Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”  Matthew 27:22

A boy’s choir prepared to do a processional for an event at their local parish church.  Their idea was for each boy to carry a wooden cross, proceeding to the front of the church singing a rousing version of “Onward Christian Soldiers,” the words of which go, “Onward Christian solders, Marching as to war,/ With the cross of Jesus Going on before!”  But the liberal parish priest in charge of the event didn’t much like the hymn tune or the thought of boys marching down the aisle carrying crosses.

“No sir! Not in this modern age,” he cried.  So the crosses were collected and placed in the church office behind the door.  The boys, though, not much taken with the idea of the padre’s pulling rank on them, decided they would do it their way.

And what happened? Marching down the aisle, they sang lustily, “Onward Christian solders, Marching as to war,/ with the cross of Jesus hid behind the door.” Question: Has the cross in recent years been hidden behind the door, trivialized, or worse yet, completely overlooked by those who fear that the image of a suffering Christ, along with blood and grime, would repel people who want to feel good about themselves?  Then we dance around the issue of “Who killed Jesus?” fearing that if we say that Jews instigated the ordeal which led to crucifixion at the hands of the Romans, we will be accused with being anti-Semitic.

Well, there is one thing for certain. Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ,” has removed the cross from behind the door and placed it front center stage where it cannot be ignored. Making a film which he had to finance with his own money, little did Gibson know both the impact on the lives of viewers and furor of the critics the film would make.  How account for the tremendous interest which has drawn millions of people to the theater to see a film in which the dialogue is almost entirely Aramaic with a smattering of Latin, with only subtitles in the language of the viewer?  Is the interest in seeing it generated by the attacks of the critics who decry the violence, or the charges of its being anti-Semitic? Or is there a compelling force, a deep-seated spiritual quest to know just what happened when Jesus was crucified?

I, for one, welcome the intense scrutiny upon what happened on that Good Friday long ago, because the impact and message of the cross has been trivialized and minimalized by vast numbers of people who prefer to feel good about themselves, focusing on “me” instead of the wretchedness of my life which brought Jesus Christ to Golgotha.

Yes, the cross and the passion of the Christ who died on that tree is unnerving, unsettling, disturbing and upsetting.  Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” graphically portrays all of that in a confrontation that no one who sees the film will ever forget. It bears a powerful message that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world as the Scripture says, and that it was my sin, and your sin, that brought Him to that place.

The cross is not a trinket to be worn as a necklace, gilded with gold, inconsequential in its meaning. It was the fulfillment of centuries of prophesies, the embodiment of the sacrifices which Jewish priests made for centuries before Jesus was ever born, the means by which the wrath of God was assuaged. It was the intersection of my sin with God’s love, and the triumph of it means I find forgiveness, healing, and hope.

A final thought. If you can, see the movie; but once you’ve seen it, read the book.  You’ll find the factual, historical record written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Resource reading: Mark 15.