This is something I wrote for the Good Friday Service at Mt. Olive.
The Sound of The Hammer Ringing
~ Engla A. Gray
Think back. Think back to that day 2000 years ago. That day our Lord was crucified. He’d done no wrong, only been obedient to his assignment from His Father. It is said that soldiers mocked him. It is said his mother wept. It is said he called out to God. It is said he forgave a sinner on the cross next to his.
I keep thinking about the hammer and the nails. I can imagine that sound. The sound of metal against metal as the hammer forced the nail through my Savior’s flesh. The sound of metal against metal as the hammer forced the nail through the wood of The Cross.
Can you hear it? Can you hear the hammer ringing?
I pray that you do. I pray that we all hear it now and forever.
I pray that we hear it when we are ready to grumble.
When our voices raise in protest of a perceived wrong, I pray that sound is drowned out by the sound of the hammer ringing at Calvary and we remember that there is no wrong we could suffer that will ever match the most horrific crime, yet the most wonderful gift that humanity will ever see, Jesus being crucified.
When we are ready to tell a lie, I pray the sound of the hammer stuns us into silence as we recall that Jesus died so we could live in The Ultimate Truth of His Lordship and God’s Love.
When I am ready to speak ill of my sister or brother, I pray that thought is muted by the sound of the hammer and I will instead be reminded that He died for them too.
When I am indeed treated unjustly and falsely accused and I can hear the mockers around me, their accusatory voices will be silenced by the sound of the hammer and I will find comfort in knowing that no matter what my enemies are saying or doing, I am not being hung on a cross for a crime I didn’t commit.
And when I am feeling woeful, I pray that my self-pity will be blanked under the sound of the hammer ringing at Calvary and I will rejoice that I will never have to ask the question, “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me”.
With every ring of that hammer, with every thrust of a nail, Jesus paid my sin debt, redeemed my soul, saved my life…and yours…at Calvary.
(c) Engla A. Gray 2012
