You’ve probably heard this little story — it’s been around forever but still carries some shock value. You see, this lady walks into a jewelry store; she is looking at the variety of decorative selections until she spots a piece that fascinates her. She points it out to the clerk saying, “I’d like to buy that cross there, the one with the little man on it.” Obviously, she had no idea what she was buying and the clerk probably did not offer any clarity on the meaning of this ornament.
On this Sunday that we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ we are suddenly brought face to face with the casualness that has enveloped the meaning and use of this central symbol of our Christian faith. Crucifixes hang on the walls of most Catholic institutions, Catholics, including those stepping up to bat or preparing to make a free throw make the sign of the cross imagining that this will bring success.
Those who are cognizant of the power of this tool of punishment know that it is more than a cheap piece of jewelry or something to decorate our walls. It has a tragically sad history: Jesus, knowing that the power of God invades our world each day, was willing to die to make its riches available to every creature.
At the same time, let us personally accept the challenge and demands that the cross lays out before us. First, it puts us in direct opposition to the culture of our day, a culture that cares little for gospel values and the authentic meaning of true humanness. In other words, each time we make that eternal sign we spontaneously are called to profess our willingness to take Christ and Christ’s word with utter seriousness.
At the same time, we can readily meet Christ in our brothers and sisters who carry crosses of their own: the 100,000 innocent who have died in Syria, the school girls in Nigeria, kidnapped from their classrooms; children in Brazil who sleep under bridges and beg on the streets; children in United Nations schools in Gaza, killed by Israeli artillery fire; the kids from Columbia and Guatemala who make their way across the hot desert of Arizona carrying nothing more than a backpack and a water bottle, and for what? Simply to join their relatives where they will be free from the violence in their home villages.
Moreover, there are obviously many people who carry the cross even in our own opulent country. We know who they are: they populate every large city. The point we wish to make here is this: we exalt the cross, lift it high, so that its meaning will never be lost to us; the Body of Christ is still being crucified wherever any human being is deprived of his/her human dignity, where citizens cannot find decent housing, medical care and access to community resources; where famine continues to decimate populations and curable diseases continue to take their toll.
The cross of Christ continues to walk the streets and alleys of our world; for that reason alone, we must exalt it high so that the work and suffering of Christ can continue unabated today, tomorrow and for the unforeseen future.
Scriptures for Sept. 14
Numbers 21: 4b-9
Philippians 2: 6-11
John 3: 13-17
The writer formerly served the Anchorage Archdiocese as director of pastoral education. He now lives in Notre Dame, Indiana.
'Never forget the challenge of the cross'
Be the first to comment on this post!has no comments