The Way of the Cross

I love this cross. I got it in 2018 while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with some of you. I remember walking the Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus himself walked, and how our group stopped at each of the spots to pray together in the busy streets of the Old City.

Bringing this cross home in my suitcase, felt like a way to remember the sacred path we had taken. It continues to remind me of the ways we are changed by travel and by the people we meet on our way.

I have had many crosses that have marked holy moments in my life. A cross necklace given to me. A holding cross that fits in the palm of my hand given to me on the day of my ordination. A set of prayer beads made by a friend and colleague. Each cross has a story and honors a time or place or moment of my faith journey.

What does the cross mean? The cross was meant to be an instrument of shame and suffering, but this same image became a symbol of life and forgiveness for the followers of the resurrected Christ. In it Jesus, demonstrated God’s willingness to suffer with us, to share all our pain and to transform it into a symbol of love. In journeying toward the cross, and ultimately resurrection, Jesus shows us how to be agents of transformative love.

The cross has always been depicted in various ways in Christian art. From the earliest days of the church, it has been scratched over doorways, etched onto tombstones, and scrawled with paper, ink, paint and every other imaginable medium.

In the same way, the Christian story continues to be drawn throughout our lives and in all of creation as well. I wonder if you have crosses that mark special moments in your faith journey? Moments of transformation or memories of places or people that shaped your life? Our gallery wall during Lent is a collection of crosses for us to contemplate and share pieces of our spiritual journeys with each other.

As we begin the season of Lent, we are invited to walk with Jesus. I hope you might reflect on these crosses as symbols of the ways Christ continues to transform our lives.

If you would like to share a cross with us, please bring it to church and add it to our wall.