“I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified….” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)
September brings us an ancient commemoration in the ecclesiastical calendar: “Holy Cross Day.” It falls every year on September 14.
The day commemorates the alleged discovery of remnants of Calvary’s true cross in the year 325, in Jerusalem. The “Church of the Holy Sepulchre” was built on the site. Visitors to Jerusalem flock to it, to this very day. Sometimes, in fact, they visit the site on Holy Cross Day.
Frankly, I have never been so impressed with flocking to Jerusalem. And I am not much impresssed with speculation regarding remnants and relics, either. Holy Cross Day, in my estimation, is observed properly when it becomes an occasion for remembering the astounding fact of Calvary, the cross that once graced that terrible hill, and the One who hung there for the redemption of the race.
It is also a day for mission.
From very early days, it was customary to give Christian missionaries a cross or a crucifix at their commissioning ceremony. In a book titled Where Mission Begins, William Frazier comments on the practice:
“The missionary cross or crucifix is no mere ornament depicting Christianity in general. Rather, it is a vigorous commentary on what gives the gospel its universal appeal. Those who receive it possess not only a symbol of their mission but a handbook on how to carry it out” (1987:46; cited in Bosch 1992:122).
There is nothing nearer the heart of Christian mission than the cross of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Cross roots our mission in history.
At the center of our faith is an actual place, a series of actual events — and an actual Man, crucified, risen, and coming again. The Christian faith is not about ethereal principles or sublime spiritual insights. It is about a Man and a Deed that that have “made all things new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Holy Cross anchors our message.
Someone has said that the world does not need more of our Christian views; it needs the news we have to share — the singular news about Jesus, his cross, and his empty tomb. “When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to in lofty words or wisdom,” the Apostle Paul reported. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).
The Holy Cross reinterprets our pain.
Paul Lindell discovered the gracious power of Christ’s cross, as he struggled through the painful final months of his life. The story is recorded in his little book, The Mystery of Pain, republished this month. (Contact our Home Offices for your complimentary copy.) The Cross reinterprets our very lives, in fact. In the Cross of Christ, our Loving Father took into himself the worst that hell could muster — real guilt, insufferable pain, utter alienation, even death itself — and conquered. Nothing in all creation can separate us from such a love (Romans 8:35-39).
The Holy Cross becomes our “handbook” for service.
“Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way” (Mark 8:34,35, The Message).
The Holy Cross impels us into the world.
The cross is an event so radical, so stupendous, that you cannot know it even a little — and not want to shout it out to the world. In the Cross of Christ, God has reconciled the world and its peoples to himself — and entrusted us with the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
This is the way to remember the Blessed Holy Cross. It is not about flocking and relics. It is about trusting, believing…and mission. §