What Does Your Cross Mean To You?

I was privileged to have spent almost two weeks in Greece this summer. I had the pleasant task of baptizing the granddaughter of a very dear friend. Greece is the premier laboratory of western history and civilization. Whatever period of time or era one wishes to examine, it is all there. For Christians who study the New Testament scriptures, there is no better place to walk in the footsteps of St. Paul than Greece.

On Sunday, August 3rd, I took the commuter train from Kifissia, a northern suburb of Athens, to go to Monastiraki, the closest station to the ancient Athenian agora or market place just under the shadow of the Acropolis. I wanted to walk through the ancient city ruins and end up on Mars Hill known in the book of Acts chapter 17 as the Areopagus. It is a small rocky hill where St. Paul stood and addressed the Athenian philosophers and skeptics, preaching to them the gospel message of Jesus Christ. I wanted to stand where Paul stood nearly 2000 years before and to vicariously sense through my spiritual imagination a little of what he saw and experienced.

The train was packed...standing room only. A few feet away from me stood a young man who was intently looking at me. At every station stop he inched his way closer to me. Half way on the 30 minute ride into downtown Athens, we were almost face to face. "Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" he said in Greek. "Are you from Crete?" "Why do you ask?" I responded. "Well I noticed you're dressed all in black and since Cretans love the color of black, I just thought you were from Crete as I am," he said. "I'm dressed in all black because I'm a priest," I replied. "An Orthodox priest?" he asked, somewhat surprised. "Yes" I answered. "You're kidding me! Our priests wear the long black robes and stove pipe type hats," he reminded me. "Well" I said, "I'm a Greek Orthodox priest from the U.S. and there most of our priests when not in church wear the black suit and clerical shirt." "By the way" he continued, in a form of Greek slang. "What's that white "thingamajig" in your collar?" "It is a symbol; a white tab representing my priestly calling," I said. He looked puzzled but reluctantly accepted my answer.

With a dialogue now open, I asked this twenty-something young man, who was wearing an open shirt down to his belt buckle, a question of my own. "May I now ask you a question?" I said in Greek. "Sure, no problem," he answered. "Tell me," I inquired with some humor in my voice. "That "thingamajig" hanging around your neck, what is it?" "It's a gold cross," he answered somewhat caught off balance by my question. "I can see that, but what does it mean to you, and why do you wear it?" I quickly responded.

He seemed stunned by my question. I'm convinced no one ever asked him such a thing. "I don't know, I've worn it most of my life. And besides that, its very trendy and fashionable. I think it is sexy," he said with a satisfied smile.

Our conversation ended as we got off the train at Omonia Station and we went our separate ways. I thought about his answer for a long time. Look around, and you will find literally countless people, like that young man, who wear crosses around their necks as items of jewelry...as accessory accents to their wardrobes. We have them in gold, silver, and brass; crosses in every shape configuration and design, from cheap trinkets to the most exquisite precious stone settings. Crosses are worn by people like you and me, without much thought given as to why we wear them. The fundamental question for St. Paul on Mars Hill speaking to the Athenians and for us today is: What does the cross mean to us? Why do we wear them? What is our response if asked the question by an inquiring stranger?

No answer can be all inclusive, since it must be personal and be backed up by sincere conviction. For me, it means that as Christians who bear witness to the true cross of Christ, we have by grace crucified our "old sinful nature" and can now have the potential be partakers of what St. Peter calls the "divine nature." It follows that to be cross bearers, we are released from the limitations of living for the "flesh alone...for the self alone." We spiritually die to the delusion of sin, being transformed daily by the Holy Spirit and opening ourselves up to the divine circulation of energy and light, while remaining fully engaged in the world we live in. We are saved from the corrosiveness of our own ego and narcissism.

Our "Old Self" states St. Paul, "was crucified with Him so that the sinful body might be destroyed...for sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace."(Romans 6:6 and 14) As I stood on that Athenian hill where Paul stood and looked at the Acropolis as he once did, I took my pectoral cross in my hands and reflected with renewed enthusiasm the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:23-25)

Comments

[minimalist syntax]

Imagine the sacrifice of the man-God who although he was God, deigned to suffer as a human and he suffered it in the most humiliating manner: through execution. He mystically suffered all the pain of the world--so that we are not abandoned. In the Song of Songs it says: King Solomon made a palanquin (a kind of litter) for himself from the trees of Lebanon. He made its pillars of silver and its back of gold. Its covering crimson. Its interior was inlaid with love. -- Some say the palanquin is a symbol for the cross of Christ.

[Jonahson]

God rebirth as a human? So even God is subjected to change and is impermanent.

[Jadedelight]

Wearing a cross used to be away to identify myself to others as a christian. Then, after a spiritual epiphany, I suddenly saw it as a symbol of torture. I feel ill when I think of putting one on my body.

[KillgoreTrout43]

The cross, to me, represents a point where we stopped listening to the message of Christ and became obsessed with his martyrdom. We no longer give much creedence to his teachings and concentrate on inane symbolism, and worship of the dead, and resurrected. It was Christ, as a living, breathing man, that taught us well, or sought to teach us well. We lost our way when we began worshipping the death and resurrection, instead of learning from the timeless messages that Christ offered.

