Though we are weeks away from Good Friday and observing the Lord’s passion, it’s not too early in Lent to begin praying with the cross. We look at wood all around us and often see it as a supportive building block, a crucial part of a structure, or in a piece of comfortable furniture in our homes. All good and welcome functions. But the wood of the cross forced upon Jesus was frightening. It was thrust on Him in hate and anger. It was a visible means of shame and of a violent death intended to be witnessed and cheered by the crowd. Yet it is where our journey of faith takes a new direction onto a path of renewed life and hope. The moment Jesus accepted His cross in indescribable love and compassion for us, He transformed this brutal symbol of hate and resistance into a refuge of love and redemption.
We can only imagine—or maybe we can’t—how excruciatingly heavy and unyielding the true cross must have been, especially for an already bruised, battered, and bleeding body to carry. Grasping the crude wood likely caused splinters and cuts on tired hands that had little strength remaining. This holy cross and symbol of selfless sacrifice is central to our Lenten journey of forgiveness, reconciliation, and renewal. It is a welcoming beacon of faith and strength in the Lord who, on that cross, won pardon for our offenses.
In Lent, we gather together at the foot of the cross. We are unworthy but saved; sinful but redeemed; lowly but cherished. During this season, we often pray, ‘Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.’ Let us encounter the cross through that prayer and seek its redeeming and healing grace for both the injuries we have in our hearts and the injuries we’ve caused. And as we look upon the cross and embrace it in grateful prayer, let us allow the salvation of the cross of Christ to guide us, comfort us, and restore us.
Journeying to Grace 