Journeying to Grace

The quarterly magazine I receive from the university I attended comes with a fun challenge each issue. A very small image of the school mascot is hidden somewhere within the front cover design. I can usually spot it before too long, but occasionally, when I realize I am spending way too much time looking for it, I ‘cheat’ and look up the answer elsewhere in the magazine. Without fail, once I know where the mascot is, I can’t ‘unsee’ it. It was in clear view the entire time I was searching – how did I miss it?

I’ve thought of that silly mascot when I see the tiles on the wall pictured here. I frequently sit directly across from this wall in quiet time of reflection and prayer. The wall itself serves as a divider or buffer from the activity happening on the other side, so it helps to provide a still and calming space. During my prayer there, I have come to focus on specific tiles which form a large cross. (The cross I see is formed by the tiles down the middle column and the five middle tiles across, three rows down from the top.) Just like the mascot on the magazine’s cover, now that I’ve seen the cross on this ordinary wall of tiles, I can’t ‘unsee’ it. I’m grateful that this unexpected gift in this unexpected place centers me, comforts me, and draws me to the true cross of salvation every time I sit in front of it.

In the context of Lent this week, I was moved to gaze at the cross of tiles more closely and search more deeply. I became aware of the forms of many smaller crosses all around the large one. I noticed, or more accurately felt, that these multiple crosses, too many to count, are connected. They are next to each other. They support each other. And though they appear similar in some ways, no two are exactly the same. This reflection revealed that these are the crosses we carry. Though the individual burdens of our crosses differ (financial hardships, difficult relationships, health issues, grief, etc.), our crosses bind us together in the merciful love of the Cross of Christ. We know His words well: ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.’ (Matt 16:24) Our crosses connect us as members of His Body and call us in faith to follow Him and be strength and courage for one another.

Especially during Lent, let us keep the Cross of Christ in clear view and pray that our crosses, connected through enduring faith, bring us to know the forgiving, redeeming, and everlasting love of God. ‘But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom 5:8)