"The Cross of Christ, the Glory of Christ"

Sayings of Light and Love, #102

This saying echoes the teaching of Jesus himself in the Gospel when he says to his disciples: "…and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." (Mt 10, 38). It is hard to hear Jesus say such things. This is one of his difficult sayings, and perhaps for us too, it is a terrible word - in the sense that it strikes terror into the heart. It is normal to experience fear at the prospect of the cross. It was a horrible instrument of torture and death in the time of Jesus, and for us it is no less a symbol of tremendous suffering. But we should not lose heart because we know, that by the Cross, Jesus won for us the glory of risen life in God. Going to his passion, Jesus cries out to his Father: "…Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…” (Jn 17, 1). The hour of Jesus is the moment of his suffering and death upon the Cross. The Father is glorified by the Son in that hour because Jesus is fully revealing the love of God for the world. From the heart of Jesus, from his open side, all the love of his Father would be outpoured for us, reconciling each and every one to God.

When Jesus predicts his passion for the first time, Peter objects and he begins to remonstrate with the one whom he has just confessed to be "the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (Mt. 16, 16). Jesus rebukes Peter telling him that he is "not on the side of God, but of men." If the message of the Cross was tough for Peter to swallow, we can be sure that it will be tough for us to get down as well.

The Cross of Christ teaches the one who follows Jesus a different kind of logic - an understanding which defies all worldly wisdom. Before his conversion Paul the Apostle, Saul, was violently opposed to the Way of Christ and the Cross, but would eventually become familiar with the power of this science and learn its lessons like no other. Writing to the Corinthians he explains:

"When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." — 1 Cor 2, 1-5 

Paul only speaks the word of the Cross, preaching the Cross and Christ crucified. This is the Apostle's Gospel. It is a word which is significant to all the saints including St. John of the Cross. For God's closest friends, the Cross of Christ is their glory. St. Paul speaks to the point: "…far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…" (Gal 6, 14). The Cross is the mystery that God used to unite the mystical doctor of Carmel to himself. John understood its significance and taught its value to all who would listen. That is what he is doing here in the above saying. No one can arrive at union with God without passing through the narrow gate. The weight of heaven's glory would be too heavy for us to bear unless we first learned to carry our cross in this life.

The key word in our saying this time as we travel the Way is "seek." Jesus promises that if you "seek… you will find." If you seek the Cross of Christ, you will find the glory of Christ. This does not mean we go looking for suffering and trouble in our life, but it does mean that we can expect as Christians a share in Jesus' own passion and death. Extraordinary penances will never compare to generous surrender to the crosses of daily life - bad health, loss, poverty, hunger, failure, humiliation, and setbacks. It doesn't make sense but these are the very things that lead to glory.

John's Word today seems hard only on the surface. Really it is an expression of encouragement. He tells us not to be down and depressed when suffering, but to look up and to rejoice because when we find ourselves on the Cross, we discover that we are lifted up from the Earth and are closer to Heaven - more united to Jesus. Once, St. John of the Cross had reason to be in the enclosure of a monastery of Carmelite nuns and he was moved to go and embrace "a great cross" in the center of the cloister. He prayed a few words quietly in Latin which the nuns could not understand. He repeated the prayer to them:

 "…seek nothing but the bare cross, which is a lovely thing…"

(P. Crisogono, St. John of the Cross, p. 267) 

This is what John wants us all to understand - the loveliness of the Cross! Through it we find the glory of Christ. John displays by his own example that we must not simply surrender passively to the crosses of life, but to seek the Cross and to actively embrace it.