THE GREAT BELL & THE CROSS

SERMON: The Great Bell and the Cross
The following is a traditional children’s story from Imperial China, early 15th century:
Once there was a Chinese artisan, who was given an impossible job. The Great Emperor of all China commissioned the artisan to make the new imperial bell. Now this was not to be just any bell. This was to be a bell of great power, of perfect tonal quality, whose sound would be unmatched throughout the world.
The future bell maker was met with the Emperor, who told him, “This BELL must be so great that the sound of it will ring out to a distance of thirty-three miles in every direction. To this end, you should add in proper proportions gold and brass, for they give depth and strength to everything with which they mingle. Furthermore, in order that this giant may not be lacking in the quality of sweetness, you must add silver in due proportion.”
Well, the bell maker did not fell up to the job. He knew that if he failed, that he would be executed, for failure was not an option. Likewise, the bell maker’s daughter was deeply disturbed by this assignment. The girl loved her father dearly and there had come into her heart a strange terror at thought of his possible danger.
For two months, the bell maker undertook elaborate preparations for the intricate job of casting the Great bell. All the metals had to mix properly, or he would fail. Finally, the day for the casting arrived. The Emperor and his courtiers assembled at the foundry, next to the daughter. She peered anxiously towards the cauldron of molten liquid, knowing that her father’s life depended on the success of this enterprise.
At last , the Emperor gave the sign. Then the glowing liquid ran forward faster and faster along the channel that led into the great earthen bed, which was the mold or the bell. Well, to the dismay of the bell maker, something had indeed gone wrong. When at last the earthen moulding had been broken, even the smallest child could see that the giant bell, instead of being a thing of beauty was a sorry mass of metals that would not blend.
Upon seeing his failure, the bell maker cried out in agony. However, the Emperor was a reasonable man, and he gave the bell maker another chance to make successfully make the great imperial bell.
For weeks, the bell maker consulted with metallurgists and sought to learn from his mistake. Meanwhile, his devoted daughter continued praying and worrying, with even greater intensity. Once the preparations were finished, the Emperor and his courtiers returned to the foundry. Once again the liquid metal flowed into the cast. But alas, there was failure once again. It was dreadfully ugly, for the gold, silver and the baser elements had again refused to blend into a united whole. Well, this time the Emperor was furious, and he demanded that the bell maker try one more time. If this next time, the bell maker was unsuccessful, then he would be hung.
So, for this last time as the bell maker made these final preparations,
• his heart was heavy, for he felt that he would soon journey into the dark forest, the place from which no pilgrim ever returns.
• His daughter, of course, was deeply distressed. Willingly she would have done anything to save her beloved father. Night and day she racked her brains for some plan, but all to no avail.
On the day before the third casting, the daughter went to consult a local scholar and holy man. She told her story, and the holy man prayed. Then, he spoke to her, saying, “Nothing could be plainer than the reason of your father's failure, for when a man seeks to do the impossible, he can expect only expect failure. Gold cannot unite with silver, nor brass, unless the blood of a maiden is mingled with the molten metals.”
The next day, everyone assembled, one last time, and the foundry. However, unnoticed by all, the bell maker’s daughter had planted herself directly opposite the huge tank in which the molten, seething liquid bubbled. She waited the exact moment when it was starting to be poured. The girl sprang with a wild leap into the boiling liquid, and in her clear, sweet voice, she cried,
"For you, dear father! It is the only way!"
This, then, my children, is the time-worn legend of the great bell of Peking, a tale that has been repeated a million times by poets, story-tellers and devoted mothers. You must know that on this third casting, when the earthen mould was removed, there stood revealed the most beautiful bell that eye had ever looked upon. When it was swung up into the bell-tower there was immense rejoicing among the people. The silver and the gold and the iron and the brass were all held together by the blood of the one who willingly sacrificed herself for the one she loved. That sacred bell rang out over the great city, sounding a deeper, richer melody than that of any other bell within the limits of the whole empire, or, for that matter, of the entire world. And later the Emperor had the bell engraved, to extol the girl who died to save her loved one.
