Jack Hardaway
]
The cross of Jesus is one the oldest images of sacrificial love.
We have the traditional fourteen Stations of the Cross on the walls here in the nave of the church.
The images show a little side story. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus cross for a time, that station is number 5. The cover of the bulletin is of station number seven, when Jesus falls a second time.
What has caught my attention for years is that the image clearly shows Simon of Cyrene still with Jesus helping him with the cross as he falls in station seven. The tradition is that Simon was a stranger forced to carry the cross in station five, but in station seven he is there by choice to help carry the burden with Jesus.
There is a long journey between station five and station seven.
The journey is love.
It changes us.
The greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy chapter six.
The second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus is quoting Leviticus 19.
The law and the prophets hang on these.
That means to use the Bible the right way is to use it for love of God and neighbor. To use it for something else is to use the Lord’s name in vain, for the vanity of our own fears and selfishness.
All for love. That is the story of God, the story of Jesus, the story of the cross.
It is a long journey from station 5 to station 7, to carrying the burden of others.
I think our country is on that journey, we’ve fallen so far into hatred that we don’t even know what we are yelling about anymore.
Bishop Waldo has challenged us to consider the Braver Angels manifesto,
“Regardless of how the election turns out, I will not hold hate, disdain, or ridicule for those who voted differently from me. Whether I am pleased or upset about the outcome, I will seek to understand the concerns and aspirations of those who voted differently and will look for opportunities to work with people with whom I disagree.”
His letter is found in the bulletin.
Will we make the journey from station five to station seven with Simon and Jesus? Carrying the burden of others? Paul the Apostle called this fulfilling the Law of Christ, fulfilling the Law of Christ, to bear one another’s burdens.
We as a country are having to step back and reassess.
This is not about an election.
This is about eternity, and our choosing the way of love, to carry one another, regardless.
It is the way of the cross, we are the people of the cross, and I believe our country is a country of the cross.
We carry each other. It is the law of Christ. It is the journey.
All Love.