From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him,
saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But he turned and said to
Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your
mind not on divine things but on human things." Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any
want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and
follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life
for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but
forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? For the Son of Man is to
come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what
has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death
before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Matthew 16:21-28
(On making the sign of the cross for the first time) I was cold with the awful impression my first
making it gave me — the sign of the cross of Christ on me! Deepest thoughts came with it of I
know not what earnest desires to be closely united with Him who died on it. Oh, that last day
when it is to be borne in triumph!
-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton 1774-1821
The summation of the life of Jesus in the symbol and the sign of the cross is not meant so much
as an act of "taking up" the cross, as it is of "taking the cross inside." The direction of the sign of
the cross is inward, which suggests embracing and internalizing the life of Jesus. Nevertheless,
this inward direction suggests that, starting with the historical events of the life of Jesus, we live
these events here and now, appropriating them outside time and space, as we become one with
the timeless Christ.
-The Reverend Doctor Andreas Andreopoulos
The Sign of the Cross
Never leave your house without making the sign of the cross. It will be to you a staff, a weapon,
an impregnable fortress. Neither man nor demon will dare to attack you, seeing you covered with
such powerful armor. Let this sign teach you that you are a soldier, ready to combat against the
demons, and ready to fight for the cross of justice. Are you ignorant of what the cross has done?
It has vanquished death, destroyed sin, emptied hell, dethroned Satan, and restored the universe.
Would you then doubt its power?
-St. John Chrysostom c.347-407
If you were the handsomest and the richest man in the world, and could work wonders and drive
out devils, all that would be something extrinsic to you; it would not belong to you and you
could not boast of it. But there is one thing of which we can boast; we can boast of our
humiliations and in taking up daily the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-St. Francis of Assisi 1181/2-1226
What does it mean to take up one's cross? It means bearing whatever is unpleasant—that is
following me. Once you begin to follow me by conforming your life to my commandments, you
will find many to contradict you, forbid you, or dissuade you, and some of these will be people
calling themselves followers of Christ. Therefore if you meet with threats, flattery, or opposition,
let this be your cross; pick it up and carry it—do not collapse under it. These words of our Lord
are like an exhortation to endure martyrdom. If you are persecuted you ought, surely, to make
light of any suffering for the sake of Christ.
-St. Augustine of Hippo 354-430 Sermon 96
The tragedy of Christianity has been that Christians have left it all to Jesus. There have been a
few exceptions, of course. In the main, however, Christians have never tired of seeing the
spectacle of Christ Himself upon the Cross — in some mysterious way He is our stand-in or
proxy representative in every age. We love to sing about the Cross, to pray about the Cross, to
preach about the Cross. As long as we are so fascinated and mesmerised, humanity troops on to
its doom.
What will save the world is not Christ's suffering and death but ours. It is not His blood which
counts but ours. It is not His broken body which matters but ours. In fact, this is what
Christianity is all about. It concerns the followers of Christ no less than it concerned Christ
Himself. They must be radically obedient to God, Truth and Humanity.
-Ted Noffs 1926-1995
By What Authority?
Recent Comments