This Easter is disturbing. For so many across the world, these are terrifying times. I don’t need to elaborate as I am sure you all know very well; we could all write out a long list of the various hardships being faced. With varying degrees of engagement, International Churches (ICs) are working to love and care for others across the spectrum of needs and fears.
Easter, a time of remembrance, sober reflection and repentance, followed by exuberant celebration. A time for gratitude and humility. A time for again retracing the story of Jesus, revisiting the details and the nuances, remembering again the deep sorrow and terrible agony Jesus endured for the Father and for us. For most a time for deep and valuable personal devotion. And then the rejoicing and excitement of Resurrection.
But ….
The cross is multi-layered, and I want now to take up just one of those layers. It has been said already, “The cross is not just an event, the cross is a way of life.”
The cross demonstrates the practice of love, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. …. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18, cf. John 15:13, Romans 5:8.) Those who truly appreciate the cross of Jesus heed the call to sacrifice for the sake of others: our whole lives, everyday (Romans 12:1-2).
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:34). He states this in various ways on different occasions. True engagement with the cross of Jesus over this Easter will include various expressions of devotion. But we do well to remember that such devotion is somewhat empty if it does not engage us with the call to sacrifice, to the discipleship of putting self aside and giving of ourselves in following Jesus to the
cross for the sake of others.
Perhaps we might express this in terms of the Lord’s Supper as Communion together is a very appropriate practice on the night of Maundy Thursday (I know some share this on Friday or Sunday). The cup from which we drink is the cup of the cross. To drink from the cup is to commit to the way of the cross, to take up the cross, our cross.
Jesus referred to the cross as drinking from the cup, His cup (Matthew 20:22-23, Mark 10:38-39, John 18:11). In Gethsemane, He prayed for release from the cup (Matthew 26:39-44, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42). To drink from the cup was to commit to death, to the cross. In the descriptions of the Last Supper, note how much drinking from the cup is featured, more so than reference to what is in the cup (Matthew 26:27-29, Mark 14:23-25, Luke 22:17-20, 1 Corinthians 11:25-29. Note also 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21). To drink from the cup in Communion is to take up the cross of discipleship yet again. This is not to lessen the many significances of the cup and the wine; it is not an either/or
but a both/and.
So this Easter, I am challenged and provoked. It is easy for me to just ride out the pandemic in isolation. But the cross does not allow me such indulgence. I can remember, engage, appreciate, reflect, pray, be thankful, no matter where I am. Then the cross, the cup, the call to discipleship comes to mind. And I am then sobered up with the call to sacrificial love for others, now not when it is again convenient post-pandemic.
International churches (ICs) haven’t lost the missional call of God to love and serve the cities in which God has situated them. God hasn’t put this on hold for a while. Nor does social distancing provide us an out. True, we love others by keeping distant. So what are the ways we are advocating this Easter for our ICs and our people to engage in loving others, including those outside the church and those most in need?
Be careful, there is something addictive about getting into all the technological ways of doing church, both for those who produce it and those who receive it. Bigger and better online services, Zoom meetings, Facebook, emails and so on. These are all good and have their place. However, if all our energises go into the technology, we may fail to realize its limitations. And so fail to be true to the Easter message. Be careful, we can easily get lost in some kind of self-indulgent devotionalism at this time. Even the most sincere and well-informed humility before God, and the cross, can slip into a version of self-ism.
It would be tragic if our Easter remembrances and celebrations were disconnected from the sufferings of our world. The deeply personal participation in the story of the cross must be integrated with the cross that calls us to sacrifice, to love, to drink, to offer our own lives for others. The hope of resurrection and new creation likewise must be integrated with this call to live, and die, for others.
How might we this Easter sacrificially love those outside the IC, or those inside the church for whom the technology is inaccessible or just uninspiring? How might we be proactive and intentional people of the cross for others? Will people outside the church see the church as an example of sacrificial love?
This Easter, will they see Christians and ICs taking up the cross, drinking from the cup?
Graham Chipps
