The Cross

The cross is without question the most prevalent symbol in the Christian Church. Flying high above steeples and domes, it is the banner that proclaims the triumph and victory of Jesus Christ. It adorns our sanctuaries, often holding a place of prominence at the center of our view. It decorates the table of the Eucharist, it sets the lectern apart, and it may appear on the covers of our Bibles, hymnals, and bulletins. It is worn on jewelry, displayed on logos, and it decorates homes and schools. This is a glorious testimony to the Cross of our Lord, where the salvation of the world was accomplished, where sin and death were defeated. The cross sets these things apart, adorning and claiming their use for King Jesus.

Thus St. Paul declares, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal. 6:14) Paul nor we for a moment believe that our boasting is in any way disconnected from the reality of what happened on a particular cross in a Roman province a little less than two thousand years ago. It is the Cross of Christ that gives all crosses their meaning, their beauty, and their power.

But to say that crosses have power, isn’t that superstitious? Superstition in its usual sense means putting faith in something which is not worth putting faith into or acting out of fear towards something or someone which ought not be feared. But depending on what you believe and who you believe, there are many things which rightly deserve our faith and fear because God has given them to us. In regards to the symbol of the cross, we believe that Jesus Christ has unalterably changed the world. In fact, His death and resurrection were the beginnings of the New World, the new heavens and new earth. In this new world, the cross is worthy of faith and fear for what Christ accomplished on it. It is foolishness and terror to those who are perishing; those who hate Christ are enemies of the cross (1 Cor. 1:18, Phil. 3:18). This does not mean that wood or gold work in any way independent of the Triune God. Those who believe this are truly superstitious. But Jesus has altered the state of the world dramatically, ascending into heaven and sitting on the throne of God ruling and reigning until all of his enemies are his footstool. The victory and reign of Jesus Christ is a fact which is true apart from all the sin and lawlessness of man. “Let God be true, and every man a liar…” St. Paul says in the letter to the Romans, speaking particularly about the difference between inward and outward faithfulness and unfaithfulness. But the cross is a symbol of this reign, of His victory over sin, and therefore of our reign and victory over sin with Him. This is just what St. Athanasius says, “A very strong proof of this destruction of death and its conquest by the cross is supplied by a present fact, namely this. All the disciples of Christ despise death; they take the offensive against it and, instead of fearing it, by the sign of the cross and by faith in Christ trample on it as on something dead.” And again he states, “By the sign of the cross, on the contrary, all magic is stayed, all sorcery confounded, all the idols are abandoned and deserted, and all senseless pleasure ceases, as the eye of faith looks up from earth to heaven.” For these brothers and sisters in Christ, many of whom gave their lives for the Faith, the cross signified their faith but also enacted their faith, and by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit, it delivered many from the “spiritual forces of evil” that contended with them.

While we may not face the same battles as St. Athanasius, we are still engaged in the same great struggle against sin and the world. Just as we are called to trust the words of God in Scripture and its proclamation, we are also called to trust the pictures of God, such as the bread and wine in the Eucharist and the water of Holy Baptism. These sacraments are the central pictures by which God displays and bestows His grace in physical ways in this world. But these pictures, these memorials, are also prayers and signs that we perform and enact before the face of God, as a testimony back to God, crying out to Him for justice and mercy, pleading for salvation. We do not pretend to make the cross a sacrament, but it too is a lesser picture of God’s victory and therefore may and ought to be displayed in faith, trusting and praying that all of God’s promises to us in Christ have been and will be fulfilled.

