Mtr Mary Trainor

Dear friend,

There’s a story told about a young woman shopping in a jewelry store. At her instruction, the clerk was pulling out trays of gold crosses. She picked up one after another to study, but found none to her liking.

Then her attention was drawn to a tray still inside the glass case: “There, that one,” she said, pointing to a particular piece. “I want the one with the little man on it.”

We might wonder if a cross or a crucifix, such powerful symbols for us, have lost their meaning in an increasingly secular world. We might be surprised to think someone actually exists who doesn’t know about the little man.

But we do. Wearing a cross or a crucifix for us can be a powerful reminder of his power for our lives.

In scripture Jesus tells followers that they must take up their cross and follow him. But what is this cross we each must bear? And how do we bear it?

In seminary, the rector of my field placement parish decided to address the subject of taking up one’s cross.

He pointed to the common use of phrases such as that’s my cross to bear to illustrate how pervasive is this Christian idea in our culture.

But he was quick to notice how often these phrases are misused. “Your mother-in-law coming to live with you is not a cross to bear. It may be other difficult things, but it is not that,” he said.

The cross in our lives, in my life, is the price I pay to follow Jesus. In Dietrich Bonhoeffer‘s words, it is the cost of discipleship. What does it cost me or you to be a follower of Jesus?

Today is Holy Cross Day, always remembered by the Church on September 14, the day of dedication in 335 of buildings constructed on the sites of the crucifixion and Jesus’ tomb. It is said that during construction, a relic of the cross was discovered. In time, others claimed to have found pieces of Jesus’ cross.

It must be thrilling to hold a piece of holy history. But dangerous, too, distracting us from the real opportunity of this day: To consider the significance of Jesus’ cross in our lives.

I find today’s alternate epistle helpful (Galatians 6:14-18) in which Saint Paul talks about the profound effect of the cross of Christ: Each of us becomes a new creation.

I might suggest that the cross is one half of becoming a new creation. Jesus’ death on the cross and his rising from the tomb are commemorated in the climax of Holy Week each year. One without the other is incomplete. It matters that Jesus died, and it matters that he lived again (lives still!). In those dual events, forever intertwined, we live in the light of a new day, as new creations, accompanied by someone who himself endured death and a grave.

Jesus of Nazareth. Son of Man. Good Shepherd. Son of God. Messiah. So much more than a little man.

Mtr. Mary

Perhaps we will see one another today in church at 5:30pm for a Mass remembering the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A free dinner follows in the Murphey Gallery. You are welcome to bring a side dish to share.