THE CROSS OF CHRIST, THE MEASURE OF THE WORLD

Forgive me for taking as the title of this essay the title of one of Cardinal Newman’s great sermons! But as this is our parish feast, it seems completely the right thing to do.
Newman asks a basic question in his homily: on what basis can you judge the value of anything in our world? His answer, of course, is the Cross of Christ. What does this mean? What is the value of an elderly person in a nursing home, or an unborn baby, or a migrant fleeing from terrorism, or any other person in need? Let me offer some passages from Scripture to illuminate this question:
“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised up on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared…” [I Corinthians 15:3-5a]
“I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself for me.” [Galatians 2:20]
His death is my eternal life. His cross is my redemption. And this is true of ALL of us as individuals. He came to redeem you, and me, and everyone else as persons. He loved me and gave Himself for me. Every one of us is loved, valued, treasured—proved by the Cross.
So the cross, an instrument of horrific humiliation and tortuous execution, has become the prized sign of our gratitude for his great love for us (for me). Are we conscious of this? Or are we too accustomed to its seeming omni-presence in our churches and our homes really to understand the full meaning of what we are looking at?
The crucifix, from a Roman/Jewish point of view, would be the rough equivalent of wearing a noose with an African-American’s neck in it; or perhaps a Jew standing in a gas chamber, or a 16^th century Catholic at Smithfield awaiting being hanged, drawn and quartered. Who could bear it? It’s no wonder that the earliest devotional depiction of the crucifixion is 5^th century, on the doors of Santa Sabina in Rome (after its banning in the Empire as a mode of execution).
For me, one of the most powerful and evocative of all crucifixes is that of San Damiano, now hanging in the church of Santa Chiara in Assisi. The Lord is crucified, surely, yet His face is filled with majestic calm, eyes wide open to meet your (and my) gaze, and with the reality of the resurrection in the panel above His head.
Today we celebrate what was revealed to Mother Julian of Norwich in 1373: “So it was that I learned that love was our Lord’s meaning. And I saw for certain, both here and elsewhere, that before ever he made us, God loved us; and that his love has never slackened, nor ever shall.” [Revelations of Divine Love, #86]
May Jesus grant this. Amen. -Fr. David