God longs for us to live with an unbreakable link between the first great commandment (love God) and the second great commandment (love others). Like water flowing from a spring to a river, love is intended to flow naturally and transformatively from devotion to God to devotion for others. We treasure the Artist and therefore we treasure his artistry, especially that displayed so gloriously in every human of every color.
One practice that may help us fortify this link between first and second is making the sign of the cross.
Admittedly, the physical act of making the sign of the cross has been practiced in ways that might be unusual to some of us today. The Egyptian ascetic Anthony of Egypt taught Christians to sign their bodies and their homes as a way of warding off demons. Nonetheless, it was also practiced in ways that many of us would likely find deeply meaningful. For example, the sign was made at baptism. The heads of those being baptized, the water in which they were baptized, and the oil with which they were anointed were all signed. This represented the way in which Christ was present at baptism and the way in which the person baptized belonged to Christ. The sign was also made before prayer in order to fix the prayer’s mind upon God. It was made after prayer as a way of holding the gift received in prayer. The sign of the cross was made during temptation to give strength. It was made at the reception of blessing to acknowledge the fulness of the blessing. The practice was used in many ways. And it can specifically be used to express love for God and love for others. This physical act can help forge and even stronger connection between the way we treasure God and the way we’ve been called to treasure all humans.
The practice of the sign of the cross may go back to the third century when there are accounts of Christians using a thumb or index finger to trace a small cross on the forehead, or the eyes, or the lips. Tertullian urged Christians to sign themselves “at every forward step and rising, at every entrance and exit, when we dress, when we put on shoes, when we bathe, when we dine, when we light the lamps, on our couches, on our seats, in everything we do, we trace this sign upon our foreheads.” Making the sign grew in prominence in the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries. By the ninth century, Christians in the East were making a larger gesture with the thumb and two fingers held up together, symbolizing the Trinity, and their ring finger and little finger folded in, symbolizing the divine and human natures of Jesus. The movement went from head to chest to right shoulder to left. Christians in the West moved from head to chest to left shoulder to right. The move was often accompanied silently or verbally with a brief prayer such as “In the name of Jesus” or “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” or “O God, come to my assistance.”
Historically the sign of the cross expresses at least three things. All three strengthen this bond between loving God and loving others.
First, the sign of the cross is a profession. Making the sign of the cross is a profession of faith. Each time you make the sign of the cross, as you hold your thumb and your first two fingers together–representing the Trinity–you are acknowledging your belief in and love for the threefold God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each, represented by those three fingers, is One you have faith in and adore. So, as you hold those fingers together, you might say, aloud or silently, “I love you Father, Son and Spirit.”
In addition, as you make the motion of the cross, you are reaffirming your belief that Jesus descended to earth (moving from head to chest), died on a cross for us (touching the left shoulder), and ascended to heaven after his resurrection (touching the right shoulder). This physical movement is a way of rehearsing the story of Jesus, a story that demonstrates in the greatest way ever, God’s love for us. It recalls the story that motivates our love for God. As you make this motion, you might say, aloud or silently, “I love you God, for the gift of your son Jesus who descended to earth, died on a cross and rose from the dead.”
Second, making the sign of the cross is a perception. The sign of the cross helps us recognize that wherever we are at the moment, we are in the presence of God. The gesture is an awakening. Each time we make it our eyes are opened to the truth that Father, Son and Spirit are here, in this place, with us right now. We don’t have to wait for a special day (Sunday) or a sacred place (sanctuary) to adore them. Right here and now, as we answer email, as we help our second grader with schoolwork, as we hold the hand of an aging parent, as we march down a street to protest injustice we are in the presence of God. We can express love to God right here and right now. While you move three fingers from head to chest to shoulder to shoulder you might say, aloud or silently, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I love you. Thank you for being with me here at this moment.”
Third, the sign of the cross is a petition. In its normal practice, the sign is accompanied by a prayer. Thus, the physical act is the initiation of a speech act. As our hands move, our lips should move. Each time we make this sign, we are reengaging in prayer to God in some way.
This prayer can be for ourselves. But it can also be for others. And thus, the sign of the cross makes a shift from vertical (my love for God) to horizontal (my love for others). The motion prompts my mind and mouth to say names to God of those who are especially in need of his divine mercy, justice and help.
The petitionary aspect of the sign is rooted in the fact that the cross itself is an act and symbol of solidarity with those most in need of our prayer and God’s care. James Cone, in The Cross and the Lynching Tree, writes about crucifixion as a gateway to fellowship with the fallen:
“Unfortunately, during the course of 2,000 years of Christian history, this symbol of salvation has been detached from any reference to the ongoing suffering and oppression of human beings—those whom Ignacio Ellacuría, the Salvadoran martyr, called “the crucified peoples of history.” The cross has been transformed into a harmless, non-offensive ornament that Christians wear around their necks. Rather than reminding us of the “cost of discipleship,” it has become a form of “cheap grace,” an easy way to salvation that doesn’t force us to confront the power of Christ’s message and mission. Until we can see the cross and the lynching tree together, until we can identify Christ with a “recrucified” black body hanging from a lynching tree, there can be no genuine understanding of Christian identity in America, and no deliverance from the brutal legacy of slavery and white supremacy.”
Each person and group who is oppressed is “recrucified.” The cross thus becomes a symbol of solidarity–Jesus’ solidarity with our suffering, and our solidarity with others suffering. The traumatization of Jesus enfolds him into our traumatization and us into the traumatization of others. Jesus’ crucifixion compels us to hurt with those still suffering their own crucifixion. Making the sign of the cross can thus prompt us to pray for those wounded by dehumanizing words and actions of others. As you make the sign, pray, aloud or silently, for others in countries and communities who bleed and need the help of God.
Our spirituality is embodied. Everything we do for God and with others is done in our bodies. That’s one reason why a physical practice like making the sign of the cross can be so beneficial. It recognizes the embodied nature of our spiritual lives. Practicing it can help love to be deeply incarnated in all we do and all we are. Use this practice. Let it drive you into deeper devotion to God and to others.
