Signs

We depend on signs.  Imagine driving in an unfamiliar place without any signs - no street signs, no directional signs, no traffic lights, no lines or arrows on the road, no store signs, nothing.  We might as well be driving blind. 

Fortunately, there are many traffic signs.  Of course, we need to pay attention to the signs.  Otherwise, we become lost, or worse.  My wife, Mary, claims that I am living proof of this most every time I drive – it’s as if the signs don’t even exist. 

In this morning’s reading, Jesus shows frustration with the people around him.  They are just not seeing the signs.  The blind have been given sight, the lame are walking, the hungry are fed, the kingdom has been preached, yet they demand more and bigger signs.  Are they just not paying attention?

The church knows that we are often inattentive.  For at least this reason, our tradition has always been rich in sacraments and sacramentals.  They are visible reminders of our faith – signs that point us to the love and grace of God.  Yet often, we miss these signs.

Sometimes the signs become so familiar and ubiquitous, that we become blind to them.  Imagine the last time you drove a car.  How many times did you see a speed limit sign?  They are very common, you probably saw several, but I miss them all the time.  Similarly, one of the most ancient and common Christian sacramentals is a crucifix or a cross.  It is a powerful reminder of the love that Jesus has for us, the suffering and pain that he bore for us that we might be saved, and the mercy that he showed to those who inflicted this heinous, torturing death.  Yet, I often miss it.  I have five or six crosses or crucifixes in the house, maybe more.  I’m not sure as they become just part of the background.  I see a cross on a piece of jewelry and I just see a t-shaped piece of silver, not reminded at all of the love and mercy of God.

Lent can help us to appreciate the crucifix.  During Lent, we often pray the Stations of the Cross together.  We are stunned by the depth of sin that can drive us to treat another human being so inhumanely.  We sense Jesus’ pain and humility as he falls under the weight of the cross, is stripped of his clothes, and is nailed to the cross.  We mourn with Mary and the women of Jerusalem as they see Jesus suffer so horribly.  We are heartened by the few that reach out to Jesus and help in the only ways they can – Simon, Veronica and Joseph of Arimathea.  And we pray that through God’s grace, we are changed by this experience.

We pray for the humility and courage to bear our own cross as Jesus bore his.  We pray for the strength to get up after we stumble and fall.  We pray for the grace to mourn our most dire circumstances and yet look with hope to the resurrection that is promised to all who have faith.  We pray for the courage to confront inhumanity with mercy and kindness.

The Stations help us remember these hopes and yearnings each time we see a crucifix or a cross. 

And while we pray the Stations publicly during Lent – at noon and 7:30 every Lenten Friday here at St. Rose – the Stations remain on the wall of most every Catholic church all year long, available for our private prayer and reflection.  They call us to see in the crucifix a sign of our salvation, a sign of our hope, a sign of our faith in a God whose love for us transcends the depths of our sins and failings; a God whose love for us continues beyond the ends of our earthly lives.

Pray the Stations.  See the sign.  Live the faith.