Jacquelyne J. Jackson - "The Words from the Cross" Good Friday Service Part 2 (April 4, 1969)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(people chattering) | 0:06 | |
(paper rustling) | 0:11 | |
- | The seven last words of Jesus Christ give us | 0:21 |
a composite picture | 0:25 | |
of the characteristics of our Lord and our Savior. | 0:28 | |
And I would hope that as we go through this holy week, | 0:33 | |
that each of us will reflect upon these seven phrases, | 0:37 | |
and try to ascertain the makeup and the traits of this man. | 0:42 | |
The third word, | 0:49 | |
which is taken up in the passage, | 0:51 | |
which I have just read from John, | 0:52 | |
not only demonstrates Christ's great love for His family, | 0:56 | |
but also tells us something of Christ's role | 1:02 | |
as a good shepherd, | 1:05 | |
and what he would have Christians do | 1:08 | |
in their walk upon earth today. | 1:10 | |
So I think first of all, | 1:13 | |
we might look at one word in this passage | 1:14 | |
which could give us some problems. | 1:17 | |
Secondly, its interpretation for the times. | 1:20 | |
And thirdly, it's relevance to today. | 1:24 | |
Now just a cursory reaction to this scripture | 1:29 | |
might actually lead one to believe | 1:33 | |
that Christ's relationship | 1:35 | |
to his mother was somewhat impersonal. | 1:36 | |
For why would He address His mother in this instance, | 1:40 | |
as quote, woman, unquote? | 1:43 | |
Why during the last throes of His agonizing six-hour death, | 1:47 | |
does He choose to be this impersonal? | 1:54 | |
Why doesn't He offer her direct words | 1:59 | |
in comfort and in sympathy? | 2:01 | |
There are a couple of suggestions made | 2:05 | |
and interpretation that I would discount. | 2:07 | |
There is a third that I would ascribe to. | 2:10 | |
Now, some have suggested that Christ did not wish | 2:14 | |
to cause His mother any further anguish | 2:18 | |
by the use of an endearing term. | 2:23 | |
However, we certainly know that at this time, | 2:26 | |
her grief must've been very deep. | 2:29 | |
In addition, it's also been suggested | 2:33 | |
that in one interpretation of the passage, | 2:36 | |
might be that Christ had a motive | 2:40 | |
of not wanting to inflame the rest of the crowd around Him, | 2:42 | |
which was already hostile. | 2:46 | |
But of course they knew Mary and the other three women | 2:48 | |
and John who were in the group. | 2:51 | |
They knew they were followers of Christ. | 2:54 | |
And yet the scripture indicates to us | 2:57 | |
that nothing happened to them during these long hours. | 2:59 | |
I think the most logical explanation | 3:04 | |
for the use of this term, woman, in this passage, | 3:06 | |
is that Jesus wished to redefine His relationship with Mary, | 3:10 | |
as now being not one of mother and son, | 3:15 | |
of parent and child, | 3:19 | |
but one of as Savior and Lord in relation to her. | 3:21 | |
In other words, she became one of his children, | 3:26 | |
one of his daughters. | 3:29 | |
Christ wished to emphasize to Mary through this term, | 3:31 | |
that this was the end of their earthly relationship | 3:36 | |
and the beginning of the more spiritual | 3:41 | |
and heavenly relationship. | 3:45 | |
Now in this passage, | 3:49 | |
we also see Christ's respect for his mother, | 3:50 | |
and the place which she held in his heart. | 3:54 | |
Because even while hanging on that crude cross, | 3:57 | |
Jesus was concerned for his mother's protection | 4:01 | |
and for her wellbeing after He had left this earthly life. | 4:05 | |
I think that we can also suggest | 4:10 | |
that Jesus' desire was that his mother would not see | 4:13 | |
the final moment of his death. | 4:17 | |
And so He created a new family relationship | 4:20 | |
by entrusting his mother's care | 4:24 | |
to his most loved disciple, John. | 4:26 | |
Now you immediately say, well, this is true, | 4:30 | |
but John was not her natural son. | 4:34 | |
How can you say that he could ever take the place of Christ | 4:37 | |
on earth in her life? | 4:41 | |
And yet I think it's by this new family relationship, | 4:44 | |
that Christ created, that this is possible. | 4:47 | |
This relationship was not built upon heritage | 4:50 | |
or lineage or blood, | 4:54 | |
but was built on the love and concern for others. | 4:56 | |
And John, who was a believer in Christ, | 5:02 | |
manifested that love | 5:06 | |
that Christians should have for one another, | 5:08 | |
and that Christians should have for all people today. | 5:11 | |
I know that today in academic surroundings and elsewhere, | 5:17 | |
