The Sign of the Cross
Last night was the first meeting of the St. Andrew's gym night at St. Vincent school. We had a great time playing dodgeball and soccer! If you're interested in coming out, it's from 7 until 9, every Tuesday night, at St. Vincent's elementary school. As part of the night, I give a brief talk about our faith and how it applies to our lives. I'll post those talks here, since the Sunday meeting is now a drama team, and doesn't have a formal message anymore.
When we opened our meeting in prayer, we finished by crossing ourselves--touching our foreheads, our chests, and then our left shoulders and our right shoulders. Not everyone at the meeting was a Christian, and one girl asked me afterwards, "What was that?" I told her, "Stay tuned, it's the subject of tonight's talk!"
So what exactly is it when we make that motion, or when we see basketball players or football players or people in movies make that sign? What is its significance? It is not just a superstitious gesture, like crossing our fingers. It is not some glib joke like Austin Powers seems to think ("Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch"). It is something far more powerful than a superstition, and far more meaningful than glib jokes.
The Sign of the Cross is a prayer. It's a prayer in which we dedicate ourselves to God, and a prayer that expresses our belief in God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one being. When we cross ourselves we pray, "In the Name of the Father (touching our forehead), of the Son (touching our heart), and of the Holy Spirit (touching first our left, then our right shoulder)."
Through this prayer, we offer ourselves to God, desiring that everything we are be in Him. By touching our heads, our hearts, and shoulders, we demonstrate that we desire our minds, our hearts, and our entire selves to be given to Him. And we recognise in this same action, the very means of how we are in Him: The Cross.
Because, you see, we didn't start off in Him. We are all born without Him in our lives. This is because, when, many thousands of years ago, God created the first people, He created them so He could know and love them, and so they would know and to love Him. But love is only genuine when it is freely chosen, and so He gave them a choice: obey and love Him, or disobey Him and be excluded from His life of love. They were tempted by the Devil to believe that God was keeping them from their true potential by serving Him, and told them that by disobeying Him, they would become gods themselves! Well, who can pass up an offer like that?
I learned recently, buying furniture, what "Too good to be true" means. And that offer of the devil, my friends, is too good to be true. But Adam and Eve bought it--and many people today buy it as well--and were cast out of God's presence. And we inherited that state. And while many people today are "happy" living apart from God, and many don't even believe in Him, He is not content to let us live apart from Him. He knows that we are only complete with Him, and He still believes in us and loves us. The problem is, though, that our sin (that flipping God off and wanting to do it our own way) has serious and unpleasant consequences. The Bible says that the reward for sin is death--and that death winds us up in a place that we affectionately refer to as Hell. And Hell is a place you don't want to be!
Notably, God doesn't want us to be there, either. And so He put a plan into motion to bring us back to Him, and to cancel out the terrible reward for our sin. God the Son came to earth as a human being, 2000-odd years ago, named Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ lived and taught us about God. And if that was all He did, that would be pretty amazing. But there's more.
This Jesus Christ who taught us about God, demonstrated God's incredible love and power through many miraculous signs--healing people from incurable sicknesses, raising people from the dead, feeding multitudes with very little food, walking on water, calming the storm, and many others! And if that was all He did, that would be incredible! But there's more.
This Jesus came for one reason, and one reason alone. His teaching and His miracles were "side effects" of God walking around on earth as a Man. But the true purpose wasn't to teach or to heal. It was to die. His teachings enraged a lot of people who didn't want to surrender their lives to God, and so they tried to silence this Man by killing Him. But that was the plan all along. Jesus was flogged, beaten, and finally nailed to a Cross. What seemed like the Devil's ultimate victory was really his absolute defeat--and what seemed like Jesus' total failure was His absolute glory. Because it was on that cross that Jesus forgave that penalty that we owed because of our sins! And to top it all off, to complete the story, three days later Jesus rose from the dead! 'Cause you can't keep the God-Man down!
This is why Catholics cross themselves. We realise that we are "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" because our sins are forgiven through the Cross. That forgiveness, that love relationship with God that surpasses all other relationships that we could hope to have, is available to all of us if we would just ask.
† "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
"The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God." - 1 Corninthians 1:18
"I was resolved that the only knowledge I would have while I was with you was the knowledge of Jesus, and of Him as the crucified Christ." - 1 Corinthians 2:2
"'Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'" - Matthew 20:28
When we opened our meeting in prayer, we finished by crossing ourselves--touching our foreheads, our chests, and then our left shoulders and our right shoulders. Not everyone at the meeting was a Christian, and one girl asked me afterwards, "What was that?" I told her, "Stay tuned, it's the subject of tonight's talk!"
So what exactly is it when we make that motion, or when we see basketball players or football players or people in movies make that sign? What is its significance? It is not just a superstitious gesture, like crossing our fingers. It is not some glib joke like Austin Powers seems to think ("Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch"). It is something far more powerful than a superstition, and far more meaningful than glib jokes.
The Sign of the Cross is a prayer. It's a prayer in which we dedicate ourselves to God, and a prayer that expresses our belief in God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one being. When we cross ourselves we pray, "In the Name of the Father (touching our forehead), of the Son (touching our heart), and of the Holy Spirit (touching first our left, then our right shoulder)."
Through this prayer, we offer ourselves to God, desiring that everything we are be in Him. By touching our heads, our hearts, and shoulders, we demonstrate that we desire our minds, our hearts, and our entire selves to be given to Him. And we recognise in this same action, the very means of how we are in Him: The Cross.
Because, you see, we didn't start off in Him. We are all born without Him in our lives. This is because, when, many thousands of years ago, God created the first people, He created them so He could know and love them, and so they would know and to love Him. But love is only genuine when it is freely chosen, and so He gave them a choice: obey and love Him, or disobey Him and be excluded from His life of love. They were tempted by the Devil to believe that God was keeping them from their true potential by serving Him, and told them that by disobeying Him, they would become gods themselves! Well, who can pass up an offer like that?
I learned recently, buying furniture, what "Too good to be true" means. And that offer of the devil, my friends, is too good to be true. But Adam and Eve bought it--and many people today buy it as well--and were cast out of God's presence. And we inherited that state. And while many people today are "happy" living apart from God, and many don't even believe in Him, He is not content to let us live apart from Him. He knows that we are only complete with Him, and He still believes in us and loves us. The problem is, though, that our sin (that flipping God off and wanting to do it our own way) has serious and unpleasant consequences. The Bible says that the reward for sin is death--and that death winds us up in a place that we affectionately refer to as Hell. And Hell is a place you don't want to be!
Notably, God doesn't want us to be there, either. And so He put a plan into motion to bring us back to Him, and to cancel out the terrible reward for our sin. God the Son came to earth as a human being, 2000-odd years ago, named Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ lived and taught us about God. And if that was all He did, that would be pretty amazing. But there's more.
This Jesus Christ who taught us about God, demonstrated God's incredible love and power through many miraculous signs--healing people from incurable sicknesses, raising people from the dead, feeding multitudes with very little food, walking on water, calming the storm, and many others! And if that was all He did, that would be incredible! But there's more.
This Jesus came for one reason, and one reason alone. His teaching and His miracles were "side effects" of God walking around on earth as a Man. But the true purpose wasn't to teach or to heal. It was to die. His teachings enraged a lot of people who didn't want to surrender their lives to God, and so they tried to silence this Man by killing Him. But that was the plan all along. Jesus was flogged, beaten, and finally nailed to a Cross. What seemed like the Devil's ultimate victory was really his absolute defeat--and what seemed like Jesus' total failure was His absolute glory. Because it was on that cross that Jesus forgave that penalty that we owed because of our sins! And to top it all off, to complete the story, three days later Jesus rose from the dead! 'Cause you can't keep the God-Man down!
This is why Catholics cross themselves. We realise that we are "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" because our sins are forgiven through the Cross. That forgiveness, that love relationship with God that surpasses all other relationships that we could hope to have, is available to all of us if we would just ask.
† "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Labels: Crucifixion, Prayer, St. Andrew's
posted by Gregory at 1:55 p.m.
9 Comments:
Do you know the history of how the signing of the cross found it's home at the beginning and end of our oral prayers? I've always found it fitting not only as a spiritual prayer but as a physical way of attuning myself for prayer, but how/why/when/where did that start? ...if you feel like giving a history lesson.
:P
It was interesting to hear what you said about what "crossing yourselves" is all about. Is that the official Roman Catholic stance on that? I know that many professing Catholics who don't know, and can't answer why they do that.
I'll tell you gregory that you don't strike me as a normal Catholic. Most Catholics I know don't care about theology and don't know much about the Bible. I'm not aying that represents everyone in your faith, there are plenty of Southern Baptists that way too.
One comment I'll make is that I disagree when you used the term "side-effect" as far as describing Jesus' life and teachings compared to His death on the cross. In fact Jesus' life was of equal importance to His death and His resurrection. In His life Jesus had to perfectly fulfill the law as only He could do in order for His death on the cross to mean anything. I'm pretty certain you'll agree with me up to that point anyway.
Now again once we get into how you receive salvation, and whether or not you can lose it... that discussion is still to come.
I did notice whatever translation you used at the begining is worded considerably different than most other translations. Perhaps even with some motive I might think.
The wording in 1 Corinthians 1:18 "those of us on the road to ruin" versus the (ESV)"those who are perishing" and your version "those of us who are on the road to salvation" versus the (ESV)"to us who are being saved"
You can see where there is a distinct difference in how it is translated, I think that may come from differing views of justification and eternal security. Just my perspective.
In Christ -Jacob (The Dirty Protestant)
Hey Scott. I had learned the history on that when I was first entering the Catholic faith, but I'm a bit hazy on it. I'll look it up and get back to you here.
Jacob, I would go out on a limb and say that the crossing ourselves as a form of prayer is the official stance on it. In fact, the Church would use even stronger language than I to describe its effects and benefits. Certain early Church Fathers, when referring to it, describe it as an effective ward against Satan and against temptation. I have found this in my own life as well.
You are right in pointing out, though, that Jesus' life is as important as His death--but I think that's a similar question as "Is Good Friday more or less important than Easter Sunday?"
Without Jesus' life being lived in perfect accord with the Father, His sacrificial death would have meant nothing, and in that sense, by itself, is not what saves us. We are saved by Christ's death on the Cross and subsequent resurrection. Everything that Christ is and did, however, plays a part. But there is a reason that the Cross is the central symbol of our faith, and not a mountain or a boat from which He taught, or a hand with which He healed. The key and the focus even in His teaching and in His miracles was the Cross. And the Apostles understood that. As St. Paul said above, "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (NKJV)
I use the New Jerusalem Bible here, because it's a new Bible that the students of my Bible Study last spring were kind enough to buy me as a thank you for taking them through the Gospel of John. Certain passages in it are translated beautifully expressive of the Greek phrases (which often themselves are kind of word-pictures).
I honestly don't see the difference between the NJB and the ESV, except that the NJB makes it more obvious in the wording that our salvation is a process and not a one-time event. But I think that truth is evident in Scripture no matter which translation you use (I grew up on the NIV and the NKJV).
What, qualitatively, is the difference, after all, between being "on the way to ruin" and "perishing"? Both describe a process that is not yet complete. What again is the difference between being "on the road to salvation", and "being saved"? Both phrases describe our salvation as an ongoing and as yet incomplete process.
The Greek words, "apollumi" and "eksozo", are in the present tense, not in the past. The actions have not yet been completed.
And by the way, I know it's a tongue-in-cheek joke, but I really don't think of you as a "dirty" Protestant. Heck, of all the Protestants who post here (that aren't my personal friends) you're my favourite!
God bless!
