The Greatest Homecoming Event In All History

The Greatest Homecoming Event In All History

     If you were asked to name the Greatest Homecoming Event In All of History what would you say?  Probably if a questionnaire was given to every person on earth it would take a super computer to tally the diverse results.  Some would scratch their heads trying to pick the right answer.  Others would smugly laugh it off as an  unanswerable query.

     But the question has absolutely one and only one correct answer.  One specific and unmistakable answer.  Just one.

     The solution to this question needs to be unpeeled like an onion... one layer (step) at a time.  Let's take one historical step at a time.  Bear with me - you'll never forget the answer.  I guarantee it.

STEP 1

     Let's travel to Europe in the late 1800s and to a Polish man, Jan Styka.  Jan was a devout believer and world-renown painter.

     In 1884 he was commissioned to paint  "Golgotha".  He traveled to the Holy Land and made sketches and then traveled home to begin his work.

     His painting took years to complete and you'll soon understand why.  His completed painting was larger than the average Imax screen.  This gigantic work was 195 feet long and 45 feet high.

     It received the highest accolades in his beloved Poland, Italy and throughout Europe.

STEP 2

     But Jan Styka had his sights on an even greater location.  He sought backers to pay for sending "Golgotha" to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904.  But for unforeseen reasons he was not able to display it and his financial backers could not pay the duty and shipping to return it to Poland.

     Heartbroken, Jan returned to Poland where he died in 1925 never knowing what happened to his masterpiece.  The Crucifixion, as he had renamed it, was kept in various warehouses for 18 years.

STEP 3

     Forest Lawn Cemetery Founder Dr. Hubert Eaton dug it out of a dark room at the Chicago Civic Opera company in 1943.  It was wrapped around a telephone pole and somewhat damaged.  Styka's son was hired to repair the canvas.

     Forest Lawn Memorial Park ~ Hollywood Hills, California purchased it after World War II and built The Hall of the Crucifixion for the express purpose of displaying Styka’s work.  The Crucifixion is the largest mounted canvas on display in the entire world.  It opened on Good Friday in 1951.

     Heart-touchingly, Dr. Eaton had Jan Sytka's body brought to Forest Lawn and, along with his son Tadeusz, was buried.  Their gravesides are in the Immortal's Quarters section of Forest Lawn Cemetery very close to the Hall which displays The Crucifixion.

     In 1961 I was privileged to attend an hour-long showing of the incredible masterpiece.  The showing was done brilliantly but also reverently.  The auditorium was dark and then portions of the screen were spotlighted and audio came from giant speakers.  The gigantic panorama was slowly lighted and the audience hushed when the entire 195' wide canvas became visible.

The Hall of the Crucifixion

Here are three small segments of the Crucifixion:

 And the whole thing:

STEP 4

     Dr. Eaton had desired for many years to have a second painting to complete the trilogy: Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension.

     American Robert Clark was selected to paint The Resurrection featuring Christ outside his tomb looking towards the heavens where the faithful throughout the years were gathered.

     Though Clark's work was completed in 1965 Dr. Eaton was too ill to witness it and passed a way a year later.  He was 85.

     The Resurrection is now displayed along side of the Crucifixion and as the spotlights reveal it ~ gasps are heard throughout the room. The showing of the Crucifixion along with the Resurrection is the most riveting scene ever displayed.

     Below is a panorama of the Resurrection and a close up of the Holy Lord Jesus looking into Heaven's open arms into which he ascended to the Greatest Homecoming Celebration Ever.

     In 1987 I took my family to visit Forest Lawn again.  When the spotlights began lighting the Resurrection, goose bumps danced up and down our spines.  After the showing we spent time in the Museum Gift Shop where many of Jan Styka's works are still for sale.  We could not stop talking about this experience.  It is not possible to describe the lasting impact that it has.

STEP 5

     The greatest homecoming event in history is not Jan Styka's Crucifixion painting.  Nor is it Robert Clark's The Resurrection painting.  The Greatest homecoming event ever is what these two paintings depict: Jesus Died, Was Buried, Rose From the grave, and 40 days later ascended to the Greatest Homecoming Celebration in all of eternity.

 

     "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in turn: Christ, the first-fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him."  (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, NIV)

     "For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  (1 Corinthians 15:52-54, NIV)

     The World has seen massive crowds, celebrations, homecomings and standing ovations.  But I am indisputably certain that the Ascension of Jesus was the greatest event ever.  Jesus' ascension completed our hope of eternal salvation.  Since He arose from the grave and rode on a cloud to Heaven, we will arise from the dead and rise to meet him in the air.

STEP 6

     The most important question on this whole page is "How will you respond to this story?"  I faced that question many years ago.  My faith humbly submitted to God's offer to forgive me.  I confessed and made a u-turn from a life of shame to the sweetness of living with my Savior.  When I was immersed I re-enacted His death, burial and resurrection as I came up out of the water.  I finally had a new life thanks to God's unfathomable Grace.

     When you make that choice I know some future time you'll give a similar report to what I joyfully share today... He has never failed me yet.

“Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?”  (Corinthians 15:55, NIV)

Old Man Death

Performed by J D Sumner

(Quality is only fair, but unforgettable.)

Grave Robber

Performed by Petra

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