From Shame To Glory Series

'Think I’ll take a look over there,' I told the firemen, motioning toward the remains of the lobby atrium. Picking my way through the massive piles of debris, I peered into what had become a sort of grotto. Illuminated by the pale light of dawn were shapes …

[pause]

"Crosses. What? How did these get here? The largest was about 20 feet high. It must have weighed a couple of tons.

"In that grotto I felt a strange sense of peace and stillness. I could almost hear God saying, “The terrible thing done at this site was meant for evil, but I will turn it to good. Have faith. I am here.” I fell to my knees in front of the largest cross. Tears came, and I couldn’t stop them. I cried like a baby. Finally, I was able to pull myself together. I grabbed my gear and left the strange grotto to go back to search-and-rescue work. But first I spray-painted [the words] “God’s House” on the atrium ruins."

Here’s a picture of what he saw. [Picture #1.] Can you see it? Not very well? Sorry about that. Well, you can go on-line, type in “images of girder crosses at 9/11” and you can see the pictures that I’m about to show you for yourself.

For us, the “cross” is a symbol of hope. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1st Peter 1:3-4).

Before Jesus was crucified, the cross was a symbol of suffering and shame. Immediately after His crucifixion, it became a symbol of despair and hopelessness and even deeper shame. The Disciples and His followers had abandoned Jesus. They had betrayed Him. They had denied Him. They had placed all their hope in Him … and now He was dead. For three days they lived in complete and utter hopelessness and despair.

And then, something amazing happened that changed everything … changed their lives, changed the meaning of the cross, changed the whole world. Jesus’ grave, His tomb was empty! After Jesus’ resurrection, the Disciples and the whole world came to see and understand the cross in a whole new way. It was no longer a symbol of shame and suffering. It was no longer a symbol of hopelessness and despair. It was now a sign of hope for all people. It became the symbol of new life … eternal life. Whenever we think that evil is winning in the world, all we have to do is look at the cross and we are given hope. We are reminded of the truth … that sin and death will never, ever have the last say, amen?

The Apostle Peter says that the cross has not only given us hope but a special kind of hope … “living hope.” Our hope is a “living” hope because Jesus is alive, amen? C.S. Lewis said: “Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose … only [upon] the Beloved who will never pass away.”

The Apostle Peter also says we have an inheritance that is “incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away … reserved in Heaven for … who?” For you!