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Good Friday
SERMON – 10.15am, Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Friday 10th April 2009
Revd. Canon David Pickering
We celebrate Good Friday with Hot Cross Buns.
Buns that are decorated with or bear a cross.
In this morning's gospel reading, or as it might more accurately called John's Passion Narrative, we hear of three distinct things about the Cross.
Verse 17 tells how Jesus carried the cross himself. There is no assistance from Simon of Cyrene as we hear in some of the other gospel accounts.
In verse 19 Pilate places an inscription on the Cross mockingly proclaiming 'Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews'.
Then in verse 25b there are the three Mary's standing by the cross.
The cross can mean and symbolise many things.
It can also be misused.
When we were in Tokyo, last week, I was looking map of the central part of the city, which marked the Jewish Community of Japan, with a cross.
Ups, a little misunderstanding there! Something to make our Jewish friends rather cross, if you will forgive the pun.
But when did you get last get cross with someone, or they were cross with you? When did something good or bad cross your path?
Then there are crossroads, crosswords, noughts and crosses, level-crossings………
Perhaps not quite to the point!
But what about all those questionnaires that have to be completed with crosses in squares. OK they are at a different angle, perhaps more an 'X' or in what is known as St Andrew's cross. The story goes that Andrew was believed to have been a missionary to Asia Minor and Greece, and was reportedly crucified by the Romans on an x-shaped cross at Patras, in 69 AD, as he did not feel worthy to be crucified on a cross like Christ was.
And have you ever wondered why a kiss is written as a cross?
One tradition says it started with the medieval practice of allowing those who could not write to sign documents with an "X". This was done before witnesses, and the signer placed a kiss upon the "X" to show sincerity. This is how the kiss came to be synonymous with the letter "X", and how the "X" came to be commonly used at the end of letters as kiss symbols.
A cross in the form of an "X" is the Greek letter Chi, with which the word Christ begins. So an "X" cross at the end of a letter was a pledge or seal in the name of Christ.
A number of people like to wear a cross as a piece of jewellery. I have no problem with this if that is just what it is, a fashion item. Or, as the other day I was talking to a Sri Lankan wearing a small cross, which I felt was a witness to her faith in a non-Christian culture. But I do worry when a cross is worn as a lucky charm, especially if I am asked to bless it first.
The cross is the prime symbol of our faith. Many will know that I felt it was very important that we have a cross here in Emmanuel during our worship.
Crosses in Churches take many forms. In one of my former parishes the east end apse was dominated by a majestic Christ the King Cross, with the figure dressed in royal robes.
Some churches have not just a plain cross, but with a figure of the crucified Christ. We normally call these crucifixes. A Texan Methodist Minister, who I knew in my last parish once, said to me the trouble with Roman Catholics they forgot to take Jesus of the Cross.
A plain cross is a double symbol of the crucifixion and the resurrection. And in our faith they go together.
The resurrection could not happen without the crucifixion, and we would not know of the crucifixion without the resurrection.
Over the years someone with a difficulty in their lives or a particular burden has spoken of it as their cross, which they felt they were called to bear. But I'm not sure that this how we should see things.
In our Lent Study Book, The Things He Carried we began by looking at the cross that Jesus carried.
What struck us very clearly was that in some ways Jesus' crucifixion was not a unique event. In fact it was a common feature of Roman life, or rather punishment and death. quote page 7.
But Jesus' crucifixion is unique. He chose it; or rather he could have escaped it. In that Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed the words, 'Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet not what I want, but what you want.'
Every other victim of execution has their cross, firing squad, hangman's rope, electric chair, guillotine forced on them. Jesus took up his own cross. If we read on a little bit further – the soldiers the broken legs of those crucified with Jesus because they were using their lower limbs to support them and allowing them to continue breathing. By contrast Jesus let the hanging by the arms strangle him to death, so he was all ready dead when the soldiers got to him.
In the other three gospels we read of Jesus on a number of occasions saying, if anyone wish to be his disciple they must take up their cross and follow him.
Christian life calls us to choose the crosses of life.
Standing up for the will and purpose of God, his love, his justice his peace, his goodness, will often require us to take up a cross of some kind or another.We symbolise that this morning by sharing in the hot cross buns.
Hand round and eat.
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