OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 33 - APR 2007

Dear Friends:

As I write this, Easter is approaching and we are spending time thinking about what the last week of Jesus’ life was like. At this point in the week, he was in Jerusalem, getting step-by-step closer to the cross, closer to the reason he had come to this planet in the first place.

The entire Bible centers around Jesus’ death on the cross. And because of that centrality, the cross has become the symbol of our faith. As John Stott points out, early Christians could have chosen

the manger to symbolize Jesus’ coming as a baby, or
an empty tomb to remember his resurrection, or
a throne to acknowledge his exalted position in heaven today.

But, instead, they chose the cross as the symbol of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The cross in 1 st Century Roman culture symbolized shame, disgrace, and pain. It was an ugly instrument of torture and death and, as such, provided many cultural reasons for followers of Jesus not to want such a symbol to reflect the Christian faith.

But early Christians saw the cross with enlightened eyes and realized that God had made something beautiful out of something repulsive. He had brought triumph out of what appeared to be defeat. He had taken the despair of that Good Friday and turned it into joy. And in doing all this, God had affirmed the cross of Jesus Christ as being the one and only pivotal point in human history.

The whole of Jesus’ public ministry pointed to the cross. He spoke often of his impending death. He was preparing his followers for the fact that he would be leaving them. He talked about laying his life down for his friends. He talked about the Good Shepherd giving his life for his sheep. Then, as the time of the cross loomed close, he was even more explicit. He knew he would die and he also knew how and when. He set his face resolutely toward the cross, knowing that what would happen on those cross-beams would bring about the fulfillment of his earthly mission. Afterwards, the resurrection would be God’s acceptance of the sacrifice Jesus had made for us in his death, so, even the resurrection looks back to the cross as central to our spiritual history.

Another evidence of the center-of-history nature of the cross is found in Jesus’ last instructions to his followers. How did he want them (and us) to remember him? Was it for his teaching? His compassion? His miracles? His resurrection? All of that is vitally important as we learn to know our Lord and all that he embodies. But, Jesus was very clear in what the focus of our remembrance of him should be. He gave careful instructions for a memorial service that his followers were to participate in until he comes again. What was it?

He gave us the bread and wine as symbols of his broken body and poured out blood and told us that when we eat and drink of those elements, we would be remembering his death. He did not establish a service to help us remember his resurrection or his ascension. But he wanted us to have a continual reminder of the reason he came. He came to die and it is his death that he wants his followers to look back on. Jesus made it very clear through his teaching (especially the teaching he gave after his resurrection) that all of Scripture (from Genesis 3:15 onward) pointed to the cross. And then, as if to emphasize the point, the only sacramental memorial that he established for himself points us back to it as well.

When the disciples began their Holy Spirit-inspired preaching in the first few chapters of Acts, their message is the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was never to be forgotten what had happened that Passover week in Jerusalem. And it is a story that lives yet today. It is a story that those of us who follow Jesus are a part of. We participate in his death by our own giving up of ourselves to him and to the service of others. We participate in his gift of life by accepting the forgiveness of sins and restored relationship with our Creator that the cross provides. We participate in the on-going story of the cross by allowing the Christ-life to be lived through our bodies by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we invite others to participate, too.

As Leonard Sweet says, “Sadly, for some Christians the story has stopped. God has done all that God is going to do, and God’s voice is embalmed in a book. This turns the work of evangelists into being the salesmen of a tradition, not Christ introducers and life-connectors to an ongoing, never-ending story.” May we not fall into that camp! The story continues. We are not selling a tradition or teaching a moral law. Instead, we are inviting others to enter the on-going story of God at work in our world. And the only entry point to that story is through the cross.

As we walk through these days before and after Easter, as we look back on what Jesus did for us, and as we experience his living presence in our lives, let’s also look for ways to let others in on this greatest story ever lived. It is a story that never ends!

Blessings!

Bev

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