The Cross: The Symbol of Salvation

by Fr. Mathai Varkey Puthukkunnathu

”For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

The Cross is the unique Symbol of Christianity and it reminds us of the redemptive Sacrifice of Christ to save the humanity from eternal damnation. The Incarnate Son of God came down from heaven to realign the relationship of humans to the Father, through His Crucifixion on Calvary. This shows the limitless love of God the Father towards the creation. It is very clear in John 3:16; "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross elevated the status of the cross from curse to veneration. Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Hebrews 12:2; “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

As per the Syrian Orthodox Rite, a Cross (Gogultha) is placed at the middle of the Church during the Mid Lent Services to remind the faithful, the redemptive Passion of Christ. The sinful Israelites were bitten by the fiery serpents as a punishment to their wicked deeds. Numbers 21:9 “So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” The flawed humans who are afflicted with the noxious venom of the Satan, (Serpent) can receive the anti venom by accepting Christ and the Cross. Jesus warned his disciples that He would be lifted like the bronze serpent Moses lifted. John 3, 14 &15. “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” 1 Peter 1:18&19; “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” A faithful ought to kiss the corners of the cross or the stole (Uroro) which is tied to the Cross, when he/she enters and exits the Church building. After the Easter Services, the Gogultha is placed at the Sanctuary until the Ascension (40th) Day. 

It is noticeable to find that the humans are made in the sign of a cross. If a person stands straight in upright position keeping his hands stretched out, the sign of cross is clearly pictured. We make the sign of cross on us to constantly venerate the Symbol of Christ. During daily prayers, liturgical Services and sacraments, when a faithful hears the word Cross, he/she ought to bow down and make the sign of Cross. The sign of the cross reflects biblical truth. The Cross of Christ is the crossroads of history and the central event of Scripture. 

Cross has a wider meaning and it encompasses a larger area of Christian Spiritual life and suffering, as we read in Matthew 16:24. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We identify and acknowledge Christ through carrying the burdens of our daily lives. The trials and tribulations are part and parcel of the sinful creation. Those are placed on humans, who disobeyed God. To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Genesis 3: 17-19. Now we have to bear the Cross sincerely and responsibly to (re)gain the crown in waiting.

So these are consequences of human sin, which ultimately dissolves on the Cross through the transgressions suffered by Christ. Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Our eternal salvation has been made possible by Christ on the Cross. He was not only ruthlessly tortured by the Roman Army, but was rejected by His own household (disciples). Matthew 26:31 “Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' [ Zech. 13:7]. Although they were a scared and scattered flock at one point, they rejoined in the reassurance of enormous hope through the resurrection after the third day of His sacrifice on the Cross. The Resurrection of the Son of God brings the lost and the scattered back to the fold.

Galatians 6:14 ”May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Apostle Paul, who is called the Apostle of the Gentiles, had many worldly accomplishments to be proud of; one of it being a distinguished disciple of Gamaliel; but he wanted to be known as a servant of Jesus, whom he fiercely opposed and persecuted. When he was made aware of the blindness of his actions, he turned around and accepted his ‘enemy’ as his Lord and Savior and preached the word of the Cross and promoted it fearlessly and forcefully. Romans 8:35 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” His transformation from the torturer to the tortured is tremendous and the message of the Cross becomes a powerful weapon with him. To Paul, the word of Cross becomes the greatest tool by which he conquers the Kings and the Kingdoms in favor of Christ. 

John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century, recognized the biblical nature of the sign of the cross. He encouraged the faithful, "When, therefore, you sign yourself, think of the purpose of the cross, and quench any anger and all other passions. Consider the price that has been paid for you." Athanasius, the great bishop of Alexandria who almost single-handedly stood for Christian orthodoxy against the powerful Arian heresy, taught his flock that "by the sign of the cross...all magic is stayed, all sorcery confounded, all the idols are abandoned and deserted, and all senseless pleasure ceases, as the eye of faith looks up from Earth to heaven." 

When marching against a usurper in Italy, Emperor Constantine had a dream that convinced him he would conquer in the "heavenly sign" of Jesus. He accordingly had the shields of his soldiers marked with the "labarum," a monogram of Christ formed from the Greek letters chi Χ and rho Ρ; and with this sign he did indeed win a resounding victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge outside the Flaminian Gate of Rome on October 28, 312. This eventually led (in March 313) Constantine and his co-emperor Licinius to issue The Edict of Milan. Helena (c. 248–c. 328) was the wife of the Roman emperor Constantius I and mother of Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome. She devoted her life to religious pilgrimages, visiting Jerusalem about 325 and founding there the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Church of the Nativity. According to the tradition, she was the discoverer of the True Cross in Palestine. The song that is used for the procession at the Mid Lent feast describes this story. 

Let us pray and beseech the Lord and sing:
(Syriