The following is a blog post from Cliff Nellis as he rode on his bike from Chicago to Bozeman, MT to raise money for youth ministry on the west side of Chicago (http://blog.sparktheflame.org/) Thanks, Cliff!
The Cross.
No matter what your thoughts are on the cross, it is monumental. I bet you can’t bike through any town in this country without passing a cross. I’d bet the same is true around the world. The cross is known. The cross is monumental.
At twilight on Wednesday evening, Sparkie and I walked the “Way of the Cross” in the small German town of New Ulm, MN. The Way of the Cross was built in 1904 by Father Alexander Berghold and the Sisters of the Poor Handsmaids of Jesus Christ with a $4,000 donation. The Sisters used wheelbarrows and hoes to help local contractors construct this uphill cobblestone pathway in a wooded area behind St. Alexander hospital (which they also established in 1884). Along either side of this quiet path into the woods, sixteen brick houses hold different depictions of Jesus and His followers as He neared the cross. At the top of the hill, the path ends at a small Cathedral with an altar and a few rows of wooden pews inside for visitors to come in and pray.
Sparkie and I took this time to walk the Way of the Cross in silence, meditating on each station and its significance in prayer. Sparkie went ahead first, and I followed a ways behind. I was immediately struck by the first brick house holding a statue of Jesus’ mother, Mary. As I looked at my own mother down the path and the statue of Mary, the humanity of Jesus became very real to me. He had a mom just like me. A mom that carried Him in her womb, raised Him, and cared for Him. They probably played together when He was young. The tenderness of God coming to us as a baby with a mom who cared for Him really warmed me in a new way. The second station was St. Francis of Assisi, who was a wealthy social elite that converted to Christianity and dedicated his life to serving the poor. As I continued uphill, I meditated on Jesus agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus being condemned to death, Jesus picking up the cross, Jesus’ first fall under the cross, Jesus meeting with his grieving mother, Simon helping Jesus carry the cross, Jesus’ second fall under the cross, Jesus consoling the women of Jerusalem, Jesus’ third fall under the cross, Jesus stripped of his garments, Jesus nailed to the cross, Jesus dying on the cross, Jesus taken from the cross, and Jesus laid in the tomb.
Forgiveness.
Is there anything more warming and welcoming than forgiveness? Forgiveness is acceptance in our worst conditions. Forgiveness sustains a relationship even when it has suffered hurt and wrong. God’s forgiveness for us is the glue that connects us to Him.
The night before Jesus went to the cross, Jesus sat with His disciples in a traditional Jewish setting called the Passover. Passover is celebrated in Jewish life as a commemoration of Exodus 12 where the Israelites were instructed to take the blood of a lamb without blemish and spread it over the doorposts and lintels of their homes. The homes with the blood of the Lamb were “passed over” during God’s judgment on the Egyptians for their sins.
At the Passover meal the night before Jesus went to the cross, however, Jesus changed the source of forgiveness. Jesus gave thanks, broke bread, gave it to His disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body” (Mtw. 26:26). Jesus then took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to the disciples saying, “This is my blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins” (Mtw. 26:28). The blood of an unblemished lamb would no longer be necessary. Jesus’ blood on the cross would be the once and for all unblemished sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins (Hebrews 9:11-28; 1 Cor. 5:7; 2 Cor. 5:18-21).
Peace and Reconciliation.
Jesus told us a story about a son who left home with his share of the family’s estate (Luke 15:11-32). The son went far away to another country and spent his money on reckless living. Later the son came to his senses and ran home to beg for his father’s forgiveness. The father saw him coming in the distance, ran out to him, embraced him, and kissed his son. The son apologized for doing him wrong and the two began to celebrate. This once estranged father and son were now at peace and reconciled with each other.
Colossians 1:20 says that the fullness of God dwelled in Jesus and that through Jesus all things on earth and in Heaven were reconciled, making peace by the blood of his cross. Like estranged sons and daughters returning home, we are reconciled and at peace with God and each other through the cross. The cross is the source of our forgiveness and the overflow of forgiveness is peace and reconciliation with God and others. Relationships are restored. Love for God and love for neighbor is re-established.
You may not know this, but Sparkie and I have not always had the best relationship. There has been hurt shared between us and periods of time where our relationship suffered. But God in His forgiveness has been softening our hearts, and we believe it has been through the cross that we’ve experienced not only forgiveness and reconciliation with God but forgiveness and reconciliation with each other.
Response.
I dedicated this blog to the cross because I believe the cross is a call to come and die in order to find real life. This is more than saying a sinner’s prayer and accepting God’s forgiveness for our sins so that we can continue to live for ourselves. It is recognizing that the apt response to Jesus giving His life for us is to, in return, give our life to Him. In Matthew 10:38-39, Jesus says, “whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The cross calls us to let go of our life for Jesus’ sake, pick up our cross, and discover real life as God meant it to be. It is my hope and prayer that if you get anything from my journey to Bozeman, MT, it will be this.
The Cross. Your Cross.
Pictures of “The Way of the Cross” are on the website (www.sparktheflame.org). Also, I took pictures of inscribed monuments that record Father Alexander Berghold’s story and the legacy of the Sisters of the Poor Handsmaids of Jesus Christ in New Ulm, MN. Inspiring stories of faith and courage in the midst of trying times.
The day after Sparkie and I walked the Way of the Cross in New Ulm, MN, I biked ninety miles to Tracy, MN, where I am currently sitting on a picnic table under a wooden structure which has been protecting me from the rain falling outside on our campgrounds. The rain has stopped so it’s time to get back on the saddle. By nightfall, God-willing I will be in South Dakota! Thanks again for your comments, facebook posts, prayers, support, donations, and encouragement. It helps keep my legs strong! See you in South Dakota!
by Cliff Nellis
