Failure
This is a picture of a fragment
of the World Trade Center. It was found
in this cross-shape on September 13, 2001, right at the beginning of the recovery efforts at Ground Zero. It
was prominently displayed throughout the clean-up and is now part of the exhibit
in the 9/11 Memorial Museum. I first saw
this cross when I visited Ground Zero in January 2002, while visiting General
Theological Seminary. I was awed that this found relic presided over the somber
activities in “the Pit,” as the recovery workers called it. And yet it made absolute sense.
The cross is one of the most
recognizable symbols of Christianity, and yet it signifies utter failure. Jesus was executed by the state for treason,
even though he was innocent. Our faith proclaims
that through the willing sacrifice of his life, Jesus shows us the way to
eternal life. But that doesn’t negate
the fact that the cross is a mechanism of death, and a cruel death at that. On
Good Friday, we reflect on Jesus’s passion and his death on the cross, we even
venerate the cross, however we don’t always focus on how the cross effects our
daily faith.
September 14th is a
major feast of the Church known as “Holy Cross Day.” It is an opportunity for
us to consider and reflect on how the cross informs our lives. I have worn a cross on a necklace for
decades, and yet it wasn’t until someone suggested what it would look like to wear
a guillotine around my neck that I realized that having a “pretty” cross missed
the point.
The cross is a symbol of death,
of how broken this world is. It took
someone – Jesus – willing to die for us to understand just how far we stray
from God and God’s love. We failed to live up to our end of the Covenant – to be
God’s people. God could have destroyed Creation because of that, but instead did
something radical. God took our failure and made it the event for our
redemption.
When we look at the cross, it is
an opportunity to recognize that we have been redeemed – we are made new in God’s
eyes if we are willing to die to our selfish interest and desires, and instead
live for God. If we are willing to let
go of our earthly cares and seek God in all things, especially our own shortcomings
and failures, that is when God transforms us into loving, life-giving people
ready to do God’s will. But to do that, we need to seek the way of the cross, recognizing
that failure is not the end, only an opportunity to start anew.
The Ground Zero cross reminds me
that even during the most tragic events imaginable, when death was all around
and the world seemed to be coming to an end, God was in the midst of it. We were not alone in our sorrow of how far we
have fallen short of loving our neighbors as ourselves. We were not alone in the fear, the hurt, the
pain, the suffering, the despair. Nor
are we alone in our hope that life will be redeemed if we choose to believe that
God’s love conquers all.
I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum
this summer and I bought a new cross for myself. It is a replica of the cross that stood at Ground
Zero. I wear it to remember all the
failures we face in life, but also that we are called to be more than the sum of
our failures, if we choose to love.
Collect for Holy Cross Day (September 14th)
Almighty God, whose Son our
Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole
world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our
redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+
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