A swastika painted on the side of O’Reilly’s would cause revulsion and many would clamber to have it removed. Yet no-one bats an eye lid when they walk past this symbol. No one is shocked. No one mounts a protest demanding the removal of this oppressive emblem. Oppressive because in its original setting it was used to put down and keep down the slaves and the lower classes. Civilized society did not speak of it, such was the fear and horror attached to it. But now we pass under it on the way into Boots chemist. The green cross above the door, if we see it at all, no longer instills horror but hope.
Before we consider the hope that it’s known for, let’s first consider the horror that it was designed for.
Do not be mistaken the cross is one of the most barbaric instruments of torture and death mankind has ever devised. Its creators wanted to inflict the maximum pain and suffering upon the victim for the longest time possible before death came. Once the execution began all hope died. All hope of a quick and quiet death. All hope of a dignified death. Stripped naked and exposed for all to see the one being crucified had nails driven into their wrists and feet. Wrists not hands as the nails would have torn through the soft tissue of the hand. But the place where the two bones of the arm meet was more secure and, importantly for maximum suffering, the junction for many nerves.
Do not think for a minute that this was a smooth planed piece of wood or galvanized pretty 6 inch nails. The only resemblance the piece of jewelry around your neck or the tattoo on your leg bears to the original is the shape. For the many thousands that died by crucifixion, death came not from loss of blood but loss of breath.
If you can stomach it here’s a link to a description of Crucifixion. [here]
Our horror movies, no matter how grotesque cannot match the fear and brutality that the cross struck into the hearts of those who lived under its shadow. Yet now, that which was devised as an horrific deterrent has become an advert for hope and help. What once caused people to shrink back now draws people near. What a transformation! But do you ever wonder why the transformation? Was it clever marketing? Historical forgetfulness? No, none of these are a reasonable explanation for the presence of an instrument of torture over a chemist.
Only one victim of the thousands who suffered and died by crucifixion can account for this. Maybe you think that’s too big of a jump. I’m connecting the death of a Jewish man in ancient history with a cross over a chemist in Dromara. But it’s not me that makes this connection. This is not my idea. It’s a connection made by historians. And surprisingly not only historian who are Christians. People like Tom Holland (the ancient historian not Spiderman), who wrote a weighty book called Dominion (I know it’s weighty because it took me a few years to wade my way through it- thankfully he’s on YouTube. Watch from 5 min mark-here). He connects the Crucifixion of Jesus with our Western values. He argues that the Jesus revolution (as he calls it) has given us the world we live in. The world we enjoy. A world where the weak and sick are cared for, justice is for all (not just the powerful) and progress is applauded. The shock wave of these ideas continue to be felt around the world. When you trace them back, the epicentre where they began is marked with a cross. The death of Jesus and specifically, the death of Jesus on a cross turned the world’s systems upside down. He did not come “to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many” The One with highest authority became the servant of all. So it’s very fitting that a cross would be on display above a chemist. Chemists are at the very heart of a modern progressive society, caring for the weak and sick regardless of power or influence.
Yet Chemist for all their value have their limits. No-one carries a coffin into a Chemist. Jesus death however offers hope in this life and in the life to come.
He turned his horror into hope for all who would trust in him. He literally went through hell for us. He, the innocent (and willing) victim, destroyed the fear of death and brought a hope to the world that it had never seen before. Not a wishy washy hope, ‘I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow’ sort of hope. But solid hope based upon the reality of Jesus rising from the dead.
But like beautiful scenery we no longer see or background music we no longer hear, we have become dull to its powerful message. That which once screamed death, through Jesus, now sings life. But through prolonged exposure over many generations, we are deaf to its cries. We have become immune to its power and not drawn to its joy. It now only retains a faint whisper of physical hope. We have lost our ability to hear its clear call of life, peace and joy for those who bow before the One who died upon it. And let’s not forget, who gloriously rose to life again. The victim has become the victor.
Speaking of Jesus, Michael Card sings:
“Love crucified arose
The grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again”
An instrument of horror becomes a symbol of hope.
A hope in the midst of life and in the face of death. Just as it would be foolish to get our prescription and not take the medicine, it is beyond foolish to know of the hope found in Jesus and shelf him.
In Hidden Dromara, I have tried to draw our attention to overlooked or unseen parts of our village. The green cross above the chemist is by far the most significant item I have shone a spotlight on. But in reality it is the cross that shines a spotlight upon us. Like a MRI scan it sees to the core of who we are, exposing the shadows we’d rather keep hidden. The diagnosis is grim but there is a prescription that offers certain hope of a complete cure. Jesus stepped into our horror so that we can live and die in his hope.
This the power of the cross
Son of God slain for us
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross
[Oh to see the Dawn by Stuart Townsend, Keith Getty]