“THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE
CROSS”
Rev. Karl
Burden
Good Friday,
March 21, 2008
Text:
“The message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of
God.”
1 Cor. 1:18
During
the cultural revolution in China, a Christian family was under house arrest. One
day, soldiers appeared at the door of their home. “You’re
free to return to North America!” they announced, “but you can take only 200
pounds of possessions with you.”
The
family had been in China for many years. They’d
accumulated a great deal. So they got out a
set of scales, and started weighing all the family treasures. It was a difficult task, and there were numerous
arguments between the parents and the children, as they tried to decide what was really
most valuable to them.
At
last, they’d completed the difficult task, and had decided on which treasures to
keep. They had it down to exactly 200 pounds.
When
the soldiers returned the next day, they asked:- “Did
you weigh everything?”
“Yes!”
they replied:
“Did
you weigh your children?” asked the
officer in charge.
“No”,
replied the shocked father.
“You’ll
have to weigh the kids,” replied the officer sternly, because their part of the 200
pounds you can take with you.”
In
an instant, all the precious treasures, that had seemed so important a moment earlier,
became as nothing.
Treasures
can very quickly become trash, when we view life from the vantage point of the Cross.
But
sometimes, it’s hard to believe, that a Cross, has become the primary symbol of our
Christian faith. Imagine for a moment if a
slightly different symbol had been selected as the emblem of Christianity. How would you feel, if you drove past a house of
worship prominently displaying a hangman’s noose, or an electric chair! How would you respond? You’d be horrified, wouldn’t
you?
And
yet, here we are this morning, sitting in worship at the feet of a Cross, an instrument of
torture. Surely the Cross is
incompatible with the Gospel message of Love. It
makes no sense that a Cross and Love should be so closely linked together.
Paul
calls the message of the Cross – foolishness.
He might, just as well have gone a step further, and called the Gospel
of Jesus Christ foolishness; because there is a great deal about our Christian
faith that makes no sense from a human point of view.
Why,
for example, should the One around whom our faith is centered, willingly allow Himself to
be arrested, tortured and then put to death; especially when it occurred so early in His
ministry; and He being in the prime of His life? Surely
that’s not the way we’d choose to launch the Christian Church.
But
God’s ways always baffle the logic of human beings.
They’re mysterious and irrational.
Why, for example, would the almighty God introduce His Son into the world -
in the way He chose? It makes no sense
that the Son of God should enter the world:
a)
as a helpless baby;
b)
born not in a palace, but in
a humble stable;
c)
born not in a cultural
capital of the world, but in an obscure, hamlet, in a little known corner of the world;
and
d)
born not to royal parents,
but to humble peasants, who were unknown, and powerless, and with absolutely no ability to
influence anyone.
Surely
that’s not the way to gain respect and attention, nor to ensure the strong allegiance
of His followers.
And
consider that motley crew of recruits that Jesus chose to be His closest disciples? Would you have chosen the likes of these?
a)
humble fishermen; or
b)
a hated tax collect?
These
weren’t people with wisdom or powerful. They
weren’t even well placed in society. What
strong leader would have chosen such an unimpressive group to be his spokesman?.
Or
again, consider the message Jesus proclaimed. It
doesn’t make any earthly sense either, because Jesus instructed His followers:
a) that when attacked by an
enemy, they shouldn’t fight back, but simply turn
the
other cheek;
b)
and when asked a favour, they
should give not only do what is asked, but twice as much; and
go the second mile.
c)
Or look how Jesus handled
that delicate situation, when a woman, caught in the act of adultery was brought before
Him. He knew what the Law declared, she should
be stoned to death, but what did He say? Even
before she confessed her sins, Jesus said: “I
don’t condemn you.”
d)
And then, in the final
moments of His life, with His body racked with pain, He
looked down at His tormentors, and instead of calling upon the power of God to destroy
these vile enemies, Jesus said: “Father,
forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
For
someone charged with the responsibility of saving the world, these things make no sense. How could Jesus hope to triumph over the world when
all He’s willing do is tell His followers, to love their enemies, and do good to
those who would harm them. Surely that’s
not the way to defeat the enemies of God!
Yet,
that’s exactly what our Lord did.
From
a human perspective, none of this makes sense. And
yet, when we accept this as God’s way,
and when we allow His message to permeate our lives, it forces us to change our whole
value system.
Paul
was right when he declared: God has turned what the world sees as foolishness into the
power of God?
Our
world, our whole society, teaches that:–
- might is right;
- that the strong always
triumph over the weak;
- that wealth and power are the
primary goals of life; and
- that the accumulation of
property and material treasures is the measure of our importance.
These
are the messages which bombard us every day of our lives:-
- on radio & television,
- in print commercials;
- in the attitude of colleagues
in the business community;
- in our conversations with
friends and relatives; and
- in the frantic pace of modern
society.
But
trying to find security and importance through the accumulation of material things is
ultimately futile. It never satisfies! It’s no wonder that the wealthy
continuing to strive for more and more wealth, long after they’ve achieved a level of
financial security far beyond anything the rest of us can ever dream. In spite of all their wealth, they’ve not
achieved peace of mind or the contentment they so earnestly seek, through the accumulation
of material possessions.
For
those who seek peace and fulfillment Jesus was
very clear in the advice He gave, for He declared: –
“Don’t
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal. But store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where
moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves
do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt.
6:10-21)
Christians
are instructed not to strive for wealth or fame, but rather to seek for those things which
are intangible. And here too we come face to
face with a mystery that seems to be foolishness.
What
is it that inspires most of us? Is it not for
rewards that we strive?. We work in order to
get a pay cheque at the end of the month. We
participate in competitive sports, in order to win a prize.
We exercise, so that we’ll be fit, or to loose weight. We do good things for other people, so that we’ll
win their respect, or their friendship. Our
motivation is almost always to receive something tangible that is of benefit to us.
Yet
Jesus instructs us to seek the Kingdom of God; a mysterious intangible thing, which we
really don’t fully understand. What is
this thing called Kingdom of God?
And
here again, we’re confounded by the seeming foolishness of God’s way. For in describing this Kingdom of God, Jesus said:- it’s like a person who hosts a large banquet
and invites many people. But when the invited
guests, one after another, send their regrets, (for a variety of different,
inconsequential reasons), the host throws open the doors of his home and invites in the
people from the streets and the alleys of the town, the poor, the crippled, the blind and
the lame; the most unlike guests.
How
can a Kingdom be built around the likes of these, the outcasts of society? All this makes no sense, but listen to how Paul
explains it. He says:
“Where
is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For
since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our
proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs, and Greeks desire wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles.
But
to those who are the called, (both Jews and Greeks), Christ is the power of God and the
wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is
wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”
(I
Cor. 1:20-25)
That’s
why we sit tonight, at the foot of a Cross, worshiping the One who gave up His life that
through the wisdom and power of God, we might know and experience the love, forgiveness
and rebirth of the One who loves us with a love so strong, it will not let us go.
The
message of the cross, may be foolishness to the world, but for us who are being saved, it
demonstrates the power of our God.
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