Knox, Port Carling & Zion Torrance Presbyterian Pastoral Charge

Sunday April 5, 2020 ~ Passion Sunday

Message: A Message of Hope from the Foot of the Cross

Reverend Glynis Faith

John 19:16-27  (NIV)

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴ “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Those who know me know that my passion is senior’s ministry. My mother had a big heart for the elderly and she passed her love and compassion for seniors down to me. Cynthia Freeland’s recent public statement to seniors, “We love you very much” brought tears to my eyes, as It reminded me of one of the things that has been robbing me of sleep lately, and that is people, who already feel isolated and alone much of the time, being fully cut off from the people they love. Part of me wants to run in and hold the hands of the elderly so they don’t feel alone, but common sense tells me more people will suffer with that kind of response. So instead, I pray for the seniors and ask God to show the world ways we can let them know how much they are loved.

I don’t question the need to isolate people in the midst of a pandemic. These are difficult and stressful times for everyone. An invisible enemy prowls in our midst and we must do all we can to protect one another from attack. Again, I ask everyone to do your best to follow the advice of Health Canada and the rules set forth by our provincial and federal government. Social distancing and self-isolation are currently our only physical means to limit the silent enemy’s power, so let’s do our part and take away this virus’ ability to spread.

As I sit with this reading from the Gospel of John I am drawn to Jesus’ mother at the foot of the Cross. As a mother I cannot imagine the overwhelming pain she endured seeing her kind and compassionate son beaten, mocked, forced to carry the very cross he would be crucified on and then lifted out of the reach of personal contact. It would be a safe guess to say that she would have wanted to climb that horrible cross and hold her child’s hand – to wipe his brow, kiss his forehead and reassure him that he was deeply loved. Physical contact is an important part of how humans express their love and compassion to one another.

At any point along the journey of Christ’s Passion, those who looked on could have held on to the hope that things would get better. Perhaps the Sanhedrin would realize the foolishness of their accusations and send Jesus out with a stern warning to stop healing people and teaching them about loving God and helping out their neighbours. Maybe Annas or Caiaphas would see Jesus as the Messiah and bow down to the One who would become their Saviour and King. Perhaps Pilate, who realized Jesus’ innocence, would stand on the truth and do what was right, despite the personal cost. There were some who were likely hoping God would send an army of angels to intervene. For awhile there was a chance that the situation could change – there was hope.

But now, now that Jesus was nailed to the cross and lifted high for all to see, now there seemed no more hope! Often, the further a situation proceeds and the longer it goes on, hope fades. As hope fades, hopelessness takes its place. I can only imagine how Jesus’ mother’s heart was shattered as her hope gave way to hopelessness!

As I write this sermon I am mindful of the thousands of lives lost so far amid this pandemic. It breaks my heart to think of people dying alone and of the families who love them not being able to tell them one last time how deeply loved they are. I think of people stuck on ships where the ‘invisible killer’ is active, and I imagine the fear they must be feeling. When those in leadership make decisions I don’t agree with, I am reminded that they are human and emotions such as fear and helplessness can lead to choices that have the potential to harm others. My heart and prayers are with residents of long-term care homes and their families, as well as with the wonderful individuals caring for them. I think of the children who can’t simply go out and play with their friends, because something they can’t see or understand might harm them. Then there are those who are out there working with the public, who, despite the protective measures put in place, read the headlines daily of those who were also serving the public and have not died of  Covid-19. I hear the concerns of church leaders who ‘hold God’s people in their heart’ as they seek new ways of helping their flocks through the fears and helplessness and continue to help them see God’s loving presence amidst the current chaos of sickness, isolation and death.

All around the world today people are feeling helpless – without hope. With my heart open to the pain and suffering of people  and this sense of hopelessness in mind I scan John’s Gospel and my eyes are drawn to Jesus’ mother and one of Jesus’ disciples at the foot of the cross. What message can this grief filled mother and this helpless disciple bring us today?

John’s mention of Jesus’ mother and the disciple (who identifies himself as the one Jesus loved) is unique to John’s Gospel. Matthew and Mark’s Gospels mention that there were women looking from afar. Luke notes that there were acquaintances and some women who had followed from Galilee. Luke also notes that they stood at a distance (distancing themselves from danger).

The synoptic Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke) pay little attention to the presence of those who loved Jesus; but rather, they focus on the two men crucified with Him. John makes little mention of them, except that their legs were broken to hurry their deaths.

John invites us closer to the cross and identifies the people who have placed themselves at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene,” and, “and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby.” Only John’s Gospel places one of the disciples at the scene of the crucifixion. John draws us closer to the foot of the Cross, and invites us to hear an important message when we are feeling deep sorrow and helplessness.

As we look closer and listen to the words of Jesus, we gain insight into what the Gospel writer is pointing out.

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary

the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Notice how Jesus sees their helplessness and empowers them. “Here is your son” – “here is your mother.” Love and care for one another.

The Gospel writer wrote this letter to Christians who were suffering persecution and death for their faith. People who caused no harm to others were being killed and they were helpless to do anything about it. One of their only defenses was to hide away from others, because many were being turned over to the authorities by friends and family members who feared for their own safety.

Through his writing, the Gospel writer brings a message of hope to those who followed Jesus:

• Bring all your fears to the foot of the Cross (prayer)
• Listen to Jesus (prayer)
• Care for and bring hope to one another

That message is just a relevant to us today as it was to the Christians in the

1^st Century.

The crucifixion of Jesus was His Passion – to give His life to free humanity from the bondage of sin. God cared so deeply for the pain and suffering of humanity that He would bear our suffering to bring us freedom. What seemed like a hopeless situation to humanity, was actually Christ’s mission to save us.

Those who wept for Jesus could not have known what we know today – that on Easter Sunday Christ would claim victory over the forces of sin and death. From the Cross Jesus saw their pain and He reminded them, what he continues to remind us, that despite the pain and sense of hopelessness, we must continue to love and care for one another. One of the ways we show our love to God, is to honour the commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves.

As we walk together through this Holy Week I pray for each of you. I pray that you will open your heart to God. Lay all your fears and pains at the foot of the Cross and then look ahead to the empty tomb and give God all the glory.

As we walk through this Holy Week, let us walk through it together, strengthened in our faith that God can see what we cannot.

Just as Jesus’ mother and His disciple could not stop the suffering of the Cross, we cannot stop a pandemic. We can, however, take Jesus’ advice to love and care for one another by following the recommendations regarding social distancing and self-isolation, and when we do, we take away the power of the virus.

Friends, as we journey through Holy Week 2020, let us spend this week finding new ways to let people know they are loved by God and loved by you. At the foot of the Cross sat a group of people who loved Jesus and felt helpless in the situation. Because they came to the foot of the Cross they were able to hear Christ’s words of love and instruction to them – take care of one another!

As I sit with John’s account of the crucifixion of Jesus, I am mindful that there is little we can do to change certain situations and circumstances. I find hope, however, that in sitting at the foot of the Cross I am able to hear Christ’s words of comfort to me, and within those words is a message for me to love and care for others – to share the hope that I have found in Christ.

Please take time this week to sit at the foot of the Cross (prayer) and tell God what you are feeling (let go of the fear and helplessness). Then take some time to quietly listen with your heart. We are not helpless and the situation is not hopeless, and God, who knows all things, will inspire us in the ways we, as individuals and as the church, can shine Christ’s love into the world, bringing hope and comfort.

We are all God’s children – take care of one another.

God bless you.