Go into any Christian church and you are likely to see at least one cross and possibly more. These crosses vary in materials and design. In our parish churches all the crosses are empty. It may seem strange to some people that our Christian symbol is something that was an instrument of death. Jesus was crucified on the day we call Good Friday. When Jesus had breathed his last, his body was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb. On the third day – the first Easter day – Jesus was raised from the dead. He came through suffering and death to life. So the empty cross reminds us that Jesus, who was crucified, is alive. Through the Holy Spirit, we can know the presence of Jesus with us now. Christians try to follow his teaching and example, but there is more to being a follower of Jesus than that. We also believe that we can know the presence of our living Lord in our lives, and through Jesus we can have a personal relationship with God the Father. The sacrifice that Jesus made through his death on a cross was a once for all event that took place a very long time ago – yet it still has the power to bring about healing, forgiveness and the assurance of God’s love in the lives of believers today.
In some traditions it is more usual to see a crucifix or cross with the figure of Jesus depicted on it. When I was on retreat at Loyola Hall last autumn I found myself drawn to look at the crucifix in the chapel there and was overwhelmed as this brought home to me once again all that Jesus endured for me. We believe that on the cross Jesus bore all the wickedness and shame of the world, breaking the power of sin and death forever. That’s a huge concept, but it will not change our individual lives until we take this amazing truth and make it our own. Christians are those who have invited Jesus Christ into their lives as Saviour and Lord and who seek to put to death all that is wrong in their lives and to live a new life with Jesus. This dying to sin and self and rising to new life is symbolised in the water of baptism.
We celebrate new life at Easter. Birds, flowers, insects, lambs in the fields and other signs of new life abound at this time of year, and these may be seen as signs of God’s goodness and love and of the new life that can be ours through Jesus Christ – but most of all we will appreciate and enjoy this new life when we open our hearts to Jesus and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by his love for each one of us.
With my love and prayers for a joyful Easter
Glynis Hetherington
