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March 1, 2022When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Revelation 8:1, RSVCE)
There is a deep need within the human heart to pause in the presence of profound events, moments so significant that we feel compelled to join ourselves to them and reflect upon the change they bring to our lives. These experiences, where the world seems to stop and we are transfixed in time, become a part of us, shaping who we are like the potter shapes the clay. Lent is a truly profound holy pause that calls men to take hold of what it means to believe.
I have always been a restless soul, constantly seeking new experiences, but at the same time, desiring to be at rest. I love to hike up mountains; and yet I love also to sit in front of my fireplace and dream. However, these current times have certainly thrust me into the desert of confusion, and at times, even despair. The world seems to be falling apart around us and those times of triumph and spiritual rest have become more difficult to grasp. It is now, more than ever that I – and indeed all men – need the power and presence of Christ that is found in the Lenten season. It is truly imperative that we heed Lent’s call to pause and remember the Passion of Christ and all it holds for us as men.
Pausing for the Passion
When I was younger, I remember going to Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. I can recall vividly how the priest and acolytes would pause and kneel before the carved images depicting the last hours of Christ while we read from the Scriptures about the Crucifixion and the Old Testament prophecies that pointed to it. It was a solemn and sorrowful ceremony, but it reminded me in very clear terms just what the Son of God went through to win my freedom.
So many today find the disciplines of Lent to be burdensome. Some non-Catholic churches ignore the season altogether, saving their special sermons for Good Friday and Easter Sunday alone. We would rather focus on the joy of the resurrection than the humility of the cross. Of late, I have come to see just how tragic this withdrawal from the journey to Golgotha can be, especially for men. Our busy lives, overwhelmed with the crushing weight of these chaotic times, truly need that holy pause if we are to find the strength we need to stand firm against the enemy and rediscover our life in Christ.
Afraid to Pause for the Pain
It seems that these recent years of madness have softened our collective memory about the suffering our Lord endured on our behalf, so much so that some men have forgotten what it means to gaze upon the bloody and beaten form of our Messiah upon the cross. The current insanity of our society seems to have numbed us to its horror – and its beauty. Like the proverbial frog in the pot, we have no idea that we are boiling away, being slowly destroyed inside, unaware of our need to put on the Passion of our Lord and walk with him up that rugged road to the hill where he spilled his last drop of blood for the world.
Years ago, when the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ came out in theaters, some churches held discussions about the Crucifixion. In general, people found the movie shocking and horrific. Many could not stand seeing their Savior subjected to torture on the big screen. The scourging scene was particularly difficult for many, and most people overestimated the actual amount of time it took, believing it to be 20-30 minutes, when, in fact, the scene was less than seven.
In many ways the movie was a wakeup call to believers about the true nature of Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross. But in truth, even with all the deeper meaning woven into the scenes by the director, this cinematic holy pause could never capture the incredible agony our Lord endured in suffering for the sins of men.
Heaven’s Holy Pause
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus lay prostrate before his Father, praying that the cup might pass him by. Then, after the briefest and most profound pause, Our Lord bowed down to the Father’s will and took upon himself the sins of all the world. He was bound, tried before sinful men, beaten, scourged, and crowned with thorns. In the end he took up his cross and struggled up the rugged hill to Golgotha, where he was lifted up before the world and crucified.
After a time, the sky grew dark and Jesus uttered the words from the 22nd Psalm: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” What followed was the most overwhelming silence the world has ever known. At that hour, Jesus bore the full weight of the sins of humanity. He took the punishment that was ours. There was darkness and then death, a holy, pregnant pause.
And yet, this was not a cry of despair. In quoting the opening verse of the psalm, Jesus was laying bear its full meaning before all the world. This was a song of perfect hope, for though the Son was suffering beyond our comprehension, he expressed his total trust in his Father. Consider the second half of the psalm:
I will tell of your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the LORD, praise him!
all you sons of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted;
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
May your hearts live for ever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
Yes, to him shall all the proud of the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and he who cannot keep himself alive
Posterity shall serve him;
men shall tell of the Lord to the coming generation,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
that he has wrought it. (Psalm 22:22-31, RSVCE)
Jesus did not despair; nor did his Father turn his face away, despite what the poetic hymn may proclaim. Though Christ experienced suffering that none of us could ever imagine, he surrendered himself in perfect love to the Father so that you and I could be forgiven. How we as men come to terms with this wonderful truth is a matter of great consequence indeed!
Shaking things Up
When I shake off my cowardice and come trembling before the cross, truly taking in the reality of what our Savior suffered for me, his scars become so beautiful that my heart is broken beyond what I can bear. My sin becomes so ugly that my shame knows no bounds. It is in that sacred moment that I experience the weight of my transgressions pressing down upon the brow of my Lord like the thorny crown, striking his holy flesh like the blows of the bone-tipped whip, and mocking his great love for me like the jeering crowd.
And yet, in that time of intense sorrow, I hear his tender voice, saying “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34a). With his words I am lifted from the pit of my despair and drawn into the depths of a love so powerful and so perfect, that I am able to shake off my sin and rise redeemed, knowing I am forgiven and set free because of his sacrifice upon the cross.
Are we as men willing to surrender our pride, our selfishness, and our fear in order to stand before the cross, gazing upon the crucified Savior crying out to his Father with words of love so pure that all our sins are washed away? Can we face the terrifying darkness of that holy pause and bear the powerful shaking of the earth as our mighty God breaks open the temple, splitting the heavy curtain before the Holy of Holies, opening forever the realms of glory to sinful men? O, brothers – if we are willing to live in that holy moment, we receive a gift so great that all our sufferings are but a breath in comparison with eternity to come!
Another Holy Pause to Come
In the Psalms, the word “Selah” is said to mean, “Take pause and consider this!” Lent is a time when we pause to consider the awesome reality of our salvation and what it cost our Savior to obtain it for us. Jesus, the Great King of Heaven, paused in eternity so that he could enter into flesh and endure the cruelest physical torture, mental anguish, and spiritual suffering the world has ever seen. His sacrifice deserves that we drop to our knees and consider what it means for us as men to have been saved by the Suffering Servant of God.
Someday there will be another holy pause in heaven, before the time of the worst judgment the world will ever know, right before the end, when those who reject Christ will suffer his wrath and we who believe will experience the joy and peace of eternity with God!
Perhaps that moment is coming soon, or perhaps it is years in the future. Whatever will come, as men, we are called to pause and consider all that this holy season offers to us. May this Lent cause us to step back from this busy world to allow the miracle of the cross to overwhelm us like a mighty flood. May we praise Jesus for our salvation and pledge to walk the journey of Lent, fully surrendered in joy and wonder to the presence of the One who suffered and died for our sins!A Lenten Prayer
Father, forgive me for shying away from the crucifixion, for watering it down and numbing myself to the actual agony your Son suffered for me. Help me to meditate on the last hours of my Savior and to marvel at the love that held him fast while he was mocked, beaten, crowned with thorns, made to walk the painful path to Golgotha, and hung upon the cruel cross, all for me. Help me to pause in fear and trembling at so great a sacrifice, freely given for a sinner like me. May I fall to my knees in worship and praise of the One who went through death and hell and came out on the other side – for me! I offer this prayer in his precious name, Amen!
