Day Eight
There’s a story told about a priest in England, many years ago, who felt a call to become a missionary to a dangerous country, a place where declaring (much less preaching) Jesus as Lord would put your life at imminent risk. As he made his way to the coast where he would board his ship, the priest found himself sharing a train compartment with a wealthy businessman, who took an interest in the young man of God’s story. After hearing it all, the businessman looked at him with great concern in his eyes.
“Young man,” he said, “I applaud your enthusiasm, but I must protest. It seems so futile to go to a place where spreading your faith could cost you your life. You’re so young, with so much energy and passion, with so much of your life ahead of you. Surely God could find a place for you to serve where you won’t find yourself threatened with death?”
The young priest thought a moment, then quietly took out the cross he wore around his neck and held it out in front of the businessman and said only one thing.
“He did this for me. Can I do any less for him?”
He did this for me. Can I do any less for him? That profound statement followed by a profound question has such a powerful message for us on this Lenten journey. During these days, we follow Jesus to the cross where he died, and we meditate on his call to die to ourselves so that we may find true life in him. That is the heart of Lent.
The image of Jesus on a cross is a difficult and disturbing one, but it’s also an important one. In Protestant circles, where the cross is always shown to be empty, the emphasis is on the resurrection. “Our cross is empty,” they might say, “because Jesus didn’t stay on it. He was buried, and then he rose again. That’s our focus.” And they are expressing an undeniable truth: the resurrection of Jesus is where Christianity begins. Had Jesus stayed dead, his name would have been simply added to the pantheon of false gods that were common in 1st century Palestine, and then eventually forgotten. But he didn’t stay dead, and it’s good and right that we have a visible reminder of that.
But how important it is that we also allow ourselves to meditate on the importance of what happened on that cruel instrument of Roman torture and execution. We need to take it in without giving in to our desire to empty the cross of its inhabitant, the one who loved us enough to go through that for us. Paul emphasized the importance of this in his first letter to the Corinthians:
“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”—1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (NIV)
Later in that epistle Paul will talk about the resurrection of Jesus. He will state without hesitation that there is no salvation without the empty tomb (1 Cor. 15:17). But it’s also true there is no empty tomb without the cross. Jesus rose because he was first willing to die for us and our sins. And when we allow ourselves the time needed to cast our eyes on that death, we are reminded of the depth of God’s love for us. As Paul says in Romans:
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8 (NIV)
As we contemplate this amazing truth during Lent, and as we listen for the ways God is stirring our souls to take up our cross and follow him, what else can we say?
He did this for me. Can I do any less for him?
Mighty, awesome, wonderful Is the holy cross
Where the Lamb laid down His life
To lift us from the fall
Mighty is the power of the cross
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) Do you keep a cross with you, or on you in some way (necklace, carry in your pocket, etc.)? How can we build into our lives and our churches an intentional time of focusing on the cross?
2) Read this quote by A.W. Tozer and think/talk about how it resonates with, or even provokes you. What is he saying here, and what in this teaching might we find helpful in our Lenten meditations?
“Though the cross of Christ has been beautified by the poet and the artist, the avid seeker after God is likely to find it the same savage implement of destruction it was in the days of old. The way of the cross is still the pain-wracked path to spiritual power and fruitfulness. So do not seek to hide from it. Do not accept an easy way.”—A.W. Tozer
3) Have you ever found a piece of art or depiction of the cross to be particularly striking and inspiring? What about it stirred your soul?
4) The lyrics of the song are framed as a series of questions, which then find their answer in the cross of Christ. As you spend time gazing on the cross, what questions come to your heart and mind? How does the cross speak to them?
5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”—Galatians 6:14 (NIV)