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One of my favourite pieces of artwork in this Cathedral is the window by Marc Chagall, which takes its theme from Psalm 150. I’m sure you know it, it’s vibrant and full of life and hope. In contrast to what we have just remembered; a burial and a tomb. Yet it is that same artist who comes to my mind nearly every Good Friday. |
In the introduction to his book “The Crucified God”, Jurgen Moltman describes the picture which hangs over his desk, it is Chagall’s “Crucifixion in Yellow”.
It shows the figure of the crucified Christ in an apocalyptic situation: people sinking into the sea, people homeless and in flight and yellow fire blazing in the background. And with the crucified Christ there appears the angel with the trumpet and the open roll of the book of life.
In his paintings of the Crucifixion, the artist presents Christ in a world of turmoil and strife, it is a world well known to Chagall and well known to us. A theology of the cross can be found on canvas as well as in hefty tomes, it can also be written into the lives of millions of ordinary folk across the world. To people who struggle with the hard questions of life, the Cross does not provide an easy answer, a quick fix. It is not a panacea for suffering and hardship, it is about “suffering with”, the very meaning of compassion. In Christ suffering with and for us, there is of course, ultimately, redemption, joy and bliss and an end to all death – but that is to fast forward to what we will celebrate on Sunday, or for some of us, Saturday night. For the moment, let us remain with the Cross.
A few years ago, a dear friend of mine was seriously ill, she was a lady of simple and gritty faith and not easily given to sentimentality or superstition. She bore her illness with great dignity and generosity. When a well-meaning but slightly misguided visiting priest came to see her, and presented her with what he claimed was “a relic of the true cross”, the irony was not lost on her. I’m sure she accepted the gesture graciously, while inwardly smirking. I couldn’t help but think that the true Cross for her was the cancer that would soon take her away from her husband and young children. Though she would probably never had seen it that way herself. In fact, we dishonour the Cross of Jesus if we simply use it as an easy explanation as to why bad things happen to good people. A sort of theological bin liner into which we throw all the difficult questions we cannot or will not find answers for.
The way of the Cross is a way of life and a way to life, it is not a way of avoidance or easy answers, nor does it mean accepting suffering and sin as merely inevitable. So there are challenges for our own lives, challenges for the community and for our churches.
One of the good things about praying the Stations of the Cross, as many have done this morning, is that it involves movement and an idea of journey. We are in some sense, following the Lord to Calvary as an act of devotion and solidarity. The challenge is to allow the Lord who conquers the cross to accompany us on our journey. We cannot do this without sharing some of the burden of the Cross. It is relatively easy to do this in a complaining way, but far more difficult to do it joyfully. Although the Cross of Christ has always been a grotesque scandal to unbelievers, when we see it as a way to life it should become a joy to embrace because in embracing the Cross we are embracing the very person of Jesus. A small Cross is often used a symbol for pilgrims to wear. We all wear this symbol inwardly, through our baptism, but we witness to its power outwardly through our lives.
As Christians who can make a difference to the wider community we may want to reflect again on those scenes from the Chagall crucifixions, scenes of war, injustice, persecution, refugees. These were painted over half a century ago, but they have their resonances in the world that we inhabit now. If we are guided by the Cross, we cannot be passive observers to injustice, to racial hatred, or to exploitation of any kind. The life of Jesus which ebbed away on the Cross touches us even now not just because we believe that his life was sacred but because every life is sacred to him. Therefore, we cannot stand by passively when we see life being treated as disposable or cheap at whatever stage this happens. The Cross speaks to us of a Gospel of life, before birth, after birth and after death. When we travel the way of the Cross we have to ask ourselves whether we are content to be the onlookers, catching a glimpse of him as he passes by. Or are we truly travelling with him every step of the way, drawing upon his diminishing life so that our own life can be nourished and strengthened.
The Cross which can both unite and divide is a challenge to our churches. The symbol of the Cross invites us to reflect deeply on how we witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, while being painfully aware that his priestly prayer; “that they all may be one” is still being prayed. Two years ago, the Passion Play through the streets of Chichester was a powerful sign to Good Friday shoppers and tourists – many were, quite literally, stopped in their tracks by the spectacle. It aroused attention, curiosity and who knows, even faith. A voice from a young boy in the crowd was heard asking his mother “what’s going on here?” The reply came back. “I think its some kind of nativity play, darling” . I think that story is probably an urban myth by now but it does illustrate a point. Rather than bemoaning such ignorance, we ought to reflect on the need of people out there to share our story, to become part of the story of the cross and not mere onlookers caught up in some kind of pageant they have no control over or understanding of. It is hoped that next year we will be able to produce the Passion Play again. We hope that it will inspire and strengthen those who experience it with faith and stir the feelings of those who can only see it without faith.
It is certainly good that we find ways of witnessing and worshipping together on Good Friday, but after the Passion play, after this service what happens? Some will stay in this cathedral, many will go off to other churches for their own Good Friday devotions, having “done the ecumenical bit”. Is this the best we can do? The best we can hope for when we commemorate the day that Christ died for us and for all? We form a very selective sample of the Christians of Chichester here in this Cathedral and very soon we will witness to our fragmented church as we go our separate ways. Perhaps in the shadow of the Cross we could be more ambitious on Good Friday without the need to disappear back into our own comfort zones for the rest of the day. Is it beyond any of us or all of us to contemplate only having one celebration on Good Friday for all the Christians of the city? Could we dare to honour the Cross by having a service for which this cathedral would not be big enough? Maybe as followers of Christ we could bring our Cross to Priory Park or Goodwood racecourse and make all of our church buildings redundant for one day: what kind of a symbol would that be? I fear that the practicalities involved might defeat us and before anyone says anything – I’m not volunteering to organise it! But the question remains – in theory what is stopping us? Good Friday is the one day of the year when we do not need to be bound by our own or other people’s sacramental disciplines because the power of the Cross invites us to worship in a different way on this day. No person, no church, no denomination has sole ownership of the Cross but all of us who bear its sign on our lips and in our hearts carry with us the calling to spread the good news it proclaims. The unique message and mission of Jesus is the story we share. We can’t own that story, we can only share it. It is the story of the victory of good over evil, peace over pain and life over death. The artist of the Crucifixion, mentioned earlier, is the same as the creator of that stained glass inspired by Psalm 150: Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty heavens
Praise him for his acts of power
Praise him for his surpassing greatness
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Kieron O'Brien, March 21st 2008