the cross of christ

The cross of Christ!

The cross of Christ!  The more I sit in stillness –  meditating, contemplating – the more I realize how connected we are to one another and how connected we are to Christ!

I sat one day during Eucharistic Adoration looking at the enormous crucifix that hung over the altar.  As I thought of Christ’s journey to get there one word came to mind:  contradiction.  What was it about the cross that brought contradiction to mind?  I thought maybe I still had Judas on the brain.  However, the more I pondered,  the more apparent the contradiction became.  So I created this concrete poem:

CONTRADICTION

King        –       crucified

agony – sorrow for sin

scourged    –    purified

crowned    –    courageous;                         cross    –    patience

crucifixion    –    perseverance;           humbled   –     exalted

weakness   –   strength;      sin   –   mercy;       hatred  –  love

spitting and buffets – compassion; selfishness – sacrifice

disobedience – obedience

suffering      –        salvation

death                    –               life

buried              –            RISEN!

I wanted to post this during Holy Week but it didn’t feel complete at that time.  Although I didn’t change or add anything to it, now I know why it had to wait.  During my meditation this morning, it dawned on me that our lives are just as contradictory as the cross of Christ.

We journey through life happy, sad, ecstatic, depressed, anxious, at peace, loving, judging, satisfied and disappointed,  just to name a few.  This brought to mind a conversation I had with a priest during one of my retreats.  He said to me “the sooner we realize we’re all alone in this world, the happier we will be.”  This comment left me puzzled.  He explained that no matter how close you think you may be to someone, there is always that little something you don’t share with them.  I had a problem with that generalization because my husband and I are very close.  We talk about everything, we love beyond words and we support each other in all things.  I thought about the bible verse: “the two shall become one.”  That IS us!  But, after giving it much thought, I realized what the priest was trying to say.  No one, not even people with the closest relationships, shares the exact same thoughts and feelings about EVERYTHING.  So in that sense, I guess we ARE all alone in this world.  Another way of saying it is we are all unique.  Why is that?  Here comes the contradiction.  Romans chapter 12:4-8 tells us: for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.  Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. So you see, we are all separate “members” of one body but in our separateness we are meant to be part of the “whole” mystical body of Christ.  We are all alone and yet we are meant to be united.

That being said, I would agree with that priest in a sense.  I would go a bit further and say:  the sooner we recognize the contradiction we call life, the sooner we realize we are all alone AND united in this world, the happier we will be.  Let me elaborate on that for a moment.   The sooner we realize that no one else in this world is like us, the sooner we can let go of the expectations we have of others and the happier we will be.  Spouses, friends, siblings, children, co-workers, etc. will never think or act exactly alike.  They’ll never do what you do, they’ll never be as thoughtful or compassionate, they’ll never be as caring, generous, organized or dedicated.  Guess why?  They are NOT YOU!   They will never BE YOU!  Release yourself from your expectations and focus on exercising YOUR gifts accordingly, as Scripture says.

On the flip side of that, the sooner we realize that we are ALL on this journey together, that we ALL have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, we cease to be envious, jealous, judgmental or prejudice and strive to pool our gifts together for the greater good.  When we begin to realize that we are each one small part of the bigger picture, our perspective changes and we become the loving creatures we were created to be.  We become that bond of love depicted on the cross of Christ!  God bless you!