Sermon-Crucifixion

Sermon-Crucifixion by Rev. Edgar S. Welty

Given at

Durand United Church of Christ

On

November 25, 2001, Twenty Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Reign of Christ Our Lord

Scripture Lessons           Paul’s Letter to the          Colossians 1:11-20

                                      The Gospel of                 Luke 23:33-43

            This is the Sunday on which we celebrate the. “Reign of Christ”.  One could ask why on this day, in light of the celebration of Christ as King that this Gospel reading and sermon are about “Crucifixion”. This is because, when we really know crucifixion is, and what it represented, we will be able to see its meaning. For unless we really understand the cross we will miss the central idea of our faith. For without the cross there is no redemption. And with the cross we are assured of God’s right to ask us to forgive each other.

            To support these assertions we will first look at the history of the symbol of the cross. That will bring us to reality of what crucifixion was. Then we will see why Jesus’ death on the cross gives him the right to ask us to extend forgiveness to each other and accept forgiveness from God.

            The cross, as the symbol of our faith, is held high. There are dozens of crosses built into the light fixtures and window jamb of this church. Over the altar, on the hymnals and hanging around many of our necks are crosses. Two lines drawn at right angles are understood to represent Christianity.

            Remember the last verses of the hymn we just sung. “O cross that liftest up my head I dare not flee from thee. I lay in dust life’s glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red, life that shall endless be.”

            Our last hymn toady is “In the Cross of Christ I Glory, which towers over the wrecks of time, all the light of sacred story gather around its head sublime.” Another verse states, “When the sun of bliss is beaming, light and love upon my way from the cross the streaming adds more luster to the day.” We will also sing, “The cross that glows with peace and joy”. All of us know our ode to “The Old Rugged Cross”. A high percentage of our songs invoke the cross

            I don’t think we should stop using or singing about crosses. But did you know, that for the first three centuries Christians never used crosses as symbols? Do remember when Saint Paul “Proclaimed Christ crucified”? He said (it was) “A Stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1;23). Let us see why crucifixion and its symbol were problematic.

            The Jews were looking for a hero to liberate them. There is nothing in our common tradition to suggest that the Messiah, Christ as the deliverer of God’s chosen people should die on a cross. Thus the cross is a “Stumbling block” to Jews. Christ, the founder of our movement was a crucified man. That was “Foolishness to the Gentiles” because they were expected to follow a man who had died disgracefully.

            Crucifixion was a method to execute slaves and the lowest form of criminals. We have a record of Roman official saying that to even mention the word “Cross” to a citizen facing execution was considered mental torment. Only non-citizens who rebelled and challenged Roman Civilization were crucified.

            Crucifixions were common enough. There were many slave rebellions. There were revolts of subject peoples against Rome. When these were put down, the losers, sometimes by the thousands, were hung on crosses along the roads as gristly reminders as the fate of those who would challenge the empire. After Spartacuss rebelled, the roads from the tip of Italy to Rome hung with the crucified.

            Crucifixion was reserved for non-Romans. Citizens, even tyrants, were executed by the relatively merciful method of beheading with the sword.

            Crucifixion was so that it was discontinued while Rome was still amusing herself by throwing people to the lions and watching gladiators fight each other to the death. Only after crucifixion had not practiced for many years did crosses become an accepted symbol of our Christian faith. It took that long for the horror of the cross’s function to fade. An instrument of cruel execution invokes horror.

            I knew of man who tried to sell home made little electric chairs, scaled down versions of the kind that had been used for executions. They stood about fifteen inches tall. There were straps on the arms to hold down a tiny victim. A metal skullcap was wired with a grow light. In its seat was a Boston fern. Few people had enough of a sense of the macabre to want this novelty item for their homes. In the same way, few Christians would want across when it was still a method of execution.

            There is a great paradox, which we come to as we face the reality of crucifixion In spite of the fact that Jesus asks God to “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing” on some levels the Roman troops, who crucified Jesus, knew exactly what they were doing. They did not know Jesus as God’s Son, but they were experienced at crucifixion.

            Roman military headquarters in occupied Judea was not Jerusalem but in but in Caesarea a nearby seaport. During Passover the small Roman garrison at Jerusalem was reinforced to deal with the festival crowds. Extra people by the tens of thousands swarmed into the Holy City. The temple was recounting the story of the Hebrew liberation from Egypt; Often there had been uprisings at this time of the year.

            Troops bought in for this kind of duty were likely to skilled veterans. Soldier to take Jesus and two other threats to the public order would have to be the most skilled in crown control. I t must have been a large group, for a “Centurion” an officer in charge of a hundred men commanded them

            They took Jesus to a hill outside the city wall. Calvary was probably equipped with waiting poles, which were pre-pegged to hold up the crosses’ horizontal beams. Those who were crucified were nailed to a timber about five feet long, which was drilled to fit over the waiting pegs. They hoisted up to hang there for days. When the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side it was an n act of mercy. Our lord died over many hours rather than several days.

            The Roman Guard, like soldiers everywhere forced to unpleasant duty found ways to amuse themselves. They gambled for his clothes and taunted their victim. Thus they added to the verbal abuse of the leaders of the people.

            They had already made fun of Jesus’ kingship by forcing a crown of thorns onto his head. His forehead was blood stained. They had put a robe on him, put a reed in his hand as a specter, mocking bowed down, blindfolded him and spat in his face.

            These troops were probably the same who had flogged Jesus. Those whom Rome crucified were generally whipped to with-in an inch of their lives. No wonder Jesus falls under the weight of his cross. No wonder Jesus needed help to carry the heavy beam up Calvary’s hill.

            Calvary “Called ‘The skull’” was so named for another reason. Unlike Jesus whose body was taken down and laid in a tomb. The bodies of other crucified people were not buried but consumed by vultures and wild dogs. Their bones and skulls littered Calvary. We know this because: In spite of the fact that we know there were thousand of crucifixions, no intact skeletons of a crucified person have ever been recovered. Thus we should realized crucifixion was ghastly.

            What is the point of recounting these ancient almost unspeakable horrors Jesus’ death on the cross gives him the right to ask, in a special way, to extend forgiveness to each other and to accept forgiveness from God. People could think they are such villains, that no one not even God would forgive them. Those need to remember Jesus asked god to forgive those who crucified him. Compared to most anything any of us might of have done, those who routinely crucified people have done far more heinous acts.

            Crucifixion is probably about the cruelest and most degrading way to kill a fellow human being. The Romans did not invent the process; the Persians and Greeks also used it. But the troops of the Caesars were its most notorious practitioners.

            The other way we are called to deal with forgiveness is to forgive those who have wronged us. I have heard of many horrible things. People tell their pastors many things. By gave on the cross and recognize the horror of what Jesus endured. In that perspective, judge what you are being asked to forgive.

            It is not easy to forgive. There’s the story of a married couple that had had an argument. Mean things ended up being said. After a cooling off period one spouse asked the other to forgive and forget. This was agreed to. But somehow the things said in anger kept on coming up over and over.

            After some months, the party whose were still being repeated asked finally said ‘ “I thought you said you would forgive and forget.” The spouse answered, “I have forgiven and forgotten but I will never let you forget!”

            We pray every week “Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” But we are not really good at forgiving. But if we are to be Christ-like we should remember the enormity of what the crucified one forgave.

            We may say we have tired to forgive many times but gave up. But Jesus asks s us to forgive seven times seventy or basically as many times as it takes. Jesus forgives us over and over and asks us to do the same

            But we have trouble accepting and receiving Often we wallow in self-pity when we feel we are unforgivable, or we can let past poison our peace of mind and sour our relationships.

            But we should remember Christ the King who was nailed on the awful throne, the cross. He forgave the terrible cruelty of crucifixion, Jesus’ way is the way to forgiveness and the way to eternal life. That why the cross which was not used as a symbol of our faith for hundreds of years is an inspiration of our faith today. It was understandable that it took hundreds years for the stigma of the cross to fade. After those long years, our church discovered the power of the cross as a symbol.

            That is why it is appropriate that there are dozens of crosses built into the light fixtures and Window jambs of this church that is why we place a cross on the altar and around our necks. That is why so many hymnals and other book are embossed with crosses. But we must not let the common sight of so many instruments of crucifixion let us forget what an extraordinary cruel method of execution it was.

            We, who are Protestants, can forget because we use am empty cross. But we follow a crucified Lord, who endured the worst cruelty but was able to forgave his tormenters’

            We are asked to receive and extend forgiveness as Jesus modeled it form the cross. It is not easy, we are divine as he was and is. But we are given power through the Holy Spirit to be Christ-like. Let us receive forgiveness from our sins knowing Jesus forgave those hung him from the cross if we can believe Jesus as God   did that we should find it to be forgiven. We can believe Jesus suffered as a human, on the cross and still forgave those who crucified him. Surely if we are to model our forgiveness on Jesus, there is nothing we should not be able forgive. Our peace of mind depends on it. The extent of our faithfulness to the way of the cross depends on it.

            May we are created in the image of God cleanse that image as we forgive and are forgiven. May we who follow Jesus really show the love he showed as he was crucified. May we, who may be called to pick up crosses, as was Jesus. of pain and suffering, be sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit.                         Amen