Ah, Gregory. You're my favorite catholic as well. (blushing)
My friend, I disagree with you so much. lol. But I'm not going to battle it out with you just yet. My future post's on "sola scriptura" and "sola fide" are coming soon.
In Him -Jacob
Jacob,
In an email you sent to me concering Point 5 ministries, you criticized me for being to "picky" about words. Now what I see when you are taking things up with Gregory, your whole tactic is to go after word choices. Care to explain this to me?
Christopher J. Freeman (Catholic Sympathizer/Not wholly convinced Protestant)
Interesting, Chris. Your post wasn't emailed to me...Whatever. I'm looking forward to your ongoing debate at Bona Fide.
Jacob, the problem I see is that our disagreements aren't in the realm of your-belief-is-Scriptural-and-mine-is-traditional. Your Sola Scriptura stance doesn't hold water here since my views of justification and salvation are biblical (at least from my reading of the text and understanding of Scripture). Yet, when I was a Pentecostal, and believed in the idea of being absolutely, completely saved at a single, specific moment in time, I would have said my views on the matter were biblical as well.
Not all groups that practice, and genuinely practice, a sola scriptura methodology agree on absolutely everything--yet, if the Bible in and of itself was an authority (rather than saying it is authoritative), then it would be able to arbiter between the two or more interpretations of itself, saying "This is the right view."
The problem is, is that a book cannot tell an interpretation of itself, that the interpretation is wrong. The meaning of the book is in the interpretation. And that is why it is so crucial, as non-relativistic, absolute truth believers, it is so important that we properly interpret the Bible! Otherwise, we open ourselves up to much error.
Catholic Apostolic Tradition is the interpretation of Scripture that we claim has been passed down and consistently developed by the leaders of the Church whom the Holy Spirit has specifically graced for that task. It is, we would claim, the correct interpretation of the faith.
A Protestant, on the other hand, says "we don't need tradition. We can interpret the Bible by ourselves." As someone pointed out on your own blog, the practical outworking of sola scriptura has been numerous divisions, splits and denominations. Since St. Paul wrote that sectarianism is sin (1 Cor 1:10ff) and Jesus prayed to the Father for our unity (John 17:21) it is obvious that this result is not "biblical" or the will of God.
That said, I'm eagerly awaiting your defence of Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura, which I would contend, neither pillar of the Reformation are actually taught in Scripture, but are traditions of men. It will be interesting indeed.
God bless
Hey Scott! Sorry that it took so long to get back to you about the history. I'm not feeling all that well right now. As such, I'll simply provide you with two links that discuss the history.
Catholic Encyclopedia--Sign of the Cross
Catholic Answers Radio--Sign of the Cross The program is on the April 7 calendar block. Click "Listen" to hear it. You'll need Realplayer.
Anyway, I hope it helps.
Briefly, according to Early Church Fathers like St. Basil, the sign originated with the Apostles in the baptismal liturgy. Later on regular people began using it all the time--getting up in the morning, eating, going to work, going to bed at night, etc.
God bless
Gregory,
"A Protestant, on the other hand, says "we don't need tradition. We can interpret the Bible by ourselves." As someone pointed out on your own blog, the practical outworking of sola scriptura has been numerous divisions, splits and denominations. Since St. Paul wrote that sectarianism is sin (1 Cor 1:10ff) and Jesus prayed to the Father for our unity (John 17:21) it is obvious that this result is not "biblical" or the will of God.
That comment really shook me up. You have caused me to really have to examine where I'm at, and if I am right for being there. Thank you for your wisdom, and courage to say such things.
Christopher J. Freeman
Hey Chris!
You're welcome. I thank you for your wisdom, and for your honesty in examining your beliefs. If you convert, or even if you stay a Lutheran, it will be because you have critically and honestly thought through the issues. I think that is crucial (and I think my buddy St. Thomas (above post) would agree :)
Anyway, good to hear from you!
God bless
And I'll certainly keep you in my prayers!
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