Way of the Cross - 6

THE WAY OF THE CROSS – 6

(Preached Easter Sunday 1997 and 2003)

Rising

During Lent, we have been walking with Jesus along the Via Dolorosa - the Way of Sorrows - which is the probable route which Jesus would have taken from Pilate's House to Calvary.

As we have walked with Jesus, we have stopped every so often to recall the various experiences of Jesus along the way, and to reflect upon how those experiences can help us to interpret our own experiences of today, when we too find ourselves suffering innocently as a result of other people's actions.

We have noted how Pilate, through wanting to please the crowd, condemned an innocent man to death and how easy it is for us to seek to please, rather than to do what is right.

We have noted how society expressed its total rejection of Jesus by making him carry his cross and how we too must be prepared to carry our own cross of rejection.

We have noted how the cross was made heavy through the weight of human sin causing Jesus to fall, and how we too add to the weight of that cross through our sinful thoughts.

We have noted how Mary stuck by her Son when the going got tough, and how we too must stick by our children, no matter how painful it may be at times.

We have noted how Simon of Cyrene became a Christian through helping to carry the cross for Jesus, and how through the giving of practical help, people are often brought into the life of the Christian Church.

We have noted how Veronica stepped forward from the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus, and how we need to regularly wipe away the dirt from our picture of Jesus, so that we may see him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly.

We have noted how the weight of human sin upon the cross forces Jesus to stumble a second time, and how the weight of our sinful words can add to the weight of the cross.

We have noted that Jesus did not want tears of pity but of sorrow from the women of Jerusalem, and how easy it is to shed tears of pity for others rather than tears of sorrow for our own sins.

We have noted how Jesus falls a third time and how the weight of our sinful actions often causes Jesus to stumble in the dust.

We have noted how Jesus was stripped of his garments, and how we too must be prepared, if necessary, to be stripped of our material possessions.

We have noted how Jesus was denied freedom by being nailed to the cross, and how people today are often denied physical and mental freedom. However, no one need have their spiritual freedom denied them because the nailed Christ offers us his forgiveness.

We have noted how Jesus died in the prime of life, having achieved God's purpose for him, and how that anything we achieve in this life, be it long or short, owes its origins to God to whom glory and recognition must be given.

We have noted how one person cared for the body of Jesus irrespective of the personal consequences, and how we too must be prepared to care irrespective of whether it is convenient or not.

And finally, we have noted how the body of Jesus was laid to rest in sleep, and how at the time of physical death, we are laid to rest and sleep in the ever loving arms of God, ready to be awakened at the resurrection of the dead.

That, my friends, is the background against which we meet to celebrate Easter. And that, my friends, was also the background against which our Lord's resurrection took place.

And so we arrive today at our final step along the Way of the Cross in Jerusalem. It is called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Since this allegedly marks the place of the Resurrection, it is the climax of any pilgrimage to the Holy Land. However, it can be a disappointment since it is lost among the buildings of the ever-expanding city, and inside it reverberates with the noise of excited visitors and rival worshippers. As one guide has described it, "It is a cross between a building site and a used furniture depot".

This church marks the site where the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus are thought to have taken place.

In the first century it was the site of a disused quarry outside the old city wall and archaeologists have discovered tombs whose dating is compatible with the Gospels. Certainly, up until 66AD there was a tradition of Jewish Christians coming and praying at the site.

In the second century, the Emperor Hadrian filled in the area and built a pagan temple to Aphrodite. However, Queen Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, reclaimed the site for Christian worship when her son became a Christian in 326AD. There she caused a church to be built which the Arabs eventually destroyed in the 11th century. The crusaders of the 12th century later rebuilt some of the church, and it is this building which remains today.

But only just! A fire in 1808 and an earthquake in 1927 caused extensive damage. Under the British Mandate, the Royal Engineers shored it up with ugly but efficient steel girders, until the rival Christian churches, who own the building, could come to a common mind as regards what action should be taken to preserve and restore the building. Finally, in 1959 the Latin Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Syrians, Copts and Ethiopians agreed and, a few years ago, the new dome over the basilica was finally revealed.

Because of the constant bickering between the various Christian bodies, ever since the Ottoman period, the keys of the church have been in the hands of a local Muslim family who are responsible for unlocking and locking it up every night.

This I find interesting, insofar as Muslims cannot accept that God would allow the true Messiah to suffer, and therefore deny the resurrection by suggesting that Jesus was not put to death but rather lifted up by Allah into his presence.

But as Christians, we do believe he was raised from the dead, and is alive, and never more so than in the Eucharist where he comes and meets his friends as he did his friends in the upper room after his resurrection.

It is here, at this Eucharist where he continues to reveal himself in the breaking of bread, as he did to the two on the Emmaus Road that first Easter evening.

It is here, at this Eucharist that he continues to breathe on us, and through the gift of his spirit, give us new hope, new life, new strengths as he did to the disciples in the Upper Room when he breathed on them the Holy Spirit.

It is here, at this Eucharist through the outward forms of bread and wine that his body is broken and his blood is spilt, as we share his risen life through the act of communion.

So Sunday by Sunday, we proclaim through word and action our Lord's death and resurrection when we acclaim:

Christ has died

Christ is risen

Christ will come again

The death and resurrection of Jesus is not just a fact of history, which took place at a particular place at a particular time, but rather it is a continual reality in the life of the Christian Church

May you have a happy and blessed Easter, and may you come to know of the presence and power of the risen Christ in your lives, and particularly through his Eucharist. Amen.