LUKE 23:26-28, 33-43

[26] And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

[27] And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him.

[28] But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

…………………….

[33] And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

[34] And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

[35] And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”

[36] The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine

[37] and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

[38] There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

[39] One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

[40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

[41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

[42] And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

[43] And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Sometimes it feels like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Do you ever feel that way yourself? That’s the way you feel sometimes when you’re getting ready for a big test at school or when you’re working on a big project at work.  It’s the way you feel when you dealing with a really big problem or when you take on a really big responsibility.  Jorge Mario Bergoglio probably felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders this past Wednesday.  That’s when Cardinal Bergoglio became Pope Francis. As soon as he said “yes” he took on the responsibility that comes with being the spiritual leader for 1.2 billion people around the world.

Imagine what that responsibility must be like! I find it hard enough to pastor a flock of 400.  Being a pastor can be a big responsibility at times and most pastors I know take their call and the responsibilities that go with it very seriously.   That’s the way a young man felt shortly after he was ordained.  The day he arrived at his first church the young minister got a phone call from the local funeral director asking him to do a funeral service. It was a simple graveside service but the new minister wanted to do a good job.  So he spent hours getting ready for the service. Unfortunately while he was on his way to the cemetery he made a wrong turn and end up getting completely lost. By the time he got to the cemetery he was 45 minutes late and the hearse was nowhere to be seen. The only thing he saw was a big pile of dirt next to a hole in the ground.  When he looked into the whole he discovered that the lid to the vault had already been lowered into place.  The two workers who lowered it into place were now sitting nearby eating their lunch.  The young minister scolded himself again for getting lost. Since he was there he decided it was his sacred duty to say a few prayers.  So he took out his prayer book and in his best pastoral voice he read the appropriate prayers.  Then while walking back to his car things went from bad to worse.  That’s when one of the workers turned to the other one and said, “You now that was really nice, but do you think we should tell him that it’s really just a septic tank?”

Sometime it feels like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.  In theological terms, it means you’ve got a cross to bear.  We all have our crosses that we have to carry from time to time.   Sometimes you don’t have a choice.  Take President Kennedy for example.  During World War II Kennedy was the commander of a PT boat.  One night while on patrol his boat sank after it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer.  Even though Kennedy was wounded he managed to save the life of another sailor who was even more seriously wounded.  He did that by carrying him on his back as he swam to a nearby island.  For that act of bravery Kennedy received a Purple Heart.  Many years later while running for president someone asked him about the medal and how he became a war hero.  Kennedy smiled and replied, “I didn’t have a choice they sank my boat.”

Sometimes you don’t have a choice when it comes to carrying a cross.  That’s certainly true for the child who is born with cerebral palsy.  He doesn’t have a choice.  It’s certainly true for the person who has to sit in traffic everyday going to and from work.  Of course that cross is a lot better than the cross that the person who doesn’t have a job has to carry. Then there’s Simon of Cyrene.  Poor Simon.  There he was minding his own business when all of a sudden a Roman centurion yanks him out of the crowd and orders him to pick up that heavy Cross and carry it behind Jesus. 

Sometimes you don’t have a choice when it comes to carrying a cross and sometimes you do have a choice.  Jesus had a choice.  He didn’t have to pick up that Cross and carry it the Place of the Skull.  He didn’t have to suffer the excruciating pain of being nailed to that Cross.  He chose to endure all of that hatred and humiliation.  He chose to endure all of that anguish and agony.  He did it because of his love for all of God’s children.  He did it because of his love for you and me. All of this is why Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper, “Greater love hath no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends.”

There are times when you pick up a cross because it’s something you want to do. That’s true for the person who chooses to fight for a cause that she or he believes in.  It was certainly true for Mother Theresa.  She spent years working in the slums of Calcutta. It wasn’t something she had to do. It was something that she chose to do.

There are all kinds of crosses out there.  Some of them are big and some of them are little.  Some of them you carry for just a little while and some of them you have to carry your entire life.  We live in a society though that doesn’t like crosses.  People don’t like it when they have to pick up a cross and carry it.  That’s because we want things to be easy. No fuss.  No muss.  No sacrifices.  No suffering.

What we need to remember though is that a cross can lead you to an amazing grace filled moment.  Just look at the grace filled moment that Jesus shared with the criminal on cross next to him.  There were two criminals who were crucified with Jesus that day.

The first criminal got angry and basically accused Jesus of being a phony and a fraud.
It’s interesting to note that some ancient manuscripts tell us that he blasphemed against Jesus and said, “Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us!”  

The second criminal defended Jesus.  Luke tells us that he rebuked the unrepentant criminal and said to him, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”  The he turned to God’s only begotten Son and with a humble heart said to him, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  Today you will be with me in Paradise.

Both of those criminals died that day.  The first criminal though reject his cross and died  an angry bitter man.  The second criminal accepted his cross and died at peace knowing that he was going to spend the rest of eternity with Jesus in Paradise.

When you accept the cross that you have to carry it can lead to healing.  It can lead to a peace that passes all understanding.  It can lead to a wonderful grace filled moment.

Emily Perl Kingsley learned that lesson in the years following her son’s birth. Emily is a writer for the “Sesame Street” program and she wrote these words several years after her son was born with Down’s Syndrome. “I am often asked, to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.  It’s like this…

“When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans.  The Coliseum.  The Michelangelo David.  The gondolas in Venice.  You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.  It’s all very exciting.

“After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands.  The stewardess comes in and says, ‘Welcome to Holland.’

“‘Holland?!?’ you say.  ‘What do you mean Holland??  I signed up for Italy!  I’m supposed to be in Italy.  All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

“But there’s been a change in the flight plan.  They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

“The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It’s just a different place.

“So you must go out and buy new guide books.  And you must learn a whole new language.  And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

“It’s just a different place.  It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.  But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…and you being to notice that Holland has windmills…and Holland has tulips.  Holland even has Rembrandts.

“But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy…and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.  And for the rest of your life, you will say ‘Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go.  That’s what I had planned.’

“And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away…because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

“But…if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things…about Holland.”

(Welcome To Holland, Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987)

When you pick up a cross you may discover that it’s heavy and full of splinters and it may not take you to Holland, but the Lord will be there to help you carry it to a place where you’ll find grace and healing and a peace that passes all understanding.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 17, 2013