The Barren Cross – Musings at Eastertide

There it lay scorned and derided,
The wood where my saviour died,
The wood on which he hung disgraced,
There the sins of many forgiven.

There on the wood, a common criminal,
He breathed His last calling His own,
Pleading mercy for the poor sinner,
That elevated Him on that wooden cross.

There on the wood as he lay dying,
Bestowed He a gift oh so precious,
A mother pierced, to call our own,
There from the cross where he bled.

There at the foot of the wooden cross,
Pharisee and Jew, they mock His fate,
One robber damned whilst another reborn,
There on the cross was mystery unfolded.

There on Calvary did the blind see,
The earth shook and with fear trembled,
The temple’s curtain was torn asunder,
As His side gushed out blood and water.

There it stood empty and forlorn,
Where once our Lord agonisingly hung,
But as the Easter morn draws near,
There the barren cross shone victorious.

The cross on which our saviour died is in contention but the reality of the fact stands – Christ died on the cross to save us, poor sinners! And that too a merciless death on the cross for no fault of his.

The Easter season brings with it a sombre solemnity that the Lord evokes within us, making us realise our foibles as the cause of his damnation. But, there is hope that keeps us going!

The promise of Easter by the Lord to his disciples was one of testing their faith and perseverance. God, through His immeasurable love and justice, saw His own son lying helplessly on a cross, nailed to it and bearing the agony of our sins.