Friday, how foolish you are.”
But to us, what is the cross? Saint Paul speaks for us when he says the cross is absolutely everything (Galatians, 6:14). It represents the very moment when the eternal consequences of sin were stopped dead in their tracks. As Paul tells us “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” It is the power of God revealed to the prophets. That which was only partially seen has come to be. In Isaiah, our first reading, we hear of the suffering servant. This prophetic poem written 750 years before Christ was born, tells us of the one who would suffer in our place, the one who would bear the punishment for our sin, and who would intercede on our behalf. The one who would take upon himself our infirmities. The one led away like a lamb to slaughter. The words of Isaiah would now be fulfilled on Good Friday in the arrest, sentencing, torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
What does the cross of Christ mean? It means everything, since without it we are lost, but by it every man, woman, and child has the gift of eternal life, if only it is accepted. Christ has accomplished that which we could never do, to atone for our sins. For how can creatures like us atone for sins with eternal consequences? But by way of his suffering our saviour raises us to become a new creation, a new man. His obedience to the Father opens the way to a new kind of evolution by means of which we are being raised up in holiness, in life, and in friendship with God. By his broken body all is made new.
What does the Cross mean to you and to me? It means everything for Jesus did not hold back but gave everything - for you and for me.
Today we continue to journey towards the heart of the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection. How privileged we are to be called by name to participate. For those who look at the cross as just another symbol among many, and for those who hate what it represents, and for those, who only see the foolishness of the cross, we the beloved, are being led deeper into the mystery, so we can speak courageously, lovingly, and explain, to such as these, why today is good – a Good Friday, a very good Friday.
Deacon Peter Bujwid, Saint Agnes,
Arlington, MA.,
Friday March 29, 2024