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Now, some people who initially hear this story find it disturbing. I know I did, when I first heard it in a professor’s sermon in seminary. But, then again, the blood sacrifice of Jesus is very disturbing, so maybe it is appropriate or us to reflect upon this as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter.
You see, there are some ways in which we can be compared to the bells in today’s story.
• Those bells were each comprised of different elemental metals. Like the bells, each of us is comprised of many elements—like our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our relationships, our work, and our families, and the like.
• Like the Emperor in the story, God has a picture of us being perfect and uniquely wonderful, because God created us to ring out our chimes with beauty, boldness, and abandon.
However, also like the first two bells in the story, there are times when the elements of our life not mix well together:
• Spending too much time at work, on a regular basis, does not mix well with a wholesome and balanced family life.
• How often do we face problems where our heart is pulling us in one direction, our head in another direction, and someone else recommending a 3rd way?
• Or maybe one of our relationships breaks our heart, or dies ?
• Or maybe our bodies suffer health problems, which do not mix with the rest of our life?
But like the bell maker, we have someone in our lives who loves us more than life itself. 2000 years ago, there was a perfect man, who looked into our futures, even though we had not even been born or thought of. Like the girl in the story who foresaw her father heading for disaster, Jesus also foresaw us heading for disaster. You see, humanly speaking, our lives are very fragile. They can be shattered in an instant. So Jesus foresaw that, He decided to help us out:
• You see, Jesus can help us make reconciliation in our broken relationships, because He is the Prince of Peace.
• Jesus can help us when we are confused, and feeling pulled p part in different directions. He is THE wonderful counselor.
• Jesus can help us and our families discover and live out new priorities, because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
• Jesus can help us when we are sick or bereaved. Today’s scriptures remind us that He lifted up upon the cross that we might be saved from our troubles and our sins.
All of this is available to us, because Jesus, the perfect God-man voluntarily sacrificed his human life and shed his blood in an act of unselfish love. Like the girl in the story, he plunged to certain death. Simultaneoulsy, he absorbed our heart ache and sins within in Himself, and that killed Him. But something miraculous then occurred: God raised Jesus to new life, so that He might bring to you and me the very peace, wisdom, guidance, healing and comfort that God wants us to receive.
All this, done or for you and me, because of His love and because, as the little girl said when she plunged to her death, “There was no other way.”
We may not understand it all, but here is something that we can understand---God’s love is like a supernatural adhesive, which can taken the broken pieces of our lives, and put them back together. And not just put them back together, make us stronger. Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel that he came not to condemn us, but to put his arms around us to pull each of us together in his amazing love. All we have to do, according to today’s scriptures is to turn to him and to ask for “Help.” The Bible says that in this way: Please repeat after me: “ Lord has mercy on me.”
I know this is true, for I have seen it happen in the lives of many people, not just the super spiritual, but regular folks like you and me.
I can remember several times when my whole life and everything I valued seemed to be falling apart: Deep conflict in family; chronic debilitating asthma, followed by depression, which was then followed by burnout at work. On each occasion, I felt had no way to turn. So, not knowing what else to do, I turned to the cross o Jesus. I am speaking figuratively, of course, but each time I mentally visualized Jesus hanging on the cross, with me looking up at Him. Then, I mde a very complicated and theologically correct prayer, and here is the transcript: HELP. I had no fancy words. I felt desperate. I didn’t know what even to ask for. I just called out for help and then waited. ..Patiently waited, beneath the cross of Jesus.
Well, shortly after my prayer, I somehow began to feel stronger. I did not have solutions, but as Paul says in today’s reading, by grace through faith, I chose to believe that God would help in some way.
• So, I began by deciding to trust Jesus with the next ten minutes of my life. Did I believe that God could help me through the next ten minutes? Later, trusted him with the next hour, and the next hour then became the next day.
• Slowly, I began the darkness began to lift and through the dim light I can see new paths, leading to some possible new solutions, As I started making progress, I felt stronger both physically and emotionally. The conflict moved to reconciliation, and I later rediscovered God’s joy in my work.
Now, you story is probably different than my story. But know that God wants your life to ring out with beauty, boldness, and beneficence. This we all can do, due to the cross and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

--The Rev. John Donnelly, Christ Church Quaker Farms, Oxford, CT, March 18, 2012