The cross is where we stay

A while ago I came across an old postcard of Scarborough.  The image on the front was of some boarding houses in the town.  The writer had inked a cross (‘x’) against one of the boarding houses and written on the postcard, “The cross is where we stay.”  They meant, of course, that the cross marked the establishment where they were staying during their visit to Scarborough.  I have used the significance of the words “The cross is where we stay” in Holy Week services this year.

It may seem rather strange that a cross, a symbol of torture and execution, should be the universally recognised symbol of the Christian faith.  Yet it lies at the centre of our faith, for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as St Paul writes, ‘walked the path of obedience all the way to death - his death on the cross’ (Philippians 2.8).  The hymnwriter explains, “We may not know, we cannot tell, what pains he had to bear; but we believe it was for us he hung and suffered there.”  By offering his life for us, Jesus opened the way to forgiveness and a restored relationship with God.

I have at home a cross which was made by a friend.  It is rather unusual in that it curves to one side.

  

It seems to me that this unusually shaped cross symbolises three things.  The first is that no-one is a reject in God’s eyes.  The wood of which the cross was made was about to be thrown away as being of no use.  My friend saw in the discarded pieces of wood something which could be taken, reshaped, and used to form the beautiful cross.  The story of the gospel reminds us that every single human being is precious in God’s eyes; no one is a reject.  God sees something beautiful in each person.

The second message of this cross comes because it leans to one side.  Two thieves were crucified along with Jesus, one on either side of him.  One of them cared nothing for Jesus, and hurled insults at him.  The other, however, recognised in Jesus a man who was totally innocent; he also recognised his own need of forgiveness.  He cried out, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’ (Luke 23.42).  The leaning cross reminds us that Jesus responded to the penitent thief; he said, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’ (Luke 23.43).  The moment we reach out to Jesus, he responds with love and forgiveness.

In our Good Friday service, I showed the cross to those who were gathered, and asked them what the cross said to them.  One person said that it reminded them of a cross which one might put at the end of a letter, symbolising love.  I must confess that I had not noticed that, but it is indeed a very powerful image.  The cross is the great symbol of God’s love for humankind.  In St Paul’s words, ‘God has shown us how much he loves us - it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!’ (Romans 5.8).

Though we move on to the celebration of Easter Day and the glorious hope of resurrection, we cannot forget the cross and all that it stands for.  In a sense, “The cross is where we stay”, for the cross stands above it all.