Wearing a Cross: Really?

Armodoxy for Today – Finding the Cross Symbol

The Discovery of the Holy Cross is the last feast of the Cross during the calendar year of the Church. It commemorates the finding of Jesus’ Cross in the fourth century. The details are rather dramatic and worthy of remembrance.

Several years ago I heard a comic on one of the late night talk shows. He took aim at one the easiest targets, Christians. He joked about the custom of wearing crosses as body ornaments or jewelry, challenging Christians, do you really think Jesus will want to see crosses when he comes back? They tortured and nailed him on the cross. Do you really think he’s going to want to be reminded of those horrible days? Of the torture and agony, he endured, while being humiliated, abandoned and killed? Do you really think he’s going to want to see you decorating your body with crosses?

Of course, the studio audience laughed, and perhaps, rightly so. Presented in that manner, it does sound absurd for us to glorify this instrument of torture as much as we would think it absurd to wear a necklace with an electric chair on it, or earrings glorifying lethal injectors on them. Yes, he’s absolutely right, Jesus would not like to see us glorifying the cross as an instrument of torture, hatred and destruction and certainly it would be very callous of us, at the least, should we try it glorify this instrument of Crucifixion.

For us, however, as members of the Apostolic covenant, the Cross is a symbol of victory over evil, life over death and love over hatred. Jesus conquered the Cross. As St. Paul so expresses, ^“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:18)

For the Discovery of the Cross to have meaning for us today, we must understand the Cross as a symbol of victory. In that victory we find hope for a brighter tomorrow. Hope for health. Hope for life.

The Cross on which Christ was Crucified was discovered centuries ago. The Cross that symbolizes his victory is one that we need to discover today, in our lives.

From the 14^th hour of St. Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer we pray, Upholder of all creatures,
preserve by the sign of your cross, my soul and body, from the allurements of sin, from the temptation of evil, from unjust people, and from all dangers physical and spiritual. Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me. Amen.