This is a time of reflection on the most important event in Christian history--the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Some believers think that Jesus' birth on Christmas is the focus of our faith, and other people find Easter the main celebration in Christianity. But I think that Holy Week, the passionate steps leading to Easter, are central to our faith.
I am sure that you have pondered the importance of Holy Week within your churches and as individual followers of Christ. Each year, God offers me new insights into the importance of Holy Week, and this year appears to be no exception. In other years, God has shown me the significance of the skull (Golgotha), the journey down the road to Calvary (the Via Dolorosa), and the sacrificial lamb. I have also pondered what it may have been like to be Simon the Cyrene as he carried the Cross, Mary the mother of Jesus as she watched her son die, the Roman centurian as he realized his place in Jesus' death, and Peter's denial of Jesus.
This year, God is impressing upon me something that I hope you find interesting, if I can put the thought into adequate words for you. I have been meditating not on the significance of the Cross. That seems too logical a concept. God has shown me this year the importance of the shadow of the Cross, and this idea has given me great awe of God's ways and great comfort in my journey as a follower of Christ.
So here is my explanation of the significance of the Cross's shadow:
Have you ever sat in one place that is open to the sun--say while you were at the beach--and watched the shadow around you that was made and that elongated by the rising of the sun in morning until noon, and then shortening of the shadow occurring from the setting of the sun in the afternoon toward evening? It is a law of nature, a cycle that faithfully occurs each and every day, without fail. No matter where you move, as long as you are in the sun, you always are covered by a shadow.
The same principle applies to the rising and setting of the sun across the Earth. The sun rises in the East and gives light and shadow all across the world over a 24 hour period. The light of the sun is also responsible for the shadow. The Earth is enlivened by the light and protected by the shadow. In order for life to be sustained, we need both the light and the shadow, the heat and the cool.
Fast forward to Good Friday. The real day that Jesus died on the Cross. On the hill called Calvary, Jesus was nailed to the Cross. He hung on the Cross for hours until "it was finished." His body was removed. But what happened to the Cross? Was it taken down or did it remain on the hill?
I believe that the Cross remained standing, at least for a while, at least for one day, one complete 24-hour period. During this time, there was one complete revolution in which the sun rose and set. One day in which the shadow of the Cross touched the Earth. For one 24-hour period every corner of the world was protected by the shadow of the Cross.
The shadow of the Cross protects us even today. During this Holy Week, as you go about your activities, close your eyes and picture yourself hidden safely in the shadow of the Cross. Do you attend the Stations of the Cross? See your reflection in the Cross etched in the stained glass. Do you participate in foot washing? Envision the shadow of the Cross hovering over you in this act of service. Any other Holy Week tradition? Watch as the shadow of the Cross moves with you. Watch as the shadow protects you from sin, iniquity, and infirmities.
Very simply, watch.
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