How to take up the Cross

The Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost as instruments of Faith, Hope, and Love

“Cloud of Witnesses” Mural, Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame

“[Jesus] began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.’” (Mark 8:31-33)

                  Why would Peter rebuke the very man whom he just named “Messiah”? This is the question that easily comes to my mind at first glance. I would like to think that having just recognized Jesus as the “Christ” or “Messiah” (same term in Greek and Hebrew respectively), I would have the docility to simply trust whatever Jesus was telling me. However, given the way in which I respond to the sufferings and crosses in my own life, I suspect that, even if I didn’t have the courage to speak up, I would probably be thinking very similar thoughts. That is to say, Peter likely had an image of a worldly-successful Messiah, who would go up to Jerusalem, expel the Roman overlords, restore right-worship in the Temple, and lead the Jews to a new time of prosperity. I, in turn, often desire God to overcome the secularity of our modern world, institute revival, and bring great prosperity to our Church’s institutions, and faithfulness to our secular institutions. In both circumstances, we (Peter then and me now) are missing the greater work that Jesus is accomplishing. Why?

                   Well, if we look to Peter in the acts of the Apostles, he doesn’t seem to have the same hangups about Christ’s crucifixion. Additionally, his own willingness to bear the cross of Christ, is witnessed by his literal crucifixion in Rome. Three significant events occurred that changed how Peter and the disciples responded the crucifixion. First, they had multiple tangible experiences of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Second, they witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven, and third, they received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Following Pentecost, the Apostles, boldly proclaimed the life, death, and resurrection of Christ throughout the known world, suffering persecution, torture, and death. Indeed, the Apostles, “rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name” (Acts 5:41b). 

                  If such experiences and beliefs were instrumental in Apostles joyfully embracing their crosses, I suspect that my own hesitancy to embrace my own crosses is grounded in a lack of faith and hope in the resurrection, ascension, and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What do each of these events provide for us that we need in order to joyfully embrace following Christ?

Resurrection

Christos Anesti!

Alethos Anesti

This ancient Greek Easter greeting: Christ is risen! Truly Risen! Is one of my favorite parts of the Easter season. I particularly find great joy in this greeting following the Easter Vigil and morning Masses. In this moment, I feel the joy of conquest, of Christ having “conquered death by death, and having given life to those in the grave.”

Death is truly the great enemy, and Christ’s resurrection has defeated the permanent death due to man’s rebellion against the source of all life. As an ancient homily from Holy Saturday says (I highly recommend reading the homily in its entirety):

“‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

…

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.”

Faith! Faith in this resurrection is then necessary for me to follow Christ to the cross. If, like Peter, I see only as human beings do, I will see in the cross only death. But, if I have eyes of faith, God will allow me to see in that cross the conquering of all that I fear. Also, as we see above, faith gives me a trust that the cross laid before me is not mine alone to bear. Indeed, Christ promises, “you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.”

Ascension

Unfortunately, the Ascension of Christ into heaven often gets very little attention in our liturgical and devotional life. Nestled between the Resurrection and Pentecost, we can easily lose track of it. But it is the mystery of the Ascension that gives expression to the virtue of Hope. We have faith that Christ has risen, that he has “conquered death by death;” yet, when I look around I continue to see death, I continue to see pain and suffering, I continue to see sin and its devastating effects. Christ’s ascension gives a response to this dilemma. It does so in at least two ways.

First, the Son’s ascension into heaven is in the flesh, meaning it is not just Jesus’ Divine Nature that is in heaven but also His Humanity. That humanity is now in heaven, and perfectly united with God is the promise given to each of us who are united to the body of Christ the Church. As the Collect (opening prayer) for the feast of the ascension says:

“Make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,

For the ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation,

And, where the Head has gone before in glory,

The Body is called to follow in hope.” (Emphasis Added)

Thus, the ascension is a cause of our hope in this present age that is not yet the time of fulfillment.

Second, though Christ has ascended into heaven, we are not without his ongoing presence here on Earth. In fact, by ascending into heaven it allows his presence to suffuse throughout the whole body, the Church, in a way that would have been limited had he remained on Earth as he had before. This presence is also tied very specifically to promised gift of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus state cannot be sent unless Jesus returns to the Father.

Thus, the Mystery of the Ascension is the oft overlooked instrument of our Hope, which is seemingly fitting as I believe that Hope is often the most overlooked of the theological virtues- Yet the driving force of our Christian journey. Charles Peguy describes Faith, Hope, and Charity as three sisters walking along. Faith and Love are the older sisters, and at first glance appear to be carrying Hope along, but on closer inspection, it is this little girl, Hope, leading Faith and Charity to the great celebration. He says:

And her two older sisters know well that without her they would be But servants of the moment.

Just old maids in a thatched hut.

…

But instead with her they know well that they are two generous women.

Two women with a future.

Two women who have something to do in life.

And that through this little girl that they’re raising they hold all of time and eternity itself in

the palms of their hands (Portal of the Mystery of Hope, 23).

If we are finding our Faith and Love to be without purpose, perhaps we need to return to the Ascension to find that little girl, Hope, who might lead us along the path.

Pentecost

                  If the Resurrection supports our Faith, the Ascension, Hope, we rightly see that Pentecost is a cause of our Love. As we reflect on the mystery of the Trinity the tie between the gift of the Holy Spirit and Love becomes even stronger. One way that we might describe the Trinity is as Lover-Beloved-Love, that is, the Father is the one who begets the son as an act of Love, the Son (in the order of being, not in time) receives the Love as belove and loves the Father in return. The love shared between the Father and the Son is of such reality that is the person of the Holy Spirit. Thus, for us to receive the Holy Spirit, is to receive the Person of the Love of God.

                  This feast also reflects our share in life of the Son. The Son, loves the Father (and those whom the Father has given Him cf Jn 6:37) because the Father has loved the Son. The Son too receives and returns that Love, who is the Holy Spirit, back to the Father. For us, who are born anew in Christ through baptism and confirmation, John says, “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). Having received this love, we must in turn love others, just as the Son, having received the Love of God, Loves the Father, in part by his self-emptying sacrifice. If we are fully living in the love of God, then we can act out of perfect joy, rather than obligation motivated by a fear of punishment (cf 1 Jn 4:17-18).

                  If we are lacking in the love of God, we must first ask ourselves, are we opening ourselves to receiving the life of the Holy Spirit? At Pentecost we pray:

Come, Holy Spirit, come.
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine.

Come, Refuge of the poor.
Come, source of all our store.
Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill.

Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end.

Amen. Alleluia.

This is a beautiful hymn that touches on so many of things that we lack in our life. Because of this lack, we often feel that we don’t have the strength needed to give ourselves to others. Yet, there is a risk, for in seeking “Comfort” “Healing” “rest” and the like from the Spirit of God, we must reject seeking it from the world- and in the moment, the world’s comfort and peace might seem to be the surer option.

Closing Thoughts

We began with wondering how can we live out Jesus’ command to pick up our cross and follow him, that if we want to save our lives we must give them up for his sake. The resurrection gives us the faith to know that the crosses in our life are not the end of the story, but that by cross he will conquer that which is dead in us. The Ascension restores our hope that even in the difficulties of life we know that God is working to bring us to our true home with him. It gives direction to our path. Finally, Pentecost gives us the gift of God’s abiding love which heals our wounds and enflames our hearts with the zeal necessary to take up the cross of Christ each and every day.