By Revd. Susan Allman

A poem, received in the year I was ordained deacon, which continues to inspire me:

He lived
At the edge of the world
With the godless, the infectious and the mad
Because they listened,
And because they lay at the centre of his heart.

He walked
Along the edge,
Between promise and despair
Godliness and sin
Fear and faith,
In the dark and murky places,
Where certainties are lost:

He shared
The painful edge
Of raw emotion
Deep pity
Fierce anger
Dark despair

And violent opposition to prejudice and hate:

He worked
At the cutting edge,
Where hopes were born
And vision stirred
And faith inspired
By miracles and words
Which shattered the illusions of the proud.

He died
At the friendless edge
Beyond the city walls
Alone, betrayed
Rejected and condemned
Frightened and forsaken
Where you and I would hardly think to look for
God.

He rose,
Beyond the edge of expectation,
Hope or sight.
And living
At the edge of the world is hope.
He makes the edge the sacred space
Where God is known
In all His untold possibilities.

(One World Week resources 1996)

And we are called to be his followers.

I like us to keep Holy Cross Day because it is an opportunity for us to re-focus. To turn our thoughts to the cross of Jesus on a day that isn’t Good Friday, which we may be tempted to leave behind rather quickly as we celebrate the joy and the triumph of Easter and gorge ourselves with chocolate and other delights.

And yet, it hardly needs saying that without the cross there is no resurrection.

***

I often wonder whether the conversion of the Roman Empire to the Christian was really a good thing.

In the year 312 the Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity during a war against his brother-in-law and co-emperor, Maxentius. The story is recorded for us by the historian Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. Before one crucial battle, the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine was praying for divine assistance. As he prayed he was given a vision. It was a cross of light bearing the inscription “in hoc signo vinces,” which means, “In this sign you will be victorious.”)

Constantine was told to fight under the sign of the Chi-Rho, the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek, which look to us liken a capital P intersected by a capital X

Constantine’s army was victorious and he ordered that the same sign be used to represent his army for protection in all of his battles.

This is uncomfortable for us to read about in today’s world, don’t you think? The name of Jesus being invoked for success in battle.

Sadly this ancient church building has seen so much of it; during the Reformation era and during the civil war; acts of violence committed in the name of Christianity.

God has been very patient with us through the centuries as we have grown out of this way of thinking.

There were some beneficial effects of Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, however; not least that Christians were no longer thrown to the lions.

Then, several years on, Constantine’s mother, a godly woman we now call St. Helena, who is commemorated in one of the stained glass windows in Holy Trinity Church Fareham, began to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land to search for sacred artifacts; in fact Helena is credited with starting the tradition of pilgrimage.

On one of these pilgrimages, Helena uncovered what is believed to be the cross of Christ. That happened in the year 326. Helena ordered the building of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which some of us will have visited on more recent pilgrimages. The cross was placed inside the church, which was consecrated in a ceremony which ran from 13th-14th September. On the second day, 14th September, which we now commemorate as Holy Cross Day, the cross was carried outside the church to be venerated.

I find that a profoundly moving image; the cross being brought out of the church building for veneration. I wonder why they did it? Maybe there were too many people to get into the church. Maybe some did not feel worthy enough to go in.

Jesus himself, of course, did not spend most of his time in sacred buildings. He went out and about among the crowds, teaching them about the love of God and reaching out to those who were on the edge of things; who did not feel worthy or were excluded by those at the centre of religious life.

He lived on the edge.

Jesus once said, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven…..it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the church was fused with the Roman Empire its followers changed from being poor people like slaves and women and came under the control of those who were at the centre of things; the educated and powerful people, the rich.

We have the same problem in the Church of England, don’t we? Because of our history people often associate us with cathedrals, pomp and circumstance, wealth and privilege. Sadly, the very people Jesus reached out to in his earthly ministry – the people on the edge – may feel they can’t come in. The people needing to approach the cross of Jesus have been kept outside. We have unwittingly hidden Jesus away in our churches and over the years many people have voted with their feet.

Where does that leave us? Somewhat beleaguered. Money and resources are running out. We are painfully aware of our own inadequacy. Thinking of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, you might say that we are the ones who are beaten up and left for dead at the side of the road.

***

That may not be such a bad place to be if we are to come alongside other people who are living on the edge; those people of whom we are so painfully aware in our world today.

Can it be that God calling us back to a more authentic way of being with Jesus who lived at the edge and reached out to the people there with God’s love?

The power of the cross of Christ which has nothing to do with worldly power. It is far greater than that. The cross of Christ has the power to transform lives.

To let people know that they matter, that they are not forgotten; Jesus lay down his life for them out of love. That they are made and loved by God, that their life has meaning, that someone cares. That they can make peace with their past through forgiveness. That they need have no fears about the future because Jesus has overcome death for us on the cross. That there is hope.

This is the gospel we proclaim. We can do so with confidence because we know that he is with us in his risen life and that his power is made perfect in our weakness.

Perhaps, from the edge, we can reclaim the church’s right to speak with moral authority to governments and leaders about issues as big and perplexing as the current refugee crisis.

Our Archbishops, one of whom, John Sentamu, Archbishop of York came to Britain as a refugee from Uganda fleeing from the tyranny and violence of Idi Amin’s dictatorship, have spoken.

They have spoken on our behalf and we cannot stand idly by while this human tragedy unfolds before our very eyes. We can challenge ignorance and prejudice. We can sign petitions and write letters.

We can contribute money. Christian Aid have launched a Refugee Crisis Appeal. You can donate online very easily and if you don’t have access to a computer donations can be given to Anna or brought to the church office.

Let’s pick ourselves up, look towards the cross of Jesus and remember what it really means to follow the one

Who died
At the friendless edge
Beyond the city walls
Alone, betrayed
Rejected and condemned
Frightened and forsaken
Where you and I would hardly think to look for
God.

Who rose,
Beyond the edge of expectation,
Hope or sight.
And living
At the edge of the world is hope.
He makes the edge the sacred space
Where God is known
In all His untold possibilities.