Fr. Richard OMOLADE                    

 

Last week we celebrated the exaltation of the cross. Hitherto Christ dying on the cross, it was a thing of shame. Criminals and the rejects of society were subjected to the painful and slow death on the cross. Even the Old Testament foreshadowed it when it says "cursed be the person that dies on the tree." The spectacle of dying on a tree was sad and painful to behold. It was painful even for the slave, how much more for the sinless Son of God. But Jesus embraced the cross, carried it lovingly and patiently to the very end. By so doing Christ bestows a new identity to the cross. The tree of death became the tree of life, the instrument of shame became a salutary and effective symbol of God's love.

 

From that moment, the preeminent symbol of the Christian faith is the cross. Such that we can safely assert that where the cross is absent; Christ is absent. We are saved through the Cross. Hence, Jesus invites us to carry our cross and follow him "If anyone wishes to be my disciple, he must renounce himself and carry his cross daily and follow me."

A Christian must identify with the cross of Christ and learn to carry his own cross. There is no cross-less Christianity as many pastors today want us to believe. This is not to say that the cross has been denuded of its pain, it is still painful, but we know it is a transformative pain. "By his wounds we have been healed." If we persevere and carry our cross, Christ fills us with His strength, the devil is put to shame, we defeat temptation and hope is born anew. Let us therefore proclaim the beauty and power of the cross. Let us carry it with us always, hanging it proudly around our neck and erecting it beautifully in our homes and places of work. It is the nightmare of the devil and an assurance of safety for believers.

 

Today, however, we see many Christians with wrong understanding of the cross. For some, it has become all piece of jewelry. Even when fashioned in gold it stands empty and powerless because the true cross is not an item of clothing but an instrument of salvation. Many Protestants and Pentecostal uphold the cross, but an empty one.  In their belief that Christ is no longer on the cross, they subscribe to a cross without the divine image. But, what is the cross without Christ on it? It stands empty, and cannot be seen as the tree of life through which Christ wrought our salvation. The empty cross can still be a powerful sign, such as the Red Cross symbol, for the group providing assistance to people throughout the world especially in emergencies. While the group is engaged in the work of love, more and more today, it is being identified as non-religious. We also have the Arithmetic sign of addition. Hence, it is important for Christians to uphold the cross that saves, the cross of Christ. So look at the cross you carry, is it empty of its salutary importance? May be Christ is missing from it. If it is cross of Christ, it will not be empty or powerless.

 

The cross is the signpost to New life. On the cross, our sins and weaknesses have been nailed with Christ. Hence, St. John Chrysostom asserts that "The cross is wood which lifts us up and makes us great. The cross uprooted us from the depths of evil and elevated us to the summit of virtue." We need the cross, we cannot do without it hence Hans Urs voy Balthasar said that "It is to the cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it."

 

In the final analysis, these words of John Piper are worth keeping in mind always: "Life is wasted If we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us - and crucified GOD - must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world."

 

While the Church celebrates the exaltation of the cross on a day, the cross is indeed exalted forever, because Christ achieved that victory once and for all eternity. We continue to identify with it because it is exalted forever. When I carry my cross, I proclaim that I accept what Christ did for me on the cross.  I also proclaim to the world that I am not ashamed of the cross, and that through it, we have received the Goodnews of salvation (Rom 1:16). We cannot live without the cross, the more we exalt the Cross of Christ, the more the world finds hope. And with all creation we sing:" We adore you O Christ, and we praise you, because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the whole world."