PARADOXICAL

What are life's crosses? A perennial question by the perennially depressed, sure.

I see life's crosses as an invitation to an embrace, not the sadomasochistic type, but the mystical one. In my estimation, anyone in his spiritual walk who has arrived this far can only see the logic of the cross this way: the cross is something that has ceased to be a symbol of suffering, but one approaching some other thing more and more, something sacrificial, the willingness to suffer out of love. This is not nirvana, either, not something decided upon in a vacuum. It is something consciously arrived at in a hopeful posure, hoping in the knowledge that all who had a cross or carried one in life, like Christ, will resurrect in the end of time.

I unduly offended a fellow traveler/pilgrim when I suggested to him this line of thinking by asking him the ff. question, while he's deep into complaining about his unending family and health troubles.

"Have you accepted your cross yet?"

"It's hard, I know," I said when he didn't answer right away.

"But," I continued, "they say it means you are favored in that God is confident enough of you that he chose you and found you worthy enough to share his cross.

"Acceptance is easy," he protested at last.

To which, I replied, "The thing about crosses is they can turn into crowns, if not now, then soon after. But we are also at liberty to complain to God if we think we aren't up to his extra challenge, if we think life is being unfair."

"I don't think so," he resisted my idea, as though it needs to be exorcised, explaining that we don't have that choice.

"What's wrong with asking for it, is my point," I answered. "He's in control, after all, but he can be pleaded with, just like a child with his or her parent. Read the psalms and all the agonizing moments of the prophets."

"No, " he insisted.

I was surprised by his almost-vehement reaction. After all, everything I said was Biblical if he's being Biblical. Just imagine if I made an easier and possibly false explanation of the cross, which is that it could also be God's punishment, or our own punishment to ourselves, something we inflict deservingly on ourselves, something we have indirectly condemned ourselves to due to our own actions. Or something brought upon us by the sins of our fathers.

posted by Resty Odon  # 12:47 AM