The Beauty of the Cross
One Cross + 3 Nails = 4 Giveness
Prayer:
Luther Burbank took an interest in the common field daisy that was an outcast weed despised by the farmers in the East. He crossed it with the Japanese daisy and an English daisy and produced the Shasta daisy, a flower whose beautiful bloom has grown as much as two feet in diameter, and which will last up to six weeks when cut.
Burbank went on to transform other despised and worthless plants into plants of beauty and usefulness. He said, "It is my theory that there are no outcasts in nature; everything has a use, and everything in nature is beautiful if we are eager to ennoble it. Every weed is a possible beautiful flower."
This is also the
paradox of the cross. We could as easily consider the ugliness of the cross as
the beauty of it. One is as real as the other. At one time in history the cross
was the most gruesome object of horror that could be imagined. Cicero the Roman
said, "The cross speaks of that which is so shameful, so horrible, that it
should not be mentioned in polite society." It was so horrible to die on
the cross
This is also the
paradox of the cross. We could as easily consider the ugliness of the cross as
the beauty of it. One is as real as the other. At one time in history the cross
was the most gruesome object of horror that could be imagined. Cicero the Roman
said, "The cross speaks of that which is so shameful, so horrible, that it
should not be mentioned in polite society." It was so horrible to die on
the cross
No one could have
ever dreamed that the cross would someday become a universal decoration and
design for jewellery. You can buy a cross made of precious metal and with
diamonds or any other precious stone.
This would have sounded as incredible to the ancients
as the idea would sound to us of wearing a hangman's noose as a silver pin, or
hanging a picture of instrument of execution in your living room.
Weeds being transformed into flowers is amazing, but
nothing can compare with the wonder of the cross being transformed from a
symbol of horror and death to a symbol of beauty and life. Jesus converted
everything He touched, and one of the most radical conversions of all was the
conversion of the cross.
All through Jesus’ ministry He had been saying that
the hour has not yet come.
The central hour of all history was
approaching, and most crucial act for eternity would be completed, and God's
purpose fulfilled. The beauty of the cross is the beauty of a finished project,
plan, and purpose.
Marie Zwiller painted the picture, "The
First Night Outside Paradise." Adam and Eve have been driven from
Eden, and they are looking back at it. An angel with a flaming sword guards the
gate. They are not looking at the angel, however, for above him illuminating
the sky is the bright outline of a cross. Their eyes are lifted, and they are
gazing at the cross.
The cross was in God's plan from the beginning. There
was only one bridge that could span the gulf between paradise lost and paradise
regained, and that was the cross. No one could get past the angel's flaming
sword until God solved the sin problem through an atonement for all people.
When the Greeks came to Jesus they were ready to
receive Him as their Lord, and Jesus knew their hearts. He knew that His hour
had come to fulfill the purpose of
God
for all men, both Jews and Gentiles. No longer would He be limited to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. He says in verse 32, when I am lifted up I will
draw all people to myself."
From the perspective of the divine plan and purpose
the cross was the beautiful fulfillment. Jesus demonstrated the completed work
by saying to the thief beside him, "This day thou shalt be with me in
paradise." The hour had come to open the gate of paradise where people
could again enter the presence of God. On the cross Jesus reconciled God and
humanity, and made it possible for people to be forgiven and cleansed of all
sin. What could be more beautiful than the gate to paradise? The cross was that
gate.
Jesus says that a grain of wheat must fall into the
earth and die or it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit. Death is
a means to productiveness in nature. Jesus uses an illustration from nature,
for the Greeks would understand this.
To plant a seed is to glorify it by opening up to it
all the potential God implanted in it. The same principle applied to Christ and
the cross. Had He not died his potential as a Saviour of all people could never
have been realized. He could have been a great Jewish leader, prophet, and
teacher, but not a universal Redeemer, for without the shedding of blood there
is no remission of sin. St. Augustine said, "The death of Christ was the
death of the most fertile grain of wheat."
The great Sower sowed the most productive seed when He
sowed Himself, and laid down His life. This was the seed that brought forth
again the beauty of Eden. The cross was not the termination of His life, but
the germination of His life. The cross became the most productive tree ever. It
is the very tree of life, and all of the fruits of the Spirit, and all of the
fruits of Christianity in history are offshoots from the cross. The beauty of
the cross is the beauty of its productiveness.
Just as the principle of life through self-sacrifice
applies to all seeds in nature, so the principle of bearing the cross as a
means to abundant life applies to all men. In verse 25 Jesus says, "He who
loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it
for eternal life."
The world says that self-preservation is the law of
life, but Jesus says we must go beyond this law into the higher law where
self-sacrifice is the way to life. People who seek only to preserve their life
and refuse to risk it, or invest it in the lives of others, abide alone like a
seed in a box.
They reason: If you fall in love, your chances of
being hurt are greater. If you have children they are greater yet. The more you
get involved with people, the more you open yourself up to wounds and
heartache. The way to escape all of this is to live for self alone. Love your
life only, and no other, and then your problems will be few, and your burdens
light. This is the logic that leads to loss of life is what Jesus is saying.
The way to abundant life is in following the principle of the cross, which is
self-sacrifice.
Many people feel it is such a waste for missionaries
to bury themselves in pagan lands, and give up so many of the good things of
life, but from the perspective of Christ it is beautiful. The world says
survival at any cost, but Jesus says sacrifice at any cost. He said, "Take
up the cross and follow Me." It is the way to life.
This principle
is one that Jesus repeats more than any other: Twice in Matthew, twice in Luke,
and once in Mark, and here. The beauty of this cross is that it will lead our
lives to being purposeful and productive, as was that of Christ. On a lesser
scale each of us, like Christ, can fulfill God's purpose in history, and be
productive of fruit that will last for eternity. To become a part of the beauty
of the cross we must abandon the principle of self and safety first, and follow
Christ in sacrificing ourselves for others.
A little girl once spoke to her mother and asked, "Why
are you so ugly mother?" The mother said, "Come here my darling
and I will tell you." It was time for the secret to be told, and so she
explained why her face had disfiguring scars. She told her that a fire had
broken out in the home when the girl was only a baby.
The mother was at a neighbour's house, and when she rushed home she plunged into the flames to get to the child. She saved the child, but not without great cost to her own body. The scars she bore were the result. After the child heard this story she was overwhelmed with love, and in tears she cried out, "Mother, you are the most beautiful person in the world." Ugliness can become beautiful when you can see it from the right perspective. When we see the sacrifice of the cross and what it did for us, then we see the beauty of the cross.
A young man was at the end of his rope,
seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on,"
he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear." The Lord replied,
"My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this
room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish. "The man
was filled with relief and said, "Thank you Lord," and he did as he
was told.
Upon
entering the other room, he saw many crosses; some so large the tops were not
visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd
like that one, Lord," he whispered. The Lord replied, "My son, that
is the cross you just brought in" When life's problems seem overwhelming,
it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with.
We are in the Lenten season in the lead up to Good Friday and the Easter celebrations. As we follow Jesus on his way to the cross, we are reminded of all that he has done for us.
One Cross + 3 Nails = 4 Giveness
Whatever
your cross. Whatever your pain.
There
will always be sunshine. After the rain.
Perhaps
we may stumble. Perhaps even fall, but God's always there.
To
help us through it all.
Amen.
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
April 6, 2003