Scriptures reports that faith is not always comfortable. Prophet Jeremiah admits that God’s call can feel like a burden, yet he cannot keep silent so scolds God. St. Paul tells us not to be conformed to the world, but to allow God to transform our minds. And Jesus gives us the best advice of all: “Take up your cross and follow me.”

We adorn ourselves with crosses more than bearing and living it. It hangs on the rear view mirror so we can drive 50 in a 35 limit zone. It’s burned on all parts of body parts to proclaim something or another about our beliefs, or more likely a fashionable statement. 

Don’t forget that Jesus doubted God to bear his cross but silently admits to its purpose and meaning.

In conversations, we definitely misuse the meaning of the cross. We always speak of it as a negative… “Oh, poor dear, look at the cross she has to carry.” Sad to hear it and even sadder to believe that misstatement. When in fact, and in faith, the cross does include pain and suffering, but it also more strongly includes and envelopes hope, the ultimate love of sacrifice and the new life of resurrection. All experienced by Jesus. The depth found in the cross is all of life; every part.

Jesus is not asking us to enjoy suffering. And it is not on his list of bodily accessories. He asks us to remain faithful in the midst of it. Our crosses become places where love, patience, courage, and trust continue to grow. And the meaning of the cross also contains and brings its share of hope, love and peace.

The cross of Jesus teaches us something important: we can’t control everything, as though we foolishly thought we could. In the midst and beauty of the cross we choose – how we respond, how we love, and how faithfully we trust God’s guidance and presence in our lives. That includes both gratitude and grief. 

We can prayerfully and powerfully ask, “Lord, how can I carry this cross, complete with life’s rewards and risks? Never lived by myself but together with you?”

The Christian life is not about avoiding difficulty. It is all about discovering that we never carry a cross by ourselves. God, especially through the Holy Spirit and her seven life gifts, gives that cross a full meaning. 

So don’t wear it, live it. I could be wrong, but I think it’s called the “Body of Christ.”