For most of us, Lenten readings and Holy Week Triduum liturgies are some of the year’s richest and most emotionally charged spiritual experiences. One year, in particular, was memorable for me. It was Palm Sunday, and we had just begun our spiritual descent into Jerusalem. Perhaps the impending change of pastors and an uncertain future intensified my experience. I was sitting in my usual seat stage right, second row behind the pillar. Fr. Dale was delivering his homily at the ambo, and towards the end, he pointed his finger at the crucifix and reiterated his familiar cry, emphatically telling us, “There is no resurrection without the cross.”
For us Christians, the cross is never out of sight. But over the years, the symbol of the cross has become so prevalent in our culture that we can forget its meaning. We see crosses on church tops, car stickers, and gravestones. We plant them in our gardens, hang them from our rearview mirrors, and wear crosses of gold, silver, and diamonds around our necks. Go to any jewelry store, and you can see all kinds of them. Our big decision when buying one is to get a plan one or one with the little man on it. In so many ways, we have tamed and domesticated the cross, that awful symbol of torture used by the Romans to instill fear and terror into the hearts of Christians.
It should not be altogether surprising that we often miss the point of the cross. The disciples eventually understood that Jesus was the Messiah, the world’s Savior, but they missed the point of the cross. After all, the Messiah, the Son of God, the great hope of Israel and the world, was to weed out wickedness and restore a mighty new kingdom. The Messiah was the one who would triumph over evil and sin and establish peace and justice. But, when it came to understanding what it meant to follow the Messiah, things went off track for them. When Jesus started talking about suffering, being rejected, and being killed, well, this was just not what the disciples had planned for establishing this new kingdom. How could denying oneself and carrying a cross be the pathway to authentic discipleship and the Kingdom of God?
Even today, it’s still a temptation for the church to trust more in its power and influence than in the gospel’s truth. It’s still a temptation to believe the goal of discipleship is to be measured in the same way the world measures success. It’s still a temptation for church leaders to believe somehow that they can manage and control the gospel’s message rather than wholeheartedly trust the infallible Spirit of God.
And what about us? What holds us back from grabbing onto the real meaning of the cross and holding on for dear life? What am I afraid of losing? Is it my comfortable home and all my stuff? Am I afraid of others’ opinions of me? Am I afraid of losing control?
So, what are we willing to risk for the Kingdom of God? Jesus challenges us again this Lent to let go of our false selves and big egos and surrender all that we are into God’s loving arms. When we are called to pick up our cross and to lose our lives to live, we are being asked to allow God to work through us no matter what our egos or false selves say. The cross may symbolize suffering but is also the vehicle of salvation. And without the cross, there is no resurrection.
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