Posted on 07/21/2003 10:44:35 AM PDT by el_chupacabra
The Crucifix Scandal 7/21/03
I was assisting in a history class one day shortly after my conversion. I was wearing a crucifix and the history teacher, who happened to be a Baptist, commented that crucifixes always bother her.
She asked me why we Catholics kept Jesus on the cross when he was risen from the dead. She expressed her offense at the sight of Jesus hanging there 2000 years after the fact.
Prompted, I believe, by the Holy Spirit, I broke into a chorus of an old hymn traditionally familiar to Baptists: Lest I forget Gethsemane , Lest I forget thine agony, Lest I forget thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.She walked away with raised eye brows and a pensive nod.
Before I had given any thought to being Catholic I had decided I wanted a crucifix in my house. I had been plagued for too long by a pet sin that was draining the life out of me (more literally than I knew at the time) and I knew that part of the problem was that I took sin way too lightly. After all, being a Calvinist, I believed that I was one of the chosen few and that sin like this was only a temporary interruption in an indestructible relationship with Christ that began at the point of time I put faith in Him, and would not end until Christ himself had seen it to completion. I could not lose my salvation, so sin meant only a temporary loss of “fellowship” with Him.
Or so I thought.
I knew I needed to be constantly reminded of the price my Lord had paid for my salvation so that I would stop this presumptuous disregard for His will in my life. So I approached my (then) Baptist husband carefully and asked how he would feel if I got a small crucifix for the wall by my desk. He seemed unconcerned about it, especially in light of my motivation.
Little did I know that two years later there would hardly be a room in my house without one!
Recently my brother debated Patrick Madrid on the veneration of Saints and the use of images as an aid to prayer of devotion. The crucifix became a central feature of the debate. My whole being was shaken by the look of disgust my brother gave the beautiful crucifix that had been displayed earlier. How could anyone look with disgust on the most self-sacrificing act of love ever known? How could anyone loath the image of one’s Savior dying as a ransom for their soul? It was chilling.
As we read the lives of the Saints we find that many times victory over doubt or grace in suffering came as one of those precious Saints of God fixed their eyes on a crucifix. Converts have come home, myself included, because of the encounter with life-giving love that a crucifix represents
Could it be that the sight of the price paid for us makes some very uncomfortable? Could it be that as we look upon Christ giving his last drop of life for us we realize that we are called to the very same sacrificial life? Could it be that fixation on the resurrection, made “sanitary” by the omission of the crucifixion, allows us to believe we are called to live in painless power rather than in humility and sacrifice?
Should not the sight of the crucifix brings to the surface our regard for sin? Should it not be impossible to set our eyes on a crucifix and allow any sinful thought to linger in the same mind that is filled with that sight? Much like a recitation of the Ten Commandments, does not the sight of our sacrificial Lamb make us feel the pangs of every imperfect fiber of our beings?
In 1 Cor. Chapter 1, St. Paul tells us that “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” To those puffed up with the wisdom of this world, the sight of the Son of God hanging from a cross is a stumbling block, a sign of offense. But to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God, the wisdom of God, the love of God. And since His strength is made perfect in weakness, the crucifix is the still life caricature of the triumph of Holy Love over selfish sin. Far from being the low point of Christ’s life and something to be or brushed aside or forgotten, the Crucifixion is the pinnacle of the Glory of God in Christ Jesus.
So it is with gratitude I wear this crucifix. It keeps my heart focused on the Lover of my soul, it keeps me submitted to the cross I must take up daily to follow Him, it reminds me how much he loves the rest of the world and how much he wants me to give to reach them.
Lest I forget . . . Lead me to Calvary .
Patty Bonds is a Catholic convert who lives and writes from Phoenix, Arizona . She is the founder of Mary's Mantle, an apostolate to serve Catholics who are experiencing family opposition to the faith. Her brother is James White, an anti-Catholic author and speaker.
And you know this to be a fact how...?
If you were a demon, wouldn't you be afraid of the one person that threatens you more than any other, and at the one time that was critical in saving people from the demon's work? It's almost sacrilegious to suggest a demon wouldn't be afraid of the crucified Christ.
How big of you.
If you get comfort from it that's your business.
Its a form of witness to the gospel and evangelization. To compare it to a rabbit's foot only reflects the shallow and callous nature of the one making the comparison.
Jesus defeated Satan with a Cross (not a scripture) and then a Resurrection.
(4) He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, "Yisra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" (5) On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, "Tomorrow is a feast unto YHWH."
The god was declared to be the one who brought them up from Egypt. The calf was a common form of idol in Egypt, so thats what they were familiar with. Note also, they specify the name YHWH as the one they are holding a feast unto to celebrate.
We see a very similar scenario in 1 Kings, when Jeroboam sets up 2 calves, one in Beit El and one in Dan in order to try and keep Israel from going to Jerusalem to worship. He declares they represent the god who brought them out from Egypt just as those at Sinai did. And he also establishes a feast, on a date of his own choosing, rather than keeping the commanded feast day in the seventh month.
Ever the diplomat, Polycarp. Superstitious is more the word you're looking for. And, tell the truth, if possible: Haven't you ever been in a dark church at night with only the vigil candles going and the lifesize statues on the wall kinda looking at you ... scary (FEAR - the intended effect, I'm sure).
"Obviously, Christ's Church didn't lose much when you turned your back on Him."
I was a Wretch, Polycarp. My salvation is nothing short of a miracle. Your institution doesn't miss me. That's ok. I've come home. - "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." (Luke 15:10)
Jesus found me. I was that one lost sheep.
Why does the devil fear it? Or is Satan not a reality?
How do you react to having been edited out of the new politically-correct version of "Amazing Grace"? I suppose you take it as a personal affront that they should have deleted you by name?
LOTI: Why does the devil fear it? Or is Satan not a reality?
The devil doesn't fear a crucifix any more than the Taliban fear a GI Joe doll. Satan delivered his best knockout shot at Calvary. What Satan fears is the risen Christ!
I have witnessed first hand many deliverances (including my own). There is power in the blood of Jesus. Jesus promised great, wonder-working power for His saints.
Indescribable! :-) Like a sighted person trying to desribe a clear, star-studded sky to a blind man.
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