it is said that the scriptures are not relevant anymore | 5:23 | |
to contemporary life. | 5:27 | |
It is my contention | 5:30 | |
that the application of this passage of scripture, | 5:32 | |
which demonstrates the need | 5:36 | |
for all of us to be good shepherds, | 5:38 | |
is most relevant to these times. | 5:41 | |
Just compare the time of Christ with today, | 5:45 | |
and what do we see? | 5:49 | |
Social injustice, economic inequality, | 5:51 | |
they were present then, | 5:55 | |
and they are present today. | 5:56 | |
A war, which is not just was present then, | 5:59 | |
just as it is present today. | 6:03 | |
I think if Christ were to look today on earth, as He is, | 6:05 | |
it would be a subject of great pain to Him. | 6:10 | |
For today, we celebrate his death and his resurrection, | 6:14 | |
not with a spirit of love in this community | 6:18 | |
but with a spirit of alienation. | 6:22 | |
Christ said in the Gospel according | 6:25 | |
to Matthew 12:48 through 50, | 6:27 | |
"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, | 6:32 | |
is my brother and my sister and my mother." | 6:36 | |
What do we see today in this community? | 6:40 | |
Do we love our neighbors | 6:44 | |
or do we suspect our neighbor | 6:46 | |
because of his way of life, | 6:48 | |
because it's a little different than ours? | 6:51 | |
Or his economic condition is not equal to ours, | 6:54 | |
or his education is not equal | 6:57 | |
or because his skin is a different color than ours? | 7:00 | |
Let us each one of us search our hearts | 7:05 | |
and determine if we are really being obedient | 7:08 | |
to the dictates of Christ, | 7:11 | |
that we should be the good shepherd in our community. | 7:13 | |
Instead of feeding hungry, | 7:18 | |
and giving drink to the thirsty, | 7:20 | |
we find a statement made by a group in Durham | 7:23 | |
that murder will be necessary to affect their aims. | 7:26 | |
And this goes unchallenged | 7:30 | |
by the leadership of this community. | 7:32 | |
We find that some feel that it is necessary | 7:35 | |
to pass ordinances | 7:38 | |
that not more than 50 persons can gather together | 7:40 | |
in a downtown park in this community. | 7:43 | |
Who knows when this same group may find it necessary | 7:46 | |
to say that not more than two persons may gather together | 7:50 | |
in any public place at one time in Durham? | 7:54 | |
By the same token, we find one group of radicals | 8:00 | |
who contend that to effect their aims of change | 8:03 | |
in our society, | 8:07 | |
that the necessary means involved | 8:08 | |
must be the breaking of windows, | 8:11 | |
the diminution of the rights of others | 8:13 | |
and a general disruption. | 8:16 | |
And this has already led | 8:19 | |
to tragic consequences on this campus. | 8:20 | |
How does this reconcile itself | 8:25 | |
with Christ's demonstration of concern for his family, | 8:27 | |
even in the great pain that He suffered on the cross? | 8:31 | |
It does not, it seems to me. | 8:35 | |
And we must remember | 8:38 | |
that Jesus was the greatest revolutionary of all times. | 8:39 | |
That He consorted with tax collectors, | 8:43 | |
prostitutes, lepers, samaritans, | 8:46 | |
and the other outcasts of that society. | 8:51 | |
The use of violence and hatred | 8:55 | |
and intolerance was not Christ's way | 8:58 | |
to affect change in his society. | 9:00 | |
Today, we commemorate the first anniversary | 9:04 | |
of the death of a follower of Jesus Christ, | 9:07 | |
Martin Luther King, who was a man who also believed | 9:09 | |
that non-violence and love for others was the effective way | 9:13 | |
to bring about social and economic justice. | 9:17 | |
Today we should resolve, each one of us, individually, | 9:21 | |
that the death of Dr. King should not have been in vain. | 9:25 | |
And that we will remember this Good Friday, | 9:29 | |
as a day when we dedicate ourselves, | 9:33 | |
those of us who are believers, | 9:36 | |
to a closer walk and adherence | 9:38 | |
to the teachings of Jesus Christ. | 9:41 | |
For those, let us remember | 9:44 | |
that this Good Friday is not a day of bunny rabbits, | 9:48 | |
of chickens and of chocolate eggs | 9:53 | |
and fancy spring outfits, | 9:56 | |
but a day when we will truly be | 9:59 | |
Christ's brother, sister and mother, | 10:01 | |
in the institution of a new family relationship | 10:04 | |
upon this earth. | 10:09 | |
Let us pray. | 10:10 | |
Father, today we ask that you will give us the power | 10:14 | |
to become your sons. | 10:17 | |
We ask that you will give us a heart | 10:20 | |
