Acts 4: 32-35
April 6, 1997
2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B, Communion
The Placing of the Cross on the Sanctuary Tower
126th Anniversary of Eutaw Place/Woodbrook
(Because of the special nature of the service - the placing of the cross on the new sanctuary tower - there was no sermon. The following remarks were made at the communion table.)
INTRODUCTION
Our architect, Adam Gross (who is here this morning), taught our Building Committee to appreciate the rhythm and movement a building can have. We hope this service has a good rhythm to it - it surely has movement, for after the Lord's Supper we will go outside and gather on the sidewalk along Stevenson Lane for the raising of the cross on the tower of the new sanctuary.
ANNIVERSARY NOTES
Our scripture sentences were the theme of the 50th, 75th, and 100th anniversary, those great verses from Hebrews 12 about running the race with patience. "Go forward" is the verse for the 125th anniversary (Exodus 14: 15).
We do go forward here, but rather deliberately. It took us 75 years to come up with a new anniversary motto and go forward from Hebrews 12! It took us almost 20 years from the time in the early 1950's when we voted to move from Eutaw Place to arrive at Woodbrook. And we have been in this "temporary" worship room for 28 years. We have run the race with patience in the effort to go forward.
One cause for our deliberate movement is our desire for unity -we take the time for developing consensus in so far as possible. We sang Ken Medema's hymn,"In unity we lift our song...for brothers brave and sisters strong..." (Ken Medema, "In Unity We Lift Our Song," For the Living of These Days, edited by C. Michael Hawn [Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.] 1995, No. 4)
The psalm for the 2nd Sunday of Easter declares, "How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!" (Psalm 133: 1) And the scripture lesson told how the early believers "were of one heart and soul." (Acts 4: 32). Not only did they share property, they shared their testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. Great power was in this sharing. Great grace was upon them all.
OUR SHARING
We have shared our possessions to get to this day. Great grace, amazing grace has already been upon us. "Through many dangers, toils and snares - 126 years of dangers, toils and snares - we have already come."
By raising the cross we are sharing our testimony to the resurrection of Jesus in this Easter season as we begin another year.
THE SHARED TESTIMONY OF THE CROSS
In raising the cross, we are sharing an object of beauty,
something symmetrical and harmonious in its proportions,
something shining in the afternoon sun.
In raising the cross we are sharing an imposing heritage. The cross is...
a symbol of emotional power;
a reminder of the origins of the Christian movement;
the bearer of the rich heritage and devasting baggage of Church History.
Beyond aesthetics and emotions and heritage, we are sharing a symbol of sacrifice, an emblem of forgiveness and a sign of God's presence. It is on these three points I would like to linger for a moment with some simple comments as we prepare for Communion.
I. A SYMBOL OF SACRIFICE
The cross is about sacrifice. This is not the time nor place to discuss animal sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple or the binding of Isaac, Abraham's beloved son as context for the cross of Jesus. Nor is this the setting to study the epistle to the Hebrews or engage in a theological review of theories of the atonement. These issues are important for those who would take the cross seriously.
But all I would say now is that the cross is about sacrifice,
the sacrifice that is an act of self-giving love,
the kind of sacrifice that is honored by God,
the kind of sacrifice that is at the heart of life,
the kind of sacrifice our parents make for us,
the kind of sacrifice we make for any cause worth living for or dying for,
the kind of sacrifice that opens up to us and to the world the very heart of God.
II. A TOKEN OF FORGIVENESS
In lifting up the cross we share an emblem of forgiveness. We bear witness that we worship One who forgives no matter what.
This forgiveness is costly and serious. Failure to understand it can have devastating conquences in the relationships that mean the most to us.
We understand the connection between the cross and forgiveness when we remember that Jesus said from the cross those amazing words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23: 34)
People who lift up the cross raise an emblem of one who forgave Romans who killed him, Jews who did not accept him, and friends who denied, betrayed and abandoned him.
III. A SIGN OF GOD'S PRESENCEIN THE WORLD
The cross reminds us of the death of Jesus; it was the instrument of his execution. But it also reminds us of his resurrection, because there is no body upon it, because it is empty like the tomb on Easter Sunday morning. He lives; his Spirit is abroad; God's presence is in the world.
When we raise the cross, we are saying God in Jesus the Christ is alive and abroad, at large in the world, transforming, empowering his people, making a difference in our speech and our actions.
Acts 4 says that God's people shared their testimony with great power. As we prepare for communion and to go out to raise the symbol of the presence of the One who empowers us, let me close with a story of such power, a story of how the lively word of God can affect speech and action.
CONCLUSION
In 1940 when the Germans invaded Holland, a Calvinist minister called Fritz "de Zwerver" (Fritz the Wanderer) would go from church to church on his bicycle. Since all the rubber had been confiscated by the Germans, his bike had wooden wheels.
One Sunday morning Fritz arrived in the village of Eibergen and walked to the podium of the Protestant church. Even though there were pro-Nazi Dutch officials sitting in the front row, he opened his Bible to Exodus 1: 15-22 and read the story of the midwives in Egypt who saved the Hebrew male children from drowning.
Then he turned to the congregation, "Who is the Pharaoh today? The Nazis! Who are the babies who have to be hidden? The Jews! Who are the midwives today?...."
Then Fritz the Wanderer got on his bicycle with its wooden wheels and pedaled off to the next village. (Noam Zion and David Dishon, The Leader's Guide to the Family Participation Haggadah - A Different Night, by Noam Zion and David Dishon [Jerusalem: The Shalom Hartman Institute] 1997, p. 49)
When we raise a cross, we raise a sign of the presence of a God whose people must hear from the old Book a fresh and courageous word offering hope and help, life and peace to all God's children.
