24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. 25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." 27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 28 29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!" 31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. 33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Reflection
It's such a terrible past to have when, for the most part; all of my family has been so helpful. What could my ancestor have done? He was grabbed and handled so roughly. He didn't have a choice in what was about to take place. I feel so bad for him. Other members of his family had been used in such a positive way by the very hands that he was about to torture. Then the spike was placed in the other hand and my ancestor went to work doing the dirty deed. I'm hurt even thinking about it, I can't imagine how anyone felt.
Then, as Jesus hangs from the result of my ancestor’s work of connecting spike to wood through flesh, Jesus made another statement about building. You see, building materials and the work of building has been in the blood of myself and all of my ancestors for centuries. We work with and through the hands of skilled women and men to create wonderful buildings and works that bring pleasure and comfort and safety to all. Our intentions are and always have been for the good of all. But to even fathom rebuilding something of the degree that Jesus was speaking of in a manner of a few days was far beyond anything any of us could ever imagine.
Something about this Jesus, makes it possible for me to think he could destroy and build a temple in three days, but I don't think he was talking about the same type of temple I would be involved with. Jesus purposely decided to hang on that cross. There was a dereliction to this entire affair of Jesus continuing to hang there and die. I think he died on purpose. I think he ignored this whole temple thing because in Jesus mind there was a different kind of temple. Jesus hung there and became the sin of the people that put him there.
All people are guilty of this sin that Jesus became. Jesus was building all right. Jesus was building a case for eternal love of the Father for all of the children. This love that could only be expressed through the death of Jesus and the rebuilding of a grand temple in three days. This love so deep that for years to come people would be drawn to Jesus as disciples and follow him and emulate the love Jesus expressed from that cross that my ancestor pinned him to.
You see, in this expression of love, Jesus gave all people the building materials needed to give love to those in need. Give love freely to those who depend on God. This world is full of tragic events that unfold to enable all of Jesus' disciples to express their love through building materials needed for those impacted by disaster. And that's where I come in and you come in. Together we can reach out and show a little piece of this love that Jesus demonstrated for us on that cross through providing building materials for those in need. Building materials that go towards that wonderful temple of flesh and blood and nail and hammer and action. Building materials of love.
Yours truly,
Claude Hammer
Prayer
Open our eyes to the Good Gifts you have given your people to use to your glory... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
www.elca.org/goodgifts
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