and a concern for others, | 10:22 | |
that you will give us a real love for others, | 10:25 | |
and a concern for those who do not know you, | 10:28 | |
that they shall know you, | 10:31 | |
and come into the light of your greatness. | 10:33 | |
These things we ask in the name of the precious Savior, | 10:36 | |
who gave his blood for our sins. | 10:39 | |
(solemn organ music) | 10:46 | |
♪ Let all mortal fresh keep silence ♪ | 11:31 | |
♪ And with fear and trembling stand ♪ | 11:39 | |
♪ Ponder nothing earthly minded ♪ | 11:45 | |
♪ For with blessing in his hand ♪ | 11:52 | |
♪ Christ our God to earth ♪ | 12:00 | |
♪ Descendeth ♪ | 12:04 | |
♪ Our full homage to demand ♪ | 12:09 | |
♪ King of kings yet born of Mary ♪ | 12:18 | |
♪ As of old on earth He stood ♪ | 12:25 | |
♪ Lord of lords in human vesture ♪ | 12:32 | |
♪ In the body and the blood ♪ | 12:39 | |
♪ He will give to all the faithful ♪ | 12:47 | |
♪ His own self for heavenly food ♪ | 12:56 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 13:06 | |
(chairs rustling) | 13:13 | |
- | From his eternal seat, | 13:21 |
Christ comes down to this earth | 13:22 | |
where ages ago in the bitter cup of death, | 13:25 | |
He pored his deathless life | 13:28 | |
for those who came to call and those who remained away. | 13:30 | |
He looks about him | 13:35 | |
and sees the weapons of evil that wounded his own age, | 13:36 | |
the arrogant spikes and spears, | 13:40 | |
the slim sly knives, | 13:43 | |
the scimitar and diplomatic sheath crooked and cruel | 13:45 | |
or hissing and raining sparks | 13:49 | |
as they are sharpened on monster wheels, | 13:51 | |
but most fearful of them all | 13:54 | |
at the hands of the slaughterers | 13:56 | |
by those on which have been engraved his own name | 13:58 | |
that are fashioned from the text of his own words | 14:02 | |
fused in the fire of hatred | 14:05 | |
and hammered by hypocritical greed. | 14:08 | |
He presses his hand upon his heart. | 14:11 | |
He feels the age-long moment of his death has not yet ended, | 14:13 | |
that new nails turned out in countless numbers | 14:18 | |
by those who are learned in cunning craftsmanship, | 14:21 | |
pierce Him in every joint. | 14:24 | |
They had hurt Him once, | 14:26 | |
standing in the shadow of their temple, | 14:27 | |
they are born anew in crowds. | 14:30 | |
From before their sacred altar, | 14:33 | |
they shout to the soldiers, "strike," | 14:35 | |
and the son of man in agony cries, | 14:38 | |
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." | 14:41 | |
Let us pray. | 14:45 | |
Eternal God in this hour, | 14:50 | |
we confess that in our mistaken ambitions, | 14:52 | |
our hypocritical greed, | 14:55 | |
our insensitivity to human need, | 14:57 | |
and in our fear of giving and receiving love, | 15:01 | |
we have rejected the love you have given us | 15:04 | |
through the life of your son, | 15:07 | |
and have thereby crucified Him in you. | 15:09 | |
Forgive us for the times when we have seen the | 15:12 | |
so many injustices of the world have bruised and beaten | 15:14 | |
and have passed by on the other side. | 15:18 | |
When we have built around ourselves the walls of privilege | 15:21 | |
within which we might not hear the passion of exploited man, | 15:25 | |
the weeping of women | 15:29 | |
and the bitter cry of children robbed of happy youth. | 15:30 | |
When we have seen our nation at war, | 15:33 | |
but have denied our complicity | 15:35 | |
and the resulting death and destruction. | 15:37 | |
Fill our lives with the light of your love | 15:41 | |
and send us now to reflect your light | 15:43 | |
in the darkness of futility | 15:46 | |
and the horror of casual human cruelty. | 15:48 | |
Lead us not into temptation, | 15:51 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 15:54 | |
Let all that is in us serve you | 15:56 | |
and thus free us from all fear | 15:59 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 16:02 | |
amen. | 16:04 | |
(paper rustling) | 16:11 | |
- | Here's Matthew's account of our Lord's fourth utterance. | 16:13 |
The passersby hurled abuse at him, | 16:19 | |
they wagged their heads and cried, | 16:21 | |
"You would pull the temple down, would you? | 16:23 | |
And build it in three days. | 16:25 | |
Come down from the cross and save yourself | 16:27 | |
if you are indeed the Son of God." | 16:30 | |
So too the chief priests, | 16:33 | |
with the lawyers and elders mocked at him. | 16:34 | |
"He saved others," they said, | 16:37 | |
"but he cannot save himself. | 16:39 | |
King of Israel indeed, | 16:41 | |
let Him come down now from the cross. | 16:43 | |
And then we will believe Him. | 16:46 | |
Did He trust in God? | 16:48 | |
Let God rescue Him if he wants Him | 16:49 | |
for He said He was God's son." | 16:52 | |
Even the bandits who were crucified with Him, | 16:55 | |
taunted Him in the same way. | 16:57 | |
Darkness fell over the whole line from midday | 17:01 | |
until three in the afternoon. | 17:03 | |
And about three Jesus cried aloud, | 17:06 | |
"Eli, Eli, (speaking in a foreign language)," | 17:08 | |
which means my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. | 17:11 | |
Some of the bystanders on hearing this said, | 17:16 | |
"He is calling Elijah." | 17:19 | |
One of them ran at once and fetched the sponge, | 17:21 | |
which he soaked in sour wine and held it to his lips | 17:24 | |
on the end of a cane. | 17:27 | |
But the other said, | 17:29 | |
"let us see if Elijah will come to save Him." | 17:30 | |
May God's will shine through this reading of His Word. | 17:35 | |
♪ Eli ♪ | 17:42 | |
♪ Eli ♪ | 17:45 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 17:48 | |
(soulful orchestra music) | 18:06 | |
(paper rustling) | 24:01 | |
Let us pray. | 24:02 | |
And the words of our mouths and the meditations | 24:05 | |
of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. | 24:07 | |
Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. | 24:11 | |
Amen. | 24:16 | |
My God, my God, | 24:19 | |
why hast thou forsaken me? | 24:22 | |
This heartfelt cry of anguish, | 24:26 | |
of loneliness, shows us Christ's humanity | 24:29 | |
more than any other moments in his life. | 24:33 | |
In this tragic moment of isolation, | 24:36 | |
Christ speaks to that in us, | 24:39 | |
which is most human. | 24:41 | |
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? | 24:44 | |
There is so much for us to learn from Christ's passion. | 24:50 | |
The overwhelming fact of Christ's sacrifice | 24:53 | |
in the face of man's unworthiness, | 24:56 | |
the inescapable truths of our sinfulness | 24:59 | |
and God's redemptive love. | 25:01 | |
But what stand out most vividly for me today, | 25:04 | |
are the implications for us of Christ's all-too-human cry. | 25:07 | |
Scorned by his enemies, renounced by his friends, | 25:13 | |
stripped of his clothing, crowned with thorns, | 25:18 | |
given gall to drink, | 25:22 | |
Christ is nailed to a cross of man's making. | 25:24 | |
Despised, rejected, | 25:29 | |
abandoned by man, | 25:32 | |
Jesus for one brief moment loses faith in his father | 25:34 | |
and his God. | 25:39 | |
This horrible cry shows us | 25:41 | |
that at the most harrowing moment of his martyrdom, | 25:43 | |
Jesus suffered not only physical torment, | 25:46 | |
but that which we fear and dread most, | 25:49 | |
the anguish of isolation. | 25:53 | |
How terrible that despairing cry sounds, | 25:56 | |
but how natural, | 25:59 | |
how human. | 26:01 | |
How often we too in our thoughts and deeds, | 26:03 | |
if not by our words have shared Christ's cry. | 26:07 | |
Many of us long ago, | 26:12 | |
committed ourselves to the idea that God had forsaken us. | 26:13 | |
There was a time when we were eager to offer Him | 26:18 | |
our nice middle-class prayers. | 26:22 | |
Father, give me. | 26:25 | |
Father, make people like me. | 26:27 | |
Father, let me be loved. | 26:31 | |
But, alas, God was not a very good father. | 26:35 | |
He offered no tangible speedy answer | 26:39 | |
to our eager supplication. | 26:41 | |
We were left with silence. | 26:44 | |
We felt forsaken by God, | 26:47 | |
by our giving God. | 26:50 | |
So we gave him up. | 26:52 | |
He became irrelevant. | 26:55 | |
So we looked elsewhere for the answers | 26:58 | |
to our kind of prayers. | 27:00 | |
We learned to earn the things we had asked God | 27:03 | |
to give us. | 27:05 | |
We learned to put faith in ourselves and in our possessions, | 27:07 | |
after all we could see and hear them. | 27:11 | |
They were not silent and invisible. | 27:14 | |
We learned that if we couldn't be loved, | 27:18 | |
and if we found it difficult to love, | 27:21 | |
there was always sex. | 27:25 | |
And perhaps after all we could convince ourselves | 27:27 | |
and those we had to convince | 27:30 | |
that sex and love were identical. | 27:32 | |
We learned that if the world is not comfortable | 27:36 | |
enough for us, | 27:39 | |
we can always escape through liquor or through drugs | 27:40 | |
or through TV or perhaps even through ceaseless activity. | 27:44 | |
But then inevitably the awful moment comes | 27:51 | |
when we realize that we are still even more terribly alone | 27:55 | |
and that none of these motions we are making, | 28:01 | |
none of these escapes we are trying, | 28:03 | |
fit into any meaningful pattern. | 28:06 | |
That moment comes when we are once again faced with silence | 28:09 | |
and the black prospect of nothingness. | 28:14 | |
But many of you will say, "Oh no, that's not me. | 28:19 | |
I gave up those empty bourgeois dreams long ago. | 28:22 | |
Now I'm going to change the world." | 28:26 | |
You will say that God has nothing to offer man | 28:29 | |
in the struggle, the revolution. | 28:31 | |
"After all," you will say, | 28:34 | |
"if I'm going to believe in God, | 28:36 | |
God created this mess | 28:37 | |
and now man has to straighten it out. | 28:39 | |
God has forsaken us. | 28:42 | |
It's our job now." | 28:45 | |
With your innocent faith in man's capacity for improvement, | 28:47 | |
in man's perfectibility, | 28:53 | |
you march forward toward the battlements | 28:56 | |
against all evil and injustice. | 28:58 | |
And after you have torn down every corrupt institution | 29:02 | |
and all civilization is razed to the ground | 29:07 | |
to make room for your perfect society, | 29:10 | |
when you stand alone amidst the rubble | 29:14 | |
and realize the inevitability of flaws in man's creations, | 29:17 | |
when you realize that you have destroyed everything | 29:22 | |
to get at an impossible ideal, | 29:25 | |
you will once again | 29:29 | |
stand before the awesome fact of your own impotence | 29:31 | |
and feel even more isolated. | 29:35 | |
It is when our dreams disintegrate, | 29:40 | |
our dream of a materialistic paradise, | 29:43 | |
our dream of a psychedelic escape | 29:47 | |
or our dream of a man-made utopia. | 29:50 | |
It is when these dreams disintegrate, | 29:53 | |
that Christ's anguished cry can shatter the silence | 29:56 | |
and help us begin our journey to wholeness. | 30:01 | |
"My God, my God, | 30:05 | |
why hast thou forsaken me?" | 30:08 | |
At this moment, Christ was at his weakest. | 30:11 | |
For He despaired of his one comfort in his isolation, | 30:15 | |
but also at this weakest moment, | 30:20 | |
He was closest to us. | 30:23 | |
He suffered our anguish, our loss of faith, | 30:26 | |
but we know that God did not abandon His son. | 30:31 | |
Good Friday is followed by Easter. | 30:36 | |
He allowed Him to triumph over deaths and over evil | 30:40 | |
and over human weakness. | 30:45 | |
He allowed Christ to emerge victorious | 30:47 | |
over his own humanity. | 30:51 | |
The lesson of this text is not the God forsook Christ, | 30:55 | |
but that for a brief moment, the man in Christ forsook God. | 31:00 | |
The lesson of Good Friday is not that God forsakes man, | 31:05 | |
but that man forsakes God. | 31:09 | |
It was man that nailed Christ to the cross. | 31:13 | |
And it was the man in Christ | 31:17 | |
that uttered that cry of despair. | 31:19 | |
It was God that brought victory over evil and death. | 31:22 | |
It is God that shows us a way to a full rich life | 31:27 | |
through his son. | 31:32 | |
Today, as you know, is also the anniversary | 31:35 | |
of the murder of one of the greatest men of our age, | 31:39 | |
Martin Luther King. | 31:43 | |
Let us remember as depression and anger enter our hearts | 31:46 | |
at the thought of the evil and injustice | 31:50 | |
that caused his death. | 31:52 | |
That what we loved and revered | 31:55 | |
in this magnificent human being was his seemingly | 31:57 | |
boundless compassion and courage. | 32:01 | |
And that the source of these traits was this absolute faith | 32:04 | |
and trust in God. | 32:07 | |
When we begin to lose faith, | 32:10 | |
let us remember that Martin Luther King showed us | 32:13 | |
that the Christian can still be a light in this grey world | 32:17 | |
and that if he is forsaken, | 32:21 | |
it will not be by God. | 32:23 | |
God has not forsaken us any more than he abandoned Christ. | 32:26 | |
We will be made whole when we too move from despair, | 32:32 | |
a despair stemming from a disappointment | 32:38 | |
that God has not been quick to give us | 32:40 | |
what we want him to give us. | 32:42 | |
When we moved from this despair | 32:45 | |
to a faithful acceptance of His will, | 32:47 | |
which places each man in an eternal meaningful pattern. | 32:51 | |
Our lives will become meaningful, | 32:56 | |
only when we too can say, | 32:59 | |
"Father, into thy hands, | 33:02 | |
I commend my spirit." | 33:05 | |
Let us pray. | 33:08 | |
(paper rustling) | 33:13 | |
Dear Father, | 33:14 | |
almighty God, | 33:16 | |
help us to renew our faith in you | 33:18 | |
that we might transcend our selfhood and live in your love. | 33:22 | |
The love you showed us through your son and our brother, | 33:29 | |
Jesus Christ. | 33:33 | |
Amen. | 33:36 | |
(soulful organ music) | 33:38 | |
♪ What wondrous love is this ♪ | 34:12 | |
♪ O my soul ♪ | 34:16 | |
♪ O my soul ♪ | 34:17 | |
♪ What wondrous love is this ♪ | 34:20 | |
♪ O my soul ♪ | 34:23 | |
♪ What wondrous love is this ♪ | 34:26 | |
♪ That caused the Lord of bliss ♪ | 34:30 | |
♪ To bear the dreadful curse ♪ | 34:34 | |
♪ For my soul ♪ | 34:38 | |
♪ For my soul ♪ | 34:40 | |
♪ To bear the dreadful curse for my soul ♪ | 34:42 | |
♪ What wondrous love is this ♪ | 34:51 | |
♪ O my soul ♪ | 34:55 | |
♪ O my soul ♪ | 34:57 | |
♪ What wondrous love is this ♪ | 34:59 | |
♪ O my soul ♪ | 35:03 | |
♪ What wondrous love is this ♪ | 35:06 | |
♪ That caused the Lord of life ♪ | 35:10 | |
♪ To lay aside his crown ♪ | 35:15 | |
♪ For my soul ♪ | 35:19 | |
♪ For my soul ♪ | 35:21 | |
♪ To lay aside his crown ♪ | 35:23 | |
♪ For my soul ♪ | 35:27 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 35:32 | |
(paper rustling) | 35:41 | |
- | Let us pray. | 36:16 |
Lord, | 36:25 | |
you stretched out at full length on the cross there. | 36:27 | |
Without a doubt, it is made for you. | 36:32 | |
You cover it entirely | 36:37 | |
and to adhere to it more surely, | 36:39 | |
you allow men to nail you carefully to it. | 36:41 | |
Lord, it was work well done, | 36:46 | |
conscientiously done. | 36:48 | |
Now you fit your cross exactly | 36:51 | |
as the mechanics carefully filed parts fit | 36:54 | |
the engineers blueprint. | 36:57 | |
There had to be this precision. | 37:01 | |
Thus Lord, we must gather our bodies, | 37:06 | |
our hearts, our spirits, | 37:08 | |
and stretch ourselves at full length on the cross | 37:12 | |
of the present moment. | 37:14 | |
We haven't the right to choose the wood of our passion. | 37:18 | |
The cross is ready to our measure. | 37:23 | |
You presented to us each day, each minute, | 37:27 | |
and we must lie down on it. | 37:31 | |
It isn't easy. | 37:36 | |
The present moment is so limited | 37:38 | |
that there is no room to turn around. | 37:40 | |
And yet Lord, we can meet you nowhere else. | 37:44 | |
It's there that you await us. | 37:49 | |
It's there that together we shall save our brothers. | 37:53 | |
Make us faithful with our crosses, Father, | 37:59 | |
for we pray through him who bore our cross for us, | 38:04 | |
even Jesus Christ. | 38:10 | |
Amen. | 38:13 | |
(paper rustling) | 38:16 | |
After this, Jesus, | 38:25 | |
knowing that all was now finished, | 38:28 | |
said to fulfill the scripture, "I thirst." | 38:31 | |
A bowl full of vinegar stood there. | 38:36 | |
So they put a sponge full of vinegar on hyssop | 38:39 | |
and held it to his mouth. | 38:44 | |
(gentle music) | 38:50 | |
♪ I thirst ♪ | 38:53 | |
(bright music) | 39:05 | |
(bright orchestra music) | 39:55 | |
(paper rustling) | 44:42 | |
As we see the scene on a barren hill in Palestine, | 44:46 | |
Jesus hangs upon the cross. | 44:51 | |
About it are clustered small groups, | 44:54 | |
soldiers, friends, curious onlookers. | 44:57 | |
He has been perhaps six hours on the cross | 45:04 | |
and 20 hours without rest. | 45:08 | |
The 20 hours have been physically | 45:11 | |
and spiritually exhausting. | 45:13 | |
He has been betrayed, arrested, questioned, | 45:16 | |
reviled, mocked, beaten, and crucified. | 45:20 | |
He had, with strength of purpose, | 45:27 | |
knowing what awaited him, gone forward | 45:30 | |
with what he knew must be done. | 45:34 | |
Even as he hung up on the cross | 45:37 | |
during those first hours, | 45:39 | |
suffering from the tearing wounds, | 45:41 | |
the deep weariness, | 45:44 | |
the burning sun, | 45:46 | |
he had prayed for those who tormented him | 45:48 | |
and had reached out in concern to others near him. | 45:52 | |
As the time wore on in an agony of physical | 45:57 | |
and spiritual pain, | 45:59 | |
his suffering reached its terrible climax | 46:02 | |
with the awful question, | 46:05 | |
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" | 46:08 | |
Only then, "knowing," as John says, | 46:16 | |
"that all was now finished," | 46:21 | |
did Jesus express a bit of his own personal suffering, | 46:24 | |
"I thirst." | 46:29 | |
All that was done was done. | 46:33 | |
Despite the mighty will, | 46:38 | |
the broken body was nearing the limit of its endurance. | 46:40 | |
We tend to forget sometimes that Jesus was indeed man, | 46:45 | |