Lastly, all of this being true, it follows in a rather straight forward way that the cross may not only adorn our churches, schools, and homes, but it may also adorn our bodies through the sign of the cross. From ancient times, as St. Athanasius records, Christians made the cross over their bodies reminding themselves of the crucifixion, joining with all Christians everywhere trusting that in Christ we have all been crucified together with Him, symbolically taking up our cross to follow Him, and confessing together that He is now alive reigning and ruling and working in the world on our behalf. The great arguments raised against this practice are basically two fold. First, it is argued that this practice is Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. And this is certainly true. But this is no reason to reject anything outright. Athanasius, Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great were all Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox! The catholic church preserved for us the true faith, the Holy Scriptures, and did battle with the great enemies of Christ, throwing down the pagan temples and statuaries, and proclaiming Christ as King of all. The reason we are Christians today is because of the Catholic and Orthodox Church of the first thousand years of the faith. That Church is our Church, and while this certainly doesn’t mean we must or ought to imitate every last thing they do, it does mean that if we turn away from their practices we ought to have a good reason for doing so, namely that they are in conflict with Holy Scripture. A number of witnesses can be called to testify to the antiquity of the practice as well as its orthodoxy. Tertullian (d. ca. 250) said: "In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross" (De corona, 30). Later, St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) exhorted in his Catechetical Lectures, "Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in our goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are traveling, and when we are at rest" (Catecheses, 13). Even St. Augustine speaks of the sign of the cross as a sign or seal of Christ. Furthermore, Martin Luther, who is remembered in history for his great conflict with the Church of Rome and the origination of the Protestant Reformation encouraged the use of the sign: “In the morning, when you rise, you shall make the sign of the holy cross, and you shall say: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then, kneeling or standing, you shall say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer… In the evening, when you go to bed, you shall make the sign of the holy cross, and you shall say: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then, kneeling or standing, you shall say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. (“Prayers for Daily Use,” The Small Catechism, An Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism [Mankato, Minnesota: Evangelical Lutheran Synod, 2001], p. 26) In another place, Luther is recorded: “...how do I approach this Savior and Redeemer? By means of cowls or monastic orders and rules? No! Just cling to the Son in faith. He conquered death and the devil, and He slit the devil’s belly open. He will reign and rule again, even though He was crucified under Annas and Caiaphas. Therefore attach yourself to Him, and you will tear through death and devil; for this text [John 3:15] assures us: “Whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.” Accept the truth of this miracle of God’s love for the world, and say: “I believe in the Son of God and of Mary, who was lifted up and nailed to the cross.” Then you will experience the new birth; for death and sin will no longer accuse, harm, and injure you. Whoever believes in the Son will have eternal life. Cling to His neck or to His garment; that is, believe that He became man and suffered for you. Cross yourself and say: “I am a Christian and will conquer.” And you will find that death is vanquished. In Acts 2:24 St. Peter says that death was not able to hold Christ, since deity and humanity were united in one Person. In the same way we, too, shall not remain in death; we shall destroy death, but only if we remain steadfast in faith and cling to death’s Destroyer. (“Sermons on the Gospel of St. John,” Luther’s Works, Vol. 22 [Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1957], p. 356)

Secondly, it is argued that making the sign of the cross is done by many people superstitiously or flippantly. Making the cross of Christ in vain is akin to taking the name of the Lord in vain. But the fact that people do it wrongly, flippantly, or superstitiously is no argument against using the name of God. In fact, it is more reason than ever to use God’s name correctly and with reverence, fear, and faith. Likewise, to display a cross or to make it upon one’s body in true faith, believing and resting upon Christ and His gospel is in no way superstitious, and it is the greatest remedy for its abuse.

As a final caveat, I would hasten to add that wisdom is needed in all reformation. Reformation is not hard headed, demanding or divisive. Reformation is full of love for the Triune God and love for one’s neighbor. In short, true reformation is always catholic, however strange that may sound. Included in this must be respect and obedience to those in authority. Particularly when it comes to matters of adiaphora, matters of indifference. As we have seen, a case can be made both biblically and historically for the symbol and sign of the cross. However, we are not required to do this by anything in Scripture and therefore this is a matter of wisdom and freedom before God.

The sign of the cross is no incantation or fairy charm. Rather, when a man, woman, or child touches their forehead, abdomen, and crosses their chest, it is an incarnation of the gospel. It is prayer with our bodies. Historically, the name of the Trinity is spoken while the sign is made, dedicating our bodies, our thoughts, our words, our actions, all that we are to the service of the Trinity. We must use our bodies; we always use our bodies. The only question is: how will we use our bodies? Will our hands merely hang at our sides? Will we salute or put our hand over our breast? Will we shake hands or hug? Will we kiss or gesture? Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. If crosses are right and proper on our buildings, surely they are proper upon our bodies. Our bodies are sacred to God and set apart for His purposes in ways far beyond even the most beautiful cathedrals. They will one day be rubble, but our bodies will be glorified in the resurrection of the dead. This is who we are; this is our identity as Christians. Therefore it is right and proper that our words, thoughts, and gestures be cruciform, displaying the gospel with faith in all that we do, think, and say. Truly this is something to glory in, that death is swallowed up in victory. May our entire lives boast in nothing less than the victory of the cross, won by Christ Jesus our Lord.

Notes:
1. The quotes from Athanasius are from his On the Incarnation.
2. The quotes from Turtullian and Cyril of Jerusalem were found here.
3. The quotes from Martin Luther were found here