From Luke 23

Chapter 1.

One Life: Three Crosses

“May the God of the Christians help us now!”

This was the cry of many people as the Tsunami hit in Bandeh Aceh, Indonesia, yet many who cried out for help perished in the monster seas. So, where was God?

When things go wrong we love to ask “Why?” “Where was God when this happened?” When things appear to go right, we don’t need to care. The reality is things do go wrong. Bad things happen to good people. Life sometimes life gives you lemons when you’re seeking something else. The terrible 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean is a tragedy and I’m sure that God’s heart has broken many times over the pain of those who have suffered. The story of the crucifixion of Christ helps us understand how He responds to the worst the world can offer. Life often delivers all kinds of troubles to ordinary people. Recently, friends of mine had their hearts set on a move to Tasmania. Something happened and they may now lose the house they were purchasing. Their hopes have been dashed. Life has given them something sour and not sweet. They now have the choice of allowing this setback to make them better or bitter. The generous response of the world to the pain of the Tsunami victims and their families has rightly been called a wave of compassion, love and hope in place of the wave of destruction. A response to make life better, not bitter.

“Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you’re gonna get.” I think that quote of Forrest Gump is one of my favourite quotes from the movies. The film was made in 1994 and celebrated the unusual life of a man with a limited IQ who just happened to pop into the most eventful moments in history as if he had an angel on his shoulder guiding his every step. And perhaps he did.

My dad’s younger brother Gordon’s life was completely changed when his wife gave birth to a boy who was mentally retarded. You might understand. My cousin Graham died a few years ago in his 50’s. During his parents lifetime they cared for him every hour of every day, bathing him, dressing him, shaving him, feeding him. Life had given them lemons, but you know what, they loved that lemon with a love that only parents can know and I don’t think they ever thought life had been cruel to them. He was their son, their child. Sadly, my own father never quite saw this. He felt the child should have been placed in some kind of care and he was bitter about the handicap that was placed upon his brother’s life.

The last time I saw Graham was when he was in his 30’s but I treasure the memories of this simple child-man who carried no burdens in life and I still feel I have much to learn from him.

How do we understand natural disasters? How do we come to terms with the pain of life – illness, adversity, crippling accidents? My belief is that we need to look past the event – and see the response it generates. We need to examine ourselves in the face of life’s lemons and respond in the way that turns the bitter sweet.

In 10 Inspiration Drivetime CD’s we will explore the theme “Which Cross Crucifies You?’ There were three crosses on the hill called Calvary. There were three “Old Rugged Crosses”. Each of the three men responded to the worst life could give them in very different ways and each of them becomes a model for us to follow.

There is the Cross of Rejection, the cross of Repentance and the Cross of Redemption.

a.. On the Cross of Rejection – the thief though dying with Jesus, sides with the mob and hurls insults at Him “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” b.. On the Cross of Repentance – the thief rebukes the other thief “Don’t you fear God,” “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” And this thief becomes the only man in the New Testament to whom Jesus gives the total assurance “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.” and c.. On the Cross of Redemption – Jesus pays the price for both thieves and the people watching his agony, waiting for his death, for Pontius Pilate, the Scribes and Pharisees, His mother and His disciples and yes, you and I too. The Cross of Redemptino is a Cross of Freedom, a Cross of Life, but He who chooses it gives up Freedom and gives up Life so that others can be redeemed.

Whether we like it or not we have our heroes – those we would love to be like – and our foes, those we would never wish to be likened to. Which man do you follow? Which Cross Crucifies You?

Walking into the dimly lit room you are struck by the wall’s dark eyes that follow you. You are looking for the inmate of this gothic teenage bedroom but the posters on the wall displaying darkly clad young men and women dressed to kill is enough to make you want to give up the search.

I’d have to sleep with the light on if I slept in that room, but fortunately, the teenager will grow out of this phase, won’t he?

We enter the Executive’s office on the 42nd floor of the Sydney office tower. The expansive office has a window wall with commanding views of the City and the Harbour. Around the other walls are trophies of his sporting heroes. A smelly football jersey takes pride of place – it was quickly preserved in its original, muddied, sweat soaked condition straight from the body of its owner after the game where his six goals reserved for him and the jersey a place in his club’s football history. Looking at its perfectly sullied condition we are grateful for the glass case that separates our odours from it. A $7,000 pittance purchased this treasure at a club auction.

Near it a beautifully framed autographed painting of Don Bradman in action. $100,000 for this was a worthwhile investment. Currently the Executive, in his late 40’s, is bidding on an e-bay charity auction for Roger Federer’s Shirt from Wimbledon 2004. The starting bid is $3,000 for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Relief appeal. Secretly he will pay up to $6,000 for it and already has its place on his wall reserved.

Purchasing collectable sporting memorabilia of his hero’s a passing phase? I don’t think so. Both are examples of people doing what people do – we model one another. We all have our heroes.

