Cross And The Believer: Carrying The Cross : Good Friday

Cross and the Believers: A Good Friday Message

Today is Good Friday, and the focus is on the cross. Traditionally we are used to listening to sermons about Jesus’s words from the Cross or the stations of the cross etc. More than any other day, Cross is on everybody’s mind today.

As we know , the cross was used as an instrument of torture and painful execution. Yes when we think about the excruciating pain and suffering that Jesus went through on Cross, our stomachs churn and our hearts bleed. And it is natural reaction to the actual happenings of the very first Good Friday. The cross was purely a method of painful execution that the Romans used. Several other forms of execution like the electric chair or the gun, or the gas chamber remained as forms of execution. But the Cross overcame the stigma associated with execution and rose to a very different level. Jesus’s death on the cross, made the cross a symbol of salvation, of hope, of love, of sacrifice and thus of Christianity itself.

And the Cross has been used in many forms. Unlike other forms of execution, that I referred to above, the cross is used as a jewelry, (even by people who have no idea about what it actually stands for), it is used extensively in arts, it is found in movies both spiritual as well as horror movies. Several Bollywood movies had the villains sporting a cross either as a tattoo or hanging around their necks. It is found in accident spots and cemeteries. The sign of the cross is used as a form of blessing. It is probably the most flaunted symbol that the word has seen. You just can’t escape the Cross. It is generally everywhere.

So let us continue that focus and ask the question, What does the cross mean to me? Me , personally? As a believers, as followers of Christ, as Christians? Is it a mere piece of jewelry? Is it a piece of decoration that hangs on my walls or adorns our buildings? Is it a show item that I keep in my show case? Is it a fashion accessory that I use to show off my faith? What does it mean to me?

We are all believers sitting here. We all have heard his Call “come follow me” (repeated about 16 times in the new Testament) some time or the other and decided to follow Him. May be we were encouraged by the rewards of following Jesus, as articulated by the master Himself in John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Sounds good, after all, who wants to walk in darkness right? or Matt 19:28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. That Sounds really cool isn’t it, being able to sit on the judgement throne with Jesus and judge others? Or we are tired and weary and need rest and we believed in His call Matt 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Whatever the situation, we have decided to follow Jesus and that is why we are taking the trouble of logging into an online Service and participating in a Good Friday Service.

However, it is good thing to be reminded this Good Friday, that for us believers, the call to “follow me” comes with a condition. The call to follow me comes with a call to carry the cross just as He did. Luke 9:23 and Matt 16:24, or Mark 8:34 lays it out for us. Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Matt 10:38 and Luke 14:27 make it even clearer and affirms carrying the cross as a necessary condition to following Him. Matt 10:38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Luke 14:27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Scary isn’t it?

All of us know what Carrying the cross means. It simply means Imitating Christ in His sufferings. It means being prepared for trials and tribulations. The fact of life is that there will be trials . There will be sufferings. Just as we cannot escape the sight of the symbol of the cross in this world, we cannot escape the reality of sufferings in this world. Jesus Himself confirmed this. Our suffering friend Job got this very clearly; Job 7:1 (MSG) “Human life is a struggle, isn’t it? It’s a life sentence to hard labor”. Even if you don’t do anything, it will come searching for us. This is exactly what is happening today during the COVID19 spread and lockdown and the associated struggles that many of us go through because of the same. Sickness, viruses, deaths, job loss, estranged relationships, financial difficulties, cheating, demotions, accidents, wars, communal tensions, persecutions. I am sure there is none among us who have not gone through atleast one these in our life time, if not more. The question is, what has been our attitude while going through such difficulties and sufferings? Did we go through it kicking and screaming and complaining and grumbling or did we go through it willingly and cheerfully knowing that it is our bounden duty as a Christ-follower to suffer.