[OtayPanky]

Sadly, for twenty centuries, the cross has all too often meant "trouble's coming" for those who have opposed the will of the cross bearers.

[recless]

Well, I'm an atheist since 14, but I got a Celtic sunburst cross tattood on my left shoulder in my 30's. The cross is not just a Christian symbol, despite that fact that they have mostly stolen it for themselves. The cross predates Chritianity quite a bit. For me, it was an acknowledgement of my cultural heritage.

[smilodon1]

The cross indicates the person is superstitious and has no critical thinking skills. I usually keep my interactions brief with those who flaunt their fantasies.

[wondering]

It makes it easier for the rest of us to avoid getting caught up in conversations with insane people at parties. Keep wearing them, and thanks for advertising!

[nammy50]

The famous art director/designer George Lois once gave his list of the best logos ever created:

1. The Cross.
2. Star of David
3. Swastika

[nammy50]

Having been raised a devout Catholic, I strayed in my twenties and returned in my forties only to come to the conclusion that all religions are part mumbo-jumbo, part myth, part control.

I still wear my cross everyday. Partly out of habit, but mainly because after all the bs and dogma I do believe the words of Christ have meaning for me.

If only so-called christians like George W Bush actually practiced what they profess to believe in the world might be a better place.

[Storm]

What does the cross mean to me?

How about centuries of murder, bigotry and oppression of my people. How about a symbol of martyrdom blamed on people whose own court's (the sanhedrin) needed a unanimous vote to impose capital punishment, as opposed to the Romans who really did it.

How about an arrogant yet nonsensical theological attitude borrowed from pagan Greek philosophers to justifying idolatry of a man?

Does that answer your question?

[wm1066]

I hear ya!
Plus when you see a cross today think of all those people that have had "Near Death Experiences" on the operating table, and then lets talk about what happened to Jesus.

[dmcohen]

Actually the Sanhedrin couldn't impose capital punishment if the verdict was unanimous. It was assumed that if the 70 greatest legal minds of Israel, who argued on EVERYTHING, all agreed that this person was guilty without dissent, there must be some funny business going on.

Good shabbos.

[phoebusapollo]

Of course, if Jesus had been executed in the twentieth century the good father or stylish twit from the story would be sporting little electric chairs.....

[farmerdave]

cross? i thought it was a lower case T.... (bad joke? sorry..) but seriously, when I see someone wearing a gold and diamond encrusted cross, gold chain.. the works - I am reminded of just how hypocritical major religions are... so I don't wear one... maybe a lower case Z.....??

[Jonahson]

Let's summarise the last passage. Unselfish love. Endless compassion.

[mredder4]

No one likes to admit the dirty little secret of Christianity, but the truth is the majority of Christian worshippers are idolators. Seriously. I don't say this to be insulting, but it is true. When you pay reverence to a symbol of the object of your worship, that's idol worship. Catholics bow and genuflect in front of statues of Jesus and Mary and Joseph. Why? Because the church had a lump of clay "blessed"? How is the image of the holy family or Mary or Jesus supposed to be sacred when there are tens of thousands of copies, most for sale at the local religious store?

It's the same with crosses worn around the neck. They're more of a trend than a strong demonstration of faith. Young devote practitioners wear them almost like that stupid electronic "gaydar"; what better way to always be able to find people who agree with you and won't challenge you than by only hanging out with those who wear prominent crosses around their necks?

The wearing of the cross around the neck is proof by those who wear them that they worship the symbol of Christ on the cross more than they do what he taught, what his message was (Do you really think Jesus would approve of gold or silver or [God forbid] platinum crosses? Really?), or the path of life that he advocated. Sporting a gold cross is like saying, "My vanity is more important than Jesus' call to abandon materialism."

[LeeAlex]

Sometimes I wonder when I see someone wearing a big diamond cross, an elaborate pectoral cross, or a rosary around their neck. I wear a small silver cross which symbolizes the risen Christ and what we as Christians are called to do and to be. I do not worship the cross.

I don't agree with wearing it just to wear it, though, whether for fashion or to belong to a club. In my experience, I have found way more people who *don't* agree with me, yet the cross around my neck (or other signs of ministry) have at least opened conversations, some of them brutal, some agonized, some sweet. Many people have deep-seated ideas of what they think Christianity is, and what starts as accusation or confusion on their part usually ends in a wonderful conversation. We talk about lots of things and both of us end up with things to think about. I find this much more stimulating than preaching, in a way, and it enhances my faith as I go.

When I walk into a hospital the staff can look at me and know to some degree what I'm there for based on what I'm wearing and carrying. So yes, the cross, cross insignia or specific clothing can identify me as part of a group, a leader in said group, but in the end it's more important what I do than what I wear.

[mommadona]

Change is inevitable.
Growth is optional.

Someday, Organized Religion just might learn that lesson.