Tuesday in Holy Week, April 19

Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” John 12:27

Thought for the Day: A Perspective on the Cross by the Rev. Greg Buffone

Few people, regardless of age or ethnicity would be unaware that the image or physical representation of a cross is the principal symbol of the Christian faith. Crosses are displayed in various forms and settings as jewelry, decoration on clothing, as garden art, tattoos, etc.   Crosses are virtually ubiquitous yet the irony is that while the symbol itself is familiar to the majority, few grasp the full depth and significance of the symbolism embodied by the cross.

Presumably the ambiguity of the cross is simply a problem of context. Viewed from one perspective it’s simply a matter of historical note, i.e., one form of torture and means of execution that was in widespread use by the Romans. (One is compelled to wonder why non-Christians would want to display something with such historical significance on their person.) Others see the cross, particularly artistic renderings of the cross, simply as art for art’s sake having no particular metaphysical meaning or significance. With the widespread and commonplace use of the cross in so many forms and for various purposes is it any surprise that the cross might be seen as little more than a brand label for a Western religion?

To begin truly to grasp the significance of the Cross it must be viewed in the context of the biblical narrative: the rich, wonderful and sometimes difficult tapestry that reveals a God whose steadfast love toward mankind would otherwise likely be beyond human comprehension? The narrative backdrop of the creation account, giving insight into man’s relationship to God and his rebellion and estrangement from God; the calling of Israel to be a peculiar people, instruments of God’s steadfast love in the redemption of the nations set the stage for understanding the Cross. 

Squarely at the center of the salvation story stands the Cross buttressed by two indispensible truths, the Incarnation and the Resurrection. Not one of these events that have changed the course of human history as well as humanity’s future make sense without the others. The God who created the universe, who lives eternally, who needs nothing from us chose to step into time and space and becoming flesh and blood, limited and mortal, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In Jesus we see God offering love, forgiveness and reconciliation to all in a personal and particular way and we crucify him on a cross. The Cross is a symbol of man’s rejection of God’s grace. The Cross is a symbol of God’s justification for judgment and punishment of sin. The Cross is a symbol of righteousness.  The Cross is a symbol of God’s steadfast love. The Cross is all these things and the profundity of the Cross can only begin to be grasped through the truth of the Incarnation and Resurrection that unequivocally identify the divine origin of Jesus of Nazareth and His role in opening the way for each of us to return to God. 

The power and symbolism of the Cross must not, cannot be separated from the salvation story so perfectly framed in Scripture.  As we move through Holy Week look around you. Where do you see the cross displayed. Is God providing you with an opportunity to place it in its proper context?

Self-examination, repentance, prayer, and worship:

Before you pray, take some time to reflect on why Jesus went to the cross for you. Perhaps there is one particular thing that deeply troubles you. Confess it to the Lord, ask for his forgiveness that he shows on the cross, and then pray a prayer like the following:

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Spend further time in prayer and worship before studying the Gospel of John below.

Study: John 15 and 16, I Am the True Vine

 ¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.¹¹These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

 ¹² "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

The Hatred of the World

 ¹⁸ "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'

 ²⁶"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ²⁷And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

 ¹"I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. ² They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. ⁴But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

   "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' ⁶But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰ concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ¹¹ concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 ¹²"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

 ¹⁶ "A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me." ¹⁷So some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that he says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, 'because I am going to the Father'?"¹⁸So they were saying, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about." ¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? ²⁰Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²² So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ²³ In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

I Have Overcome the World

 ²⁵"I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

 ²⁹His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! ³⁰Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God." ³¹Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? ³²Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."