The Messy Cross
I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. – Galatians 2:20
So, how is your consumer fast coming this Lent? Or are you fasting from something else? I’ve managed to stay away from my favorite coffee supplier, but it’s not easy.
As I write this, we’ve had two Sundays of Lent, and the cross in the Sanctuary is looking rather, well — rather messy. There’s a Starbucks cup, some chocolate, tickets to a Devil’s game, webkinz wrappers, and a facebook icon, to name a few items. There is no order to it. If I were a visitor to worship on a Sunday, I would seriously wonder about the point of having such a cluttered object in worship.
But the clutter of it is the point! I love that our messy lives are symbolized visually right there in front of our worship space. Jesus doesn’t come to us expecting us to be put together for him. In our lives, we give things (money) power. I hope that as we nail those things to the cross, we get a deeper understanding of the magnitude of the power of Christ.
On Easter, we will crown the messy cross. This is meant to symbolize that Christ is Lord of all that holds power over us. Galatians 2:20 says it all. As we submit everything in our lives to Christ, we are able to experience his power in every aspect of our lives. And so with a resurrected start, I might step back into Starbucks. You might log back on to Facebook. Or find yourself shopping at Short Hills. With a different angle: the angle not of someone who is enslaved by coffee/online chat/shopping, but by someone who is serving Christ in every interaction.
May we find the mercy and grace of Christ as we continue to submit our lives, addictions and power to him.
