I once heard a pastor tell this story:
There was a priest that lived in the 1700’s. One Sunday morning he got in front of the church and said, “Tonight I am going to preach a sermon without using any words.” The people in the congregation thought, ‘A sermon with no word, those must be the best kind, we will be there.’ So that evening at seven o’clock the priest and the people arrived with lanterns in hand. They entered the dark church and took their seats. It was time to begin. The room filled with anticipation, the priest walked to the front taking the lantern off the stand.
Solemnly, he moved to the life-like statue of Jesus hanging on the wall behind the pulpit. He raised the lantern and put it up to the feet of Jesus held in place on the cross by a nail. There he paused for a moment.
He then slowly moved the lantern up the beaten legs of Jesus to his side where he had been pierced with a spear, and there again he held the light.
Moving across the slashed chest, down the weak mangled arms to the hands, the light exposed the loving hands of Jesus bound and bleeding on the wood. There he paused even longer.
Then, to the face of Jesus; the candlelight shown where the blood had streaked down from the crown of thorns that dug into his flesh.
On His face hung the look of complete agony, torture, fear, and abandonment. Loneliness beyond all human loneliness was expressed there on his face. But the eyes – behind the tormented face, the eyes of love shone bright. Behind the pain, love was there. Overpowering the agony, love burned bright. The eyes screamed love, louder the loneliness on His face. In his eyes, his secret was revealed; love was his motive.
The now shaking arm of the priest lowered the light leaving the cross out of sight. He placed the light back on the stand and walk out the middle isle. The people were left speechless. Successfully the priest preached, and truly no words were necessary. God’s Love was the topic of his sermon.
