THE CROSS
IS VERY SIMPLE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 22 Monday in Ordinary Time is, “The Cross is Very Simple.”

We get it. We get the cross. It’s life.

And the cross cuts across our life every day.

That’s one reason why we have a cross in every church – in this church – big time big.

TODAY’S READINGS

In today’s first reading from First Corinthians 2: 1-5, we have one of Paul’s recurring themes and most basic messages: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

We’re told to dress for success. We’re told to stress our strengths in our resumes. Paul talks about his negatives: his weaknesses and his trembling – as well as Jesus’ weaknesses.

Paradoxically, weakness is the power of God.

God is totally weak in the face of free will. Lucifer walked out. Adam and Eve chose the forbidden fruit – and lost the idyllic life of the garden. Cain killed Abel. And the story repeats itself.

Yet if we freely choose God – then life has its greatest meaning and it’s greatest love – and as we walk down its roads, there stand the crosses.

Love isn’t love if the other isn’t free. That’s what makes it so wonderful as well as so painful. The other can say “no” with words or body language by heading for the door or looking at his or her watch and saying, “I gotta go” – or break our heart.

In today’s gospel from Luke 4: 16-30 all is fine. Jesus gives his inaugural address and in the next 3 minutes they want to kill him – by hurling him off the top of a hill.

THE CROSS

We’ve all experienced the cross.

It’s not a cross word puzzle. We get it.

I choose to do this – to go this way – and the other chooses to go that way. We find ourselves at cross purposes.

It’s as simple as that.

We are in Giant’s or Graul’s supermarket and someone cuts right in front of us to get ahead of us on the line and we groan inwardly. And then the person has 3 items that need to be price checked – and then they have problems with their check – and we let out in inward Giant Growl.

It happens in traffic, in church – someone is in our bench – or in our families.

It’s my way or the highway. It’s your way and I think it’s the wrong way.

It happens in every home – in every church – in every organization. It’s always something. It’s the cross.

CONCLUSION

It kills us every time – but every time that we get it – we have an opportunity to grow.

How many people have learned the great prayers of Jesus on the cross: “Why God why?” and then “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” and then, “Into your hands I hand over my spirit.”