An Instructed Eucharist, Year B, Proper 22 At Zion Episcopal Church By The Reverend Sarah E. Saxe on October 4, 2015

The Cross

(There was no cross in the procession.)

Did you notice something different today? Perhaps something missing?

That’s right! There was no cross in our procession. There is no cross here (point to pulpit where processional cross is usually placed) now. Yet there is a cross here in this space. Do you see it?

All of my liturgics books teach that there should be only one cross in the worship space – and that one cross symbolizes the presence of Christ. Now while I agree with the logical point these scholars are making – that there should be only one symbol for Jesus – I also disagree with it. I came to disagree because I wondered, “Well what if we have assigned different meanings to each cross?”

(pause)

So I am very interested in knowing how each of you reacted when no cross passed by during our opening hymn. What feelings did you have? Were they strong feelings? Or did it not make any difference to you? Or did you not notice that there was no cross?

In Anglican worship, which we Episcopalians do, all of these reactions are okay. They are okay because Anglican worship recognizes that the meanings we assign to our symbols may differ. And it recognizes that we don’t necessarily use the same symbols for our meanings. We may vary slightly from one person to another and one congregation to another. The symbols we choose whether individually or as a church body and the meanings we assign to those symbols both express our theology and affect our prayer and worship.

For me, the cross is a symbol – a powerful symbol. It symbolizes the presence of Jesus. I think that’s why people wear crosses as necklaces. Why they hang them in their homes; on their rear view mirrors. To me, a cross says that Jesus is present in that place, in that car, in that person.

Because during the week, the Church isn’t here in this building. Where is the Church during the week? It’s out in the community living our baptismal vocation within our individual vocations. Right?

And where is Jesus during that time? Does Jesus remain here in the church where that cross is? Does Jesus stay in the temple? Of course not. Jesus is out in the community alongside of us, within us, confronting us.

On Sunday we come together again. It is in that moment on Sunday that the Church, the individuals who form the Church, and the outside world all meet (make a sign of the cross with flat perpendicular hands). The intersection.

Each of us steps into this aisle and walks to our seat. And Jesus does the same thing. Through the symbol of the processional cross, Jesus through the Holy Spirit walks up the aisle and takes his seat at the head of the Church – at the head of his Body.

And its not just about the meaning we assign to the symbol. It’s also how we respond to that symbol because of the meaning we have assigned to it. For example, many people choose to bow as the cross passes by. It is not required by the Book of Common Prayer. It is simply a prayerful response to the theological meaning we have given to the symbol.

(pause)

The cross behind the altar is a symbol of Christ presiding over our worship. So the processional cross diminishes and the focus turns to this cross (gesture) behind the altar.

Many of you, as well as the altar party responds to this meaning by turning and facing this cross when we say the Nicene Creed. We are speaking to God in Christ, a meaning we have assigned to that symbol as well.

In most churches, the processional cross is placed off to the side but here at Zion it is prominently placed beside the pulpit. For some, this may result in cross confusion. It did for me when I first came here. Which cross is symbolic of Christ’s presence now that the procession is over? I felt uncomfortable turning my back to one cross in order to face another. Of course, that is not a problem for anyone else here because all of you face both crosses and the lay Eucharistic minister can stand at an angle if necessary. To be honest with you, it is something I still struggle with. I also sometimes find it intimidating to approach the pulpit for the sermon and see the symbol of Jesus looming above me.

(pause)

After Communion, it is time for us to go back out into the world, and we again shift our symbolic focus to the processional cross that leads us. It is a symbol of Jesus leading his flock out into the world to do the work he has given us to do. A symbol of Jesus’ presence with us in every moment of our lives as we live out our baptismal vocation within our individual vocations.

Some of us respond by shifting our attention back to the processional cross and after bowing to it we ‘follow’ it to the ‘servants’ entrance’ by turning our bodies to face it. Some of us continue to face forward because the altar cross remains behind as a symbol that Christ is still present here even while he is out there.

So we assign meanings to our symbols and we respond to them through gestures and body postures. But what about our gestures and body postures during the week, after we have left here?

What meaning do we assign to the symbols of Christ in the world? The Christ who, through the Holy Spirit lives within each of us? Who lives within every human being we encounter?

What meaning do we give to those symbols? And how do we respond?