As a symbol of Christian Faith, the cross has been seen across our planet over many centuries, a sign of a shameful and cruel death raised to be a proclamation of belief and trust in the Lord.

 Signs that replace words are part of our modern lives. The international logos for big stores and car manufacturers, the indication furniture on roads and motorways telling us where we are and where we might go, football team colours (try wearing red or blue on Merseyside without an association being made) and the distinctive flags of nations.  Driving past the UN building in New York City , you cannot avoid the maze of colours from the flags of the member nations.  

So it is with religious symbols, signs of faith that indicate to us and to others who we are and in what we believe. The yellow Star of David became the badge of identity forced on a persecuted people when their national and religious identity was under attack.  

Unfortunately symbols can also become the source of division, raising antagonistic attitudes between groups who see provocation in the sign of another. Only a few months back, there was again disturbance over several weeks on the streets of Belfast when the Union Flag was lowered over Stormont, only to be flown in future on particular days. A symbolic act gave rise to community tension.  

The wearing of a small cross at work has resulted in court cases where an employer regarding it as a sign of faith thought it to be discriminatory and offensive to others.

 Yet it is the shadow of the cross that has hovered over Europe and many parts of the Earth for 2000 years. It is an integral part of our Christian Faith. We talk about “the crosses that we have to carry”, the difficulties and stress that are part of our human condition. But that burden is something that we do not carry alone.

 “Lord, strip me of all I carry; strip me of everything that prevents me from carrying my Cross, and when I am stripped be there to sustain me”  

from: Tenth Station - Jesus is stripped  - in Walk with me 1994 McCrimmon.  

That small wooden cross on the end of a string of prayer beads, worn by familiar touch, and the simple gesture we make when we bless ourselves, are indeed shadows of our faith. Early crucifixes showed not a Christ in agony but a risen Lord in glory. In these Paschal days, it is good to remember that the shadow of the cross gave way to the light of the Resurrection.  

The heading picture is of a cross that I made with my grandson, James, from two pieces of driftwood we found on the shore line which we tied together with seaweed. It would have only lasted a few hours in the sand before the tide overtook it. But its shadow and meaning remains caught by a camera long after it has physically gone.  

Finally, an apology from last week. Two errors crept in to my piece on deChardin.  La Messe sur le Monde was written in 1923, not ‘27 and first appeared in print in the Hymn of the Universe, not Le Milieu Divin. Sorry about that.

(No problem, Chris. Those gremlins have been fixed - jw)

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