Holy Cross Day, 2025
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 12:20-33
Title: Two Reactions
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Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” In case you weren’t sure what Jesus meant when He would be lifted up, John explains, “He’s talking about His death.” Jesus is lifted up when He is nailed to the cross.
Jesus says that everyone is drawn to the cross. All people. From all places and all times.
And when you are drawn there to the cross, everyone must, in some way or another respond to the crucifixion of Jesus. You can’t just ignore it. This is the pivotal event, the most important event of all time.
What will you do when you are drawn to the foot of the cross?
There are really only two options.
The first option is the most popular one. It was the most popular reaction in Jesus’ day, and it remains so in our time, too.
The first option is to mock Jesus, to scorn and reject this man who seems in every way like a failure.
The sign over Jesus’ head read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
Jesus certainly didn’t look like a king. We’re used to kings with power and might. We’re used to kings with strength in armies and wealth.
For this man dying in shame to be called a king was the height of foolishness.
St. Paul says as much. The message of the cross is foolishness.
Why put your hope in one who died in such a shameful way? Why should you think that the death of one man a long time ago in a land far away would benefit you at all?
People in Jesus’ day taunted Him, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Prove who you are by some great and marvelous sign.”
People in our day taunt Him still. “Prayers don’t do any good. It’s worthless to pray, because there are no answers, no results.”
They call Jesus powerless. A fraud.
And people don’t only taunt Jesus. They taunt and mock His followers. If you follow Jesus, you can expect the same treatment that He received. You will be called foolish, ridiculous, and worse.
And it may go beyond mere online insults and mockery.
We’ve seen a recent escalation in violence here in our own country. School kids, praying in church, brutally shot. A man known for his bold witness to Christ on college campuses gunned down as well.
It’s scary. It shouldn’t be surprising, but it’s still a shock when it actually happens.
So, how do we respond when we become the target of the world’s rage?
Our natural reaction is to respond with anger and hatred and violence. But what did Jesus say? What did Jesus do? What does the cross teach us?
When Peter pulled a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane and started swinging, Jesus told him to put his sword away. “He who lives by the sword, will die by the sword.” In the sermon on the mount, Jesus bids us to turn the other cheek and pray for our enemies and persecutors.
Just last week, what did Jesus say? “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Jesus doesn’t say, “bear your sword and follow me.” Jesus doesn’t say, “bear your guns and follow me.” Jesus says, “bear your cross.” Suffer with me. Die with me.
We need to be bold witnesses for Jesus, especially in the public sphere, despite the consequences. Jesus was preaching and teaching in the Jerusalem temple, knowing what the consequences would be, and yet continuing to debate there. Using His words to defeat the lies of Satan and leaders of His day.
That’s what you have, too. The words of Jesus, the message of the cross, as Paul says, “the word of the cross that is the power of salvation.” That’s where your power lies—in the Word of God.
When you are drawn to the cross, there are two possible reactions.
The first is to mock and taunt and jeer.
The second is to worship. To worship the one who hangs there on the cross as your Savior.
Now, we’re all about worship this fall. And “worship” is a tricky word, because it makes it sound like it’s something that you do. That’s why we use the phrase “Divine Service.” Worship is first and foremost about God serving you, God giving you His gifts.
You come to the foot of the cross to receive the living giving gifts of forgiveness and peace. And here in the Divine Service is where those gifts are delivered to you.
You can’t build a time machine and go back 2,000 years ago to Calvary. So, Jesus comes to you here and now, at each point in the service taking what He accomplished for you on the cross and giving it to you here and now.
In the Invocation, you are reminded that you were marked with the sign of the cross and baptized into Jesus’ death.
In Holy Absolution, all your sins are forgiven because they died with Jesus on the cross.
In the proclamation of the Holy Gospel and in the sermon, the message of the cross is proclaimed and applied to you.
In the Holy Supper you are given the body and blood of Christ, sacrificed on the cross, for you to eat and to drink. St. Paul writes, “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the death of Christ until He comes.”
In the Benediction you are sent out with the peace that comes from Jesus reconciling you to the Father through His crucifixion.
Every bit of the liturgy, every hymn, every sermon proclaims the message of the cross, because that message is the means by which Jesus saves you. To those who are perishing, it is foolishness, an occasion for mockery. To you who are being saved, it is power and wisdom, an occasion for worship.
Yes, this life will be difficult. Yes, you will be mocked and persecuted. Yes, you will suffer and one day you will die.
But if you are united with Jesus in His death, you will also be united with Him in His life. Because you died with Jesus in your baptism, you will rise with Him when He returns in glory. You will share in His victory over death and the grave.
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