Clephane, Elizabeth

The hymn speaks of the shame of the cross. Today the cross is a symbol of honor, displayed high on church steeples, on communion tables, and worn around people’s necks, but not in the days of Christ. Then it was the epitome of shame. Cicero, the Roman historian, said, “Far be the very name of a cross, not only from the bodies of Roman citizens, but from their imaginations, eyes, and ears.” Furthermore, no Jewish person could think of the cross without horror because the Law of Moses had stamped it with a curse.
There was the shame which Christ Himself experienced, as He, the sinless, spotless Son of God bore our sins on the cross, causing even His Father to turn His eyes away from Him.
As we stand beneath the cross of Jesus, we see the shame and suffering of Christ, but in a very real sense we feel shame creeping over our hearts when we realize
“What thou my Lord has suffered
Was all for sinners gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression
But Thine the deadly pain.”
As Miss Clephane put it, this is “the very dying form of One Who suffered there for me.” We feel a hot blush on our cheeks as we hear the hymn speak of “my sinful self,” or “unworthiness,” or “worthlessness” as the writer originally put it. As we stand beneath the cross we see in clear perspective the shame of our sins which helped to crucify Him.
But the cross is not only a symbol and a reminder of shame, but of strength. As we stand and gaze upon it we see the strength of the cross. The glory of the cross is that this which might seem to be one of the greatest tragedies of all time has been transformed into the greatest triumph.
Miss Clephane uses two very descriptive words to point out the strength of the cross. She speaks of a “rest upon the way.” As we gaze upward we remember the words of the One Who hangs there: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
The cross, to the hymn writer, is not only a rest, but a rock, “a mighty rock within a weary land.” The cross, as a rock, is a symbol of solidity, of security, of strength. It is unchanging despite the chaos and turmoil that surround it. The love demonstrated in the cross and the salvation made possible through the cross are always available. Whether as a rest or a rock or both, the cross is strong on our behalf.
Finally Elizabeth Clephane speaks to us of the shadow of the cross. To the Christian, the cross casts a shadow over all of life, not in the sense of darkness or gloom, but in the sense of a presence and an influence. When the sun goes down or goes behind a cloud, we have shadows which are gloomy and we wish for the sun to come out again. But remember that time when you were alone and waiting the approach of a friend. All of a sudden there was the approach of your friend. The shadow of the cross is a cause for joy because it indicates the presence of Christ.
Elizabeth Clephane put it this way:
“I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding place.”
But we must never forget that the shadow is made by the One Who said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
This season is a time of special and intensified gazing upon the cross. As again this year we stand “Beneath the Cross of Jesus,” let us be humbled by its shame, invigorated by its strength, and determined to abide in its shadow.