The Idol television phenomenon has circled the globe like a rogue satellite. Millions of people around the world watch Idol television in more than 22 countries as they see young rising stars perform in the world’s largest ever talent quest. And it’s not only young people but families who tune in to this program. Even my wife and I have been known to catch a show or two.

World Idol in 2004 attracted the best of the best from Poland, Germany, Pan Arabic Nations, Australia, South Africa, the Netherlands, USA, Norway, Belgium and Canada.

A passing phase? Hmmm. More like a global pandemic. It’s interesting that this franchised series unashamedly acknowledges that we are all idol worshippers looking for new idols to worship. It’s part of the human condition, we need our role models, not so much idols, and good role models to follow. Let’s face it, whether we like it or not, we all seek role models.

They are a mixed group of people who gather amongst the thousands before the sunrise at Gallipoli to honour the courage and sacrifice of a much earlier generation. To Australian and New Zealanders who formed the ANZACS (the Australian New Zealand Army Corp) the tragic events of an 8 month campaign would forever establish the character of these two Island nations.

It is sometimes difficult for people from other nations to understand how Aussies and Kiwis think, our curious sense of humour and our ability to respond to hardship with a smile. There are various reasons for this, but the events of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War from April to December 1915 made the word ‘Anzac’ instantly recognisable throughout Australia and New Zealand. The official Australian Government website http://www.anzacsite.gov.au states that “from 1915, individuals, organisations and businesses began to use the word ‘Anzac’ for a variety of purposes.” Official applications were made for permission to use the word Anzac or copyright material associated with Gallipoli and the campaign. Parents wanted to name their children and homes ‘Anzac’, and others wanted to commemorate songs, photographs, cards, designs and product names with the word.

The Gallipoli campaign was however a huge tragedy. Some would say a monstrous mistake where Allied troops were sent on a virtual suicide mission in battles which they simply could not win.

Turkish causalities, fighting in their homeland totaled more than 86,692. On the official Australian website http://www.gallipoli.gov.au we read “In the nine months of the campaign more than 36,000 Commonwealth soldiers died and Australia suffered 26,094 casualties. The 31 war cemeteries on the peninsula contain 22,000 graves, but only 9000 of these were able to be identified.”

With 75,000 allied troops and 36,000 deaths, not to mention those who were maimed physically or emotionally for life, this then was a war tragedy beyond belief yet in Australia and New Zealand its memory has been cherished for almost a century. In recent decades close links have been formed with the Turkish people as together the nations commemorate both the courage and folly of war.

Out of the tragedy of Gallipoli sprang New Life for the people of Australia and New Zealand, who began to see themselves in a new light, no longer as children of Empire, but adults who had won the right to stand free.

When hardships and tragedies come, whether man made or natural disasters, human beings have a capacity to find rebirth and in this the symbol of the cross has for centuries played a vital role.

In various battlefields makeshift crosses have been erected by troops at the graves they have hastily dug for their friends. Sometimes the cross is made of two pieces of wood. Sometimes the cross pieces might have included a weapon or a shovel. Sometimes the best a mate could do would be to hang an identity tag on the cross that marked his grave.

To those standing by, offering a prayer to God or just grief filled silence to the wind, the makeshift cross honours the dead. It’s a symbol of questioning sorrow, but in some way it points to something beyond the grave – the courage of the life lost.

In Gallipoli few if any crosses were erected for the dead. In 1919 when graves were being properly prepared for the fallen, the bones of thousands of them had lain bleached by the sun for four years where they died.

The very least we can do for our dead is to erect some kind of memorial to their living. For many, a cross has been that memorial and one cross – signifying death and resurrection, an end and a beginning, the worst and the best – started it all. It has inspired the millions of crosses on churches, in cemeteries, in public places, hung on walls and worn as adornments. One cross. Yet three crosses stood on that hill in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. The story of the cross of Christ has motivated songs, books, movies, paintings, poetry – and it has been the standard by which millions have lived and died in war and peace. [324]

As I’ve pondered the great story of that one cross, I keep being drawn to the other crosses of the men who died with Jesus on that day. What about them?

We are told that two thieves were crucified with Jesus Christ, one on either side. Each suffering the same fate, but for different reasons. We assume that the thieves’ crosses were the same as the cross of Christ and that the agony they suffered was comparable to his.

They were three people who remain as role models for the world. Am I serious? I sure am. In a strange way each of them have been our idols for unwittingly we follow their example. In some way, every day you and I can see our actions, our responses to the best and worst life offers us in these three men. So, are we on the cross of Rejection, the cross of Repentance or Jesus Cross, the Cross of Redemption?

Many of us would like to say that we only follow the suffering man in the middle. “Put your hand in the hand of the man that stilled the water,” the song declares and we tap our feet in agreement. Reality though is that throughout every day we are likely to move from one cross to one of the others. Which Cross Crucifies you?

We are told that Jesus was scourged cruelly before the nails were hammered into his hands and feet – the best depiction of this in recent times has been the movie The Passion of the Christ, a movie I loathe. Mel Gibson’s movie is not pleasant viewing and for someone who wants to be entertained by a movie – as I do – this would never be my choice. Yet I will see it again because the historical reality as depicted by writers at the time was that crucifixion was a ghastly form of execution. The Passion of the Christ is ghastly as it shows that horror in its awful reality.

In Roman times, before their hanging on the cross, each prisoner was a wretched sight. Wounds, scars and terrible bruises all over his body, hair matted by congealed blood; the prisoner is no artists’ model of humanity at its best. The Roman historian, Tacitus wrote about crucifixion, “To the sufferings of those who were put to death were added mockery and derision.” As if the worst of human suffering and pain was not enough – to this we have to add verbal insults and humiliation and perhaps our own violence too. Because the Bible only records the scourging and mockery of Christ, we have tended to think that only He suffered that fate, but the thieves with him also suffered in this way.

What can we learn by comparing the deaths of those three men that day?

Crucifixion on its own was a very cruel torturing death but scourging was simply an essential part of the process for the victim. Scourging involved leather thongs to which were fastened sharp pellets of lead and iron. The naked victim was tied to a post and his back ripped to pieces by the flogging which was enough to make the man lose consciousness or sanity.

After this, it was the custom for condemned criminals to be handed over to the soldiers and the people to be tormented, mocked and ridiculed. With Jesus, we are told he received this treatment three times by

his own people, the Jews,

by the soldiers of Herod,

and by the soldiers of Pilate.

By the time each man had carried his cross to Golgotha, the place of the Skull, death was just a dream to end their agony, except for the fact that a worst form of torture awaited them. Humanity at its best is wonderfully compassionate and caring; at its worst we are barbarically less than human.

In life, you and I face many trials. Some it seems face greater hardships through family illnesses, disabilities, and poverty. In my work with International Needs I’ve seen poverty at its worst and been involved in responses for natural disasters that have killed and maimed thousands of people. I have walked through slums where I have no idea how people are able to exist and yet still seem to find ways to smile at life. I have met former ritual slaves from West Africa who have been released and given skills training through projects of International Needs. Often I feel like weeping when I see the suffering of other people but I’m always aware that I am simply watching on from the sidelines. I’m not called to suffer with these people.

The story of the Cross of Christ shows Jesus not as a bystander but suffering exactly the same fate as the criminals who were with him. Perhaps his suffering was more intense because of the religious fervour that was driving the hatred for him, but the important point to remember is that he suffered equally with the criminals with him, and yet he had done no wrong.

Some would argue that Christ’s suffering was far greater than the criminals beside him because he suffered unjustly.

Recently, a Television program featured the story “Pain of Rejection.” It reported that scientists in America and Australia had found an answer to the age old question, why does a broken heart hurt so bad. They had found that the brain registers the pain of rejection in exactly the same place as physical pain.

Have you been divorced? Do you live in a loveless marriage? Have your children disappointed you? Are you struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one, a job, or financial disaster? All of these things hurt.

Added to the physical pain that Jesus endured was the terrible emotional pain of rejection – being rejected by the people he had loved, cared for and served.

.

Like the thieves on either side of him he suffered the worst torment that human beings can give. First bitter whipping enough to take his mind and sanity from him. Then dreadful mockery and derision – the ultimate rejection and finally crucifixion.

Yet each of these three men responds very differently to their shared circumstances and there are lessons for us from each response. When we might like to only use the cross of Christ as our standard, whether we like it or not, the very best and the very worst of us can see our own images in each of the crucified men that day. Not only that, but through any day we may move from the image of one thief to the other and then to Christ and back again to one of the thieves.

As we look at the account of the crucifixion in the Bible we’ll see that the response of Jesus to his circumstances was very different to the response of those around him. His response set Him apart from the rest of humanity. When the world gives us its worst we naturally want to fight back, but that may not be Jesus way.

The Tsunami disaster has brought out the best in response from the world but there have been other disasters where millions have suffered and died and we have turned our backs and closed our eyes. Through our donations we will care for refugees in Indonesia and in Sri Lanka, and in other countries but we how do we respond to refugees in our own street?

With which man do you align yourself? Which cross crucifies you today?

The Cross of the Angry Thief – Rejection.

The Cross of the Merciful Thief – Repentance.

Only by modelling ourselves consistently on The Cross of Redemption, of the Tortured Christ, will we bring resurrection from our troubles and respond to life in the manner He prescribes.

“Which Cross Crucifies You?” is a book David Ayliffe is writing this year (2005) as part of an audio CD series for “Inspiration Drive” – 10 CD’s over 10 months of this year. To obtain the CD contact david[at][inspirationdrive.org.au or phone (in Australia) 1300 731 550.