very man of men, | 46:50 | |
the epitome of what man might be, | 46:52 | |
but with the same mortal body, | 46:56 | |
the same limits of biologic character that are ours also. | 46:59 | |
Here is a simple and compelling reminder of that humanity, | 47:07 | |
"I thirst." | 47:13 | |
We can imagine that this was said quietly | 47:17 | |
with a voice too weak | 47:21 | |
from a body too tired to be heard very far, | 47:23 | |
but he was heard. | 47:27 | |
And as Matthew reports, one of them ran, | 47:30 | |
someone ran and fill the sponge with vinegar, | 47:34 | |
the sour wine, | 47:38 | |
probably leftover from the soldier's lunch. | 47:39 | |
He couldn't reach Jesus with a bowl, | 47:43 | |
so he filled a sponge with the vinegar | 47:46 | |
and lifted it up on a reed | 47:49 | |
to the Master's parched lips. | 47:52 | |
We don't know who this man was. | 47:55 | |
Perhaps he was a friend of Jesus | 47:58 | |
who dared the anger of the soldiers | 48:00 | |
to ease his suffering master's pain. | 48:02 | |
Perhaps he was one of the soldiers, | 48:06 | |
a man who knew the meaning of thirst | 48:09 | |
from long marches in that arid land. | 48:11 | |
Perhaps a soldier who had mocked | 48:14 | |
and tormented Jesus earlier, | 48:16 | |
but now had compassion for a suffering and dying man. | 48:18 | |
It was a small thing, | 48:25 | |
this service. | 48:28 | |
Sour wine seems a poor offering | 48:30 | |
and a sponge a poor vessel. | 48:33 | |
It did not bring Him down from the cross, | 48:37 | |
it probably did not prolong his life, | 48:40 | |
but Jesus had made only this one request | 48:44 | |
for his physical comfort, | 48:47 | |
"I thirst." | 48:49 | |
Someone unknown had ministered as best he could | 48:53 | |
at the time of need. | 48:56 | |
Note that Matthew goes on to record | 48:59 | |
that while one offered him the vinegar, | 49:02 | |
"others said, | 49:05 | |
'wait, let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.'" | 49:06 | |
As we gather in this chapel, | 49:14 | |
one of the aspects of our worship is a look to the past. | 49:16 | |
We see an historical event. | 49:19 | |
And as we consider that scene on the Palestinian hill, | 49:23 | |
we can hardly help, | 49:27 | |
but picture ourselves there. | 49:28 | |
And we wonder in which of the groups | 49:32 | |
we might have been found, | 49:34 | |
the friends? | 49:37 | |
The enemy soldiers? | 49:39 | |
The curious onlookers? | 49:41 | |
Or perhaps that great majority | 49:44 | |
who were not out there at all? | 49:45 | |
This is suitable food for speculation | 49:50 | |
that we need not content ourselves with that | 49:53 | |
for we are faced with need today | 49:58 | |
and we may even now be friend | 50:02 | |
or enemy or curious onlooker, | 50:06 | |
or perhaps not there at all. | 50:10 | |
I wonder if in those churches, | 50:14 | |
which frequently used the figure of Christ upon the cross, | 50:16 | |
the worshiper may be more forcibly reminded | 50:21 | |
than most of us usually are, | 50:25 | |
of some important considerations. | 50:27 | |
Not only that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross | 50:31 | |
and that human suffering was a personal experience for Him, | 50:35 | |
but also by the presence of that image | 50:40 | |
to point up the present existence of suffering | 50:43 | |
and to remind us that when we minister to our fellow man, | 50:47 | |
we minister also to our Lord Jesus Christ. | 50:52 | |
Listen to the familiar words of Matthew | 50:56 | |
as he writes across the centuries to you | 50:59 | |
and to me. | 51:03 | |
When the Son of Man comes in his glory | 51:06 | |
and all the angels with him, | 51:09 | |
then he will sit on his glorious throne. | 51:11 | |
Before him will be gathered all the nations, | 51:15 | |
and he will separate them one from another, | 51:18 | |
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. | 51:21 | |
And he will place the sheep at his right hand, | 51:25 | |
but the goats at his left. | 51:28 | |
Then the King will say to those at his right hand, | 51:31 | |
"Come, oh blessed of my Father, | 51:34 | |
inherit the kingdom prepared for you | 51:37 | |
from the foundation of the world. | 51:39 | |
For I was hungry and you gave me food, | 51:42 | |
I was thirsty and you gave me drink, | 51:46 | |
I was a stranger and you welcomed me, | 51:49 | |
I was naked and you clothed me, | 51:52 | |
I was sick and you visited me, | 51:55 | |
I was in prison and you came to me. | 51:57 | |
Then the righteous will answer him, | 52:01 | |
"Lord, when did we see thee hungry | 52:03 | |
