14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
What an amazing message for all of humanity - people can actually experience the life and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. With a yearning for freedom in the hearts of individuals, Jesus offers a way for each of us to be truly free. He experienced the humiliation and pain of death on a cross and was raised from the dead, so that we could be freed from the power of indwelling sin. We can experience the forgiveness from past sins that only He can bring, and we have the power within us to overcome the tendencies of the flesh, which would ensnare us. Through the cross and His resurrection, we can know what it truly means to be free.
In 1st Corinthians 1, the apostle Paul wrote about the message of the cross and how it is regard by believer and non-believer:
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.19For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
Regarding the power of the cross, he goes on to say:23but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Several months ago, I highlighted the court case in progress concerning the large, cross-shaped beams that were discovered by construction worker Frank Silecchia in the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11. I wanted to revisit the topic, because earlier today, in New York City, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum was dedicated. It opens to the public next week.
USA Today had a very nice historical look at this powerful symbol. It profiles Silecchia, who, at the time, was a laborer between union jobs. The next day, he arrived at Ground Zero to join the recovery effort and stayed for nine months to help with the removal of 3.6 million pounds of wreckage. Like many, he did not wear a mask to protect himself from the toxic fumes. Today, he says, "my health is shot.''
A month shy of 60, he has trouble walking and sleeping. He has had three operations for respiratory and sinus problems. He's on anti-depressants and sleep medication. At 350 pounds, he's at least 125 overweight. He says he still has nightmares about the 47 corpses he found 13 years ago.
There is a consolation – the memory of what he calls "my cross.''
When he spotted it that morning, he told other people and spray-painted arrows around the site pointing to "God's House." Soon, recovery and rescue workers were coming by on their breaks; some wrote the names of the dead or their units on the cross. Silecchia used an ironworker's marker to write, "In Gods Hands.''
The second Sunday after the attacks, he encountered a man in a Franciscan's brown robe giving communion to cops, firefighters and hardhats. This was Brian Jordan, who'd lost his friend and fellow Franciscan, Mychal Judge, in the attack.
Silecchia tapped the friar on the shoulder and said, "Father, do you want to see God's House?"
Jordan said that, "This is what I've been looking for.'' Silecchia was afraid the cross would be hauled off, Jordan made a phone call - to Deputy Mayor Joseph Lhota. Ten days later, a crane lifted the cross to a new perch on the western edge of Ground Zero.
Jordan held a blessing ceremony. "Behold the glory of the cross at Ground Zero," he said as he sprinkled holy water. "This is our symbol of hope, our symbol of faith, our symbol of healing." A bagpiper played Amazing Grace. People gathered each weekend at the foot of the cross. It was later moved to the eastern boundary of the site and placed on a concrete pedestal. In 2006, there were plans to move the cross out of sight into a hangar at Kennedy Airport. Jordan and Silecchia though that to be unthinkable - the pastor at St. Peter's church agreed to take it, and that is where it remained until 2011, when it returned to Ground Zero. It's been underground and out of public sight for almost three years - until today.
Sure, there's a lawsuit arguing that the cross has no place in a public museum. The museum says the cross merely shows how some people were affected by the attacks, and its presence is no more an endorsement of religion than any painting of the Virgin in the National Gallery of Art.
A federal district judge ruled for the museum; the atheists' appeal is likely to be decided shortly.
Jordan held a blessing ceremony. "Behold the glory of the cross at Ground Zero," he said as he sprinkled holy water. "This is our symbol of hope, our symbol of faith, our symbol of healing." A bagpiper played Amazing Grace. People gathered each weekend at the foot of the cross. It was later moved to the eastern boundary of the site and placed on a concrete pedestal. In 2006, there were plans to move the cross out of sight into a hangar at Kennedy Airport. Jordan and Silecchia though that to be unthinkable - the pastor at St. Peter's church agreed to take it, and that is where it remained until 2011, when it returned to Ground Zero. It's been underground and out of public sight for almost three years - until today.
Sure, there's a lawsuit arguing that the cross has no place in a public museum. The museum says the cross merely shows how some people were affected by the attacks, and its presence is no more an endorsement of religion than any painting of the Virgin in the National Gallery of Art.
A federal district judge ruled for the museum; the atheists' appeal is likely to be decided shortly.
The USA Today story concludes this way:
Silecchia says that in the days after 9/11, people were drawn to the cross not as a symbol of Christ but something else: a sign that somehow, death — even the death of almost 3,000 innocents — was not the final word.
"My cross is not a symbol of religion,'' he says. "It's a symbol of faith.''Today, in New York City, people are seeing the cross. Frank Silecchia saw the Ground Zero cross, a symbol of hope and healing, and pointed the way to it.
And, isn't that our calling as believers in Christ - to point the way to the cross? Sometimes the cross can be hidden for people, and we have a great opportunity to show them Christ's light. He gave His life for us on the cross, and as we live in a crucified manner - dying to self and living for Him - we demonstrate what He has done for us. The way we live is a visible reminder to those around us of how Christ has transformed our lives.
We are charged to proclaim the power of the cross. We have the ability to effectively communicate the powerful truth of redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is done through not only how we live, but also in the words we speak.
Also, we are called to preserve the message of the cross. In a world that would dilute the powerful message of Christ and what He has done for humanity, the truth of the cross can penetrate through the clutter and produce clarity in the hearts of people.
Frank Silecchia and Brian Jordan took great steps to take care of the symbolic Ground Zero cross; we can be reminded that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the message of the cross on which Jesus died.
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