These days we hear a lot about crosses and other holy shrines being desecrated and destroyed.
These desecrations have definitely hurt the feelings of many people. Many have already condemned these dastardly acts and may be just waiting to retaliate. One person has already been arrested and has admitted his role in these desecrations. The admission of his role and the way he goes about displaying how he single-handedly went about it baffles our mind. The faithful and the not so faithful are literally jittery of the antics of this old man.
For Christians all over the world, the cross is a symbol for the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died on the cross for our sins. He carried the heavy burden of our sins to the Calvary where he was crucified. Our ancestors and even we the modern people have gone on a spree to build these crosses to remind us of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any insult, any damage done to this cross is an insult to the very foundation of the Church he has built.
Just pause for a while and think how we as Christians are desecrating the cross all the time. It’s really sacrilegious! Look at the crosses around you. Where have you, why have you built these crosses? The roadside crosses are sometimes in memory of someone close who has died in an accident or may be to ask the good Lord to prevent accidents in an accident-prone zone. All this is very well said and done. The sentiments are respected. But look at the crosses we have built. The simple wooden cross has been replaced by mosaic, neon and what not. Why? What purpose does it serve? Does it remind you of Christ and his suffering on the cross or is it to show your power and might? This simple yet mighty cross of the burden of our sins has been replaced by an ostensible power of our pride. And what about the feasts we celebrate to commemorate these crosses? Aren’t they again an ostensible show of our higher and mightier than thou attitude? Most of the time we try to outdo each other. That is not in the correct spirit of Christianity. We have forgotten what Christianity is. We have forgotten that we are followers of Christ who humbled himself to take us out of the rut. We have strayed. Maybe time has come to put us back on the right track. May be our distracters, desecrators, the so-called destroyers of our faith are not the destroyers of our faith but agents sent among us by our Lord to put us back on track, on the right course to salvation.
Maybe we shall feel a little hurt by their actions. Maybe we want to hit back. Maybe ……. But what if we pause for a while and say, “Lord, let your will be done and not mine.” Let us go back to the little humble cross that reminds us of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The little wayside cross, the cross in the field, the cross on top of the hill should be a reminder for us that we are the humble disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let it be simple and humble to remind us of the humility of our Lord and our own humble state on this beautiful planet that our loving Father has bestowed upon us.