and give thee food? | 52:06 | |
Or thirsty and give thee drink? | 52:08 | |
And when did we see thee stranger and welcome thee, | 52:10 | |
or naked or cloth thee? | 52:14 | |
And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?" | 52:16 | |
And the King will answer them, | 52:20 | |
"Truly, I say to you, | 52:23 | |
as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, | 52:26 | |
you did it to me." | 52:30 | |
Then he will say to those at his left hand, | 52:33 | |
"Depart from me, you cursed, | 52:36 | |
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels | 52:38 | |
for I was hungry and you gave me no food, | 52:41 | |
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, | 52:45 | |
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, | 52:47 | |
Naked and you did not clothe me, | 52:50 | |
Sick and in prison, and you did not visit me." | 52:53 | |
Then they also will answer, | 52:56 | |
"Lord, when did we see thee hungry | 52:58 | |
or thirsty or a stranger or naked | 53:01 | |
or sick or in prison and did not minister to thee?" | 53:03 | |
Then He will answer them, | 53:08 | |
"Truly, I say to you, | 53:10 | |
as you did it not to one of the least of these, | 53:13 | |
you did it not to me." | 53:18 | |
We know there is great need in our time. | 53:22 | |
We know individuals and large groups | 53:26 | |
to whom we might minister. | 53:28 | |
Sometimes we do not know what should be done. | 53:30 | |
Sometimes, knowing, we do not have the means. | 53:34 | |
But one lesson we may surely take | 53:39 | |
from Christ fifth word from the cross is to do what we can | 53:42 | |
with what we have when the need is there. | 53:47 | |
This may not be enough. | 53:51 | |
Particular problems may require great cooperative efforts, | 53:54 | |
expert knowledge, special tools, | 53:58 | |
but let this not stay us from doing what little we can | 54:01 | |
when it is needed. | 54:05 | |
Above all, let us not be among those who wait to see | 54:07 | |
if Elijah will come to save Him. | 54:12 | |
"What does it profit?" asks James, | 54:16 | |
"if a man says he has faith and has not works? | 54:18 | |
If a brother or sister is ill-clad | 54:22 | |
and in lack of daily food, | 54:25 | |
and one of you says to them, | 54:27 | |
'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' | 54:30 | |
without giving them the things needed for the body. | 54:33 | |
What does it profit? | 54:37 | |
So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." | 54:39 | |
We live in a time when in this country, | 54:45 | |
the number of people about us in acute need | 54:48 | |
of the necessities of life has been greatly reduced. | 54:51 | |
But in spite of governmental and other social programs, | 54:56 | |
there will always be some who need our individual attention. | 55:00 | |
On a world scale, human need is appalling. | 55:04 | |
Beyond thirst and hunger and shelter, | 55:10 | |
however, we know that people have other basic needs, | 55:12 | |
needs for compassion, encouragement, understanding, | 55:16 | |
which can be supplied | 55:21 | |
only by a concerned and sympathetic individual. | 55:23 | |
Our Lord Jesus hangs upon the cross | 55:31 | |
in a physical agony, | 55:34 | |
which few of us could even begin to appreciate. | 55:35 | |
He has done what must be done. | 55:40 | |
"After this, Jesus, | 55:43 | |
knowing that all was finished said, 'I thirst.' | 55:47 | |
A bowl of vinegar stood there, | 55:53 | |
so they put a sponge full of vinegar on hyssop | 55:56 | |
and held it to his mouth." | 56:00 | |
Let us pray. | 56:03 | |
Our gracious heavenly Father, | 56:07 | |
we confess our frailty and our weakness. | 56:10 | |
Too often do we stand aside | 56:14 | |
when we should step forward. | 56:17 | |
Too seldom do we run to be of service, | 56:20 | |
however small that service may be. | 56:23 | |
Help us to stand in the shoes of those in need, | 56:27 | |
that we may be led into sympathetic understanding. | 56:31 | |
Guide us to a critical awareness of what must be done | 56:35 | |
and strengthen us to do it. | 56:39 | |
And beyond the material needs of man, | 56:43 | |
may we learn from the example of Jesus Christ | 56:46 | |
to give to those in need | 56:50 | |
both the water to quench the physical thirst | 56:52 | |
and the living water of faith, hope and love. | 56:56 | |
Teach us to know what the Lord requires of us | 57:01 | |
to do justice, | 57:06 | |
to love kindness, | 57:08 | |
and to walk humbly with our God. | 57:11 | |
Amen. | 57:16 | |
(mic clicks) | 57:18 |
Item Info
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