'And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life'.
In St James the Great church in Cupar there is a large, modern and very powerful stained glass window behind the altar depicting Christ ascending to heaven with the palms of disciples' hands pushing upwards, helping him on his way.
And at the foot of the Chancel steps is a large, high rood screen with a cross and the crucified Christ on it.
And there is on seat that I found not long before I left where I could see, while standing up, the face of Christ in the stained glass window through the rood screen - looking past Christ on the cross to Christ ascending to the Father.
The Son of Man lifted up.
Today we celebrate that Cross - the Holy Cross - that has become the universal symbol for Christians. St Andrew of Crete called this day 'the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light'. This day commemorates the dedication in 335 of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was built on the site of the Crucifixion and burial of Christ. The site is said to have been found by Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine and pilgrims have travelled there over the centuries to worship in the place where Christ was crucified and buried, to be in the place where He had been. For they knew, as we do now, that it is through the Cross that the world, for Christians, has been saved. If there had been no cross Christ would not have been crucified and we would not have been saved.
The Son of Man lifted up.
As we read in Phillipians - 'God raised him high and gave him a name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on the earth and in the underworld should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God'.
God's compassion as reflected in Christ does not end in suffering but in glory, something that some, certainly I, find hard to cope with on Good Friday at the end of my journey with Jesus through Lent and Holy Week. But now, many months on in our church calendar I can reflect on the glory beyond the suffering of Easter.
The compassion of God, the Father, who so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that we, who believe in him, might have eternal life is something for us to hold onto when we feel that we are 'on the cross'; times when the cup that we are asked to drink seems impossible, when the light goes out of our lives and we are in darkness. We know that through our faith God does not abandon us, he will walk with us and guide us in our darkness into the light. He knows and shares our suffering, He who came into our world in human form knows all about suffering - He experienced the agonies and degradation of the torture and death of a convicted criminal.
The Son of Man lifted up.
Just as the Exodus people, suffering for their sins gazed upon the raised serpent in the wilderness and were restored to health so those who gaze upon the elevated Son of Man will be renewed for eternal life.
The eternal life, God's eternal future, that we journey to through our faith, as members of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom that Jake spoke of last week just prior to Elaine's baptism; her welcome into, not only this church family here in this place, but the whole church family.
Our church family is hugely important to us here at All Saints. I have only been around here for less than a year but have now celebrated most of the activities and festivals in our church calendar, including yesterday's very successful annual coffee morning. Over these ten months or so I have recognised, indeed experienced the love, care and support that is shared here - the sharing and celebrating the joyous events and the supporting of each other in so many ways through the difficulties and the 'on the cross times'.
In a world where competition and winning at any cost can seem to be the benchmarks of success this love and care is all the more noticeable. This is surely what Paul is referring to in his letter to the Corinthians that we heard earlier, 'Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?' God has different standards - the demand for signs of success is a refusal to trust God. Rather the authentic humanity of Jesus exemplifies God's wish for the human race, for us and our neighbour wherever they may be. Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Believing in Jesus, the Son of Man lifted up, and following God's way, carrying our crosses, both together and individually, is what will surely guide us on our journey to eternal life.
And as we gaze upon the elevated Son of Man remembering the closing verses of the Gospel according to Matthew where Jesus reminds his disciples 'I am with you always, to the end of the age'. Quoting Trevor Dennis that "is very nearly all we need to know".
Sermon by: Christine Barclay