HOLY CROSS DAY

According to tradition Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, found the cross of Jesus in Jerusalem in the fourth century. Later the Spanish nun Egeria reported seeing a relic of the True Cross in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Whether or not remnants of the cross of Jesus exist, the cross has always been central to the message of Christianity. Paul wrote: “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

I grew up in a church with a crucifix on the altar rather than an empty cross. A visitor once criticized the crucifix saying that in her church they worshiped the living Christ. So did we, but we emphasized that the living Christ was the same person as the crucified Christ.

Holy Cross Day reminds us of the sacrifice Christ made for our sake. I know we prefer talking about the love of God rather than sacrifice, but what is the value of love if there is no sacrifice, no cost? Jesus himself said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Through Christ the cross, an instrument of shame and suffering, becomes the symbol of life and love.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:18 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne