When the cheering stops

Some years ago a book was written by Gene Smith, a noted American historian. The title was “When The Cheering Stopped.” It was the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the events leading up to and following World War I. When that war was over, Wilson was an international hero. There was a great spirit of optimism abroad, and people actually believed that the last war had been fought and the world had been made safe for democracy.

The cheering lasted about a year.

Then it gradually began to stop. Political leaders in Europe were more concerned with their own agendas than they were a lasting peace. Woodrow Wilson ran into opposition in the United States Senate and his League of Nations was not ratified. In the next election, his party was defeated. So it was that Woodrow Wilson, a man who barely a year or two earlier had been heralded as the new world messiah, came to the end of his days a broken and defeated man. It’s a sad story, but one that is not altogether unfamiliar.

It happened that way to Jesus.

When he emerged on the public scene, he was an overnight sensation. He would try to go off to be alone and the people would follow him. The masses lined the streets as he came into town. Leafy palm branches were spread before him and there were shouts of Hosanna. Great crowds came to hear him preach. A wave of religious expectation swept the country. But the cheering did not last for long.

There came a point when the tide began to turn against him. People still came to see him, but the old excitement was missing, and the crowds were not as large as they had been. His critics now began to publicly attack him. Earlier they had been afraid to speak out for fear of the masses, but they began to perceive that the fickle public was turning on him. Soon the opposition began to snowball. When they discovered that they could not discredit his moral character, they began to take more desperate measures. Before it was all over, a tidal wave welled up that brought Jesus to his knees under the weight of a cross.

When the cheering stops, remember God’s “Reconciliation Day” is the day we call Good Friday, the day on which Jesus called out from the cross, “Forgive them Father — they know not what they do.”

The cross of Christ is a sign of reconciliation; God’s way of reaching out to us and making things right, even when times are rough. It was and is God’s way of showing us forgiveness, of giving us a new beginning, a beginning from which we can go on and heal the wounds in our hearts and in the hearts of others. That is what Jesus laid down his life for. This is what Jesus came to do.

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Editor’s note: The Rev. Dr. Scott Stewart is the pastor of Pea Ridge United Methodist Church and Brightwater Methodist Church. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted at revjstewart@gmail.com or 479-659-9519.