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Tonight is a night to look death right in the eye. Perhaps there are some of you here who have literally done just that. Tonight we’re talking about a specific way to die…crucifixion on a cross. Not too many people know that the cross was a well known symbol hundreds of years before Christ died. The Egyptians called it canob, after a T-shaped instrument used to measure the rise of the Nile. As early as 125 BC Greek worshipers of the god, Bacchus, offered him cakes of flour with the figure of a cross imprinted on them. Then, when Rome came to power, the practice of nailing their worst criminals to a cross had its beginning. But it was not until Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world that the cross took on great and blessed significance. The cross consisted of a perpendicular stake with a crossbeam either at the top of the stake of shortly below the top. The height of the stake was usually little more than the height of a man. A block or a pin was sometimes driven into the stake to serve as a seat for the condemned person, giving partial support to his body. Sometimes also a step for the feet was fixed to the stake. Victims of crucifixion did not usually die for 2 or 3 days. But this was determined by the presence or absence of the seat and the foot rest, for a person suspended by his hands lost blood pressure quickly, and the pulse rate was increased. Usually the victim had been severely scourged before crucifixion took place. Total collapse through insufficient blood circulation to the brain and the heart would follow shortly. If the victim could ease his body by supporting himself with the seat and footrest, the blood could be returned to some degree of circulation in the upper part of his body. To fix the hands to the cross beam either cords or nails and cords were used; sometimes the feet were nailed also. When it was desired to bring the torture to an end, the victim's legs were broken below the knees with a club. It was then no longer possible for him to ease his weight, and the loss of blood circulation was accentuated. Coronary insufficiency followed shortly. The victim's offense was usually published by a crier who preceded him to the place of execution. Sometimes it was written on a tablet which was carried by the condemned man himself. Tonight is a night to ponder the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. A time to consider the suffering he endured on a cross. A time to wonder about what it all means. Officer Peter O'Hanlon was patrolling on night duty in northern England some years ago when he heard a quivering sob. He saw in the shadows a little boy sitting on a doorstep. With tears rolling down his cheeks, the child whimpered, "I'm lost. Please take me home." The policeman began naming street after street, trying to help him remember where he lived. When that failed, he repeated the names of the shops and hotels in the area, but all without success. Then he remembered that in the center of the city was a well-known church with a large white cross towering high above the surrounding landscape. He pointed to it and said, "Do you live anywhere near that?" The boy's face immediately brightened. "Yes, take me to the cross. I can find my way home from there!" In the midst of our times of sorrow, confusion, and lostness….the cross of Christ continues to be our beacon, a light in the darkness. On this darkest of all dark nights, let us take the time to be in the darkness of death. This we can do, because we know that even though it is Good Friday tonight…Easter is coming! Even though we sit with death tonight….resurrection is coming! Even though we may be lonely and lost tonight….the cross of Christ will lead us home! |
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03.29.02 - Good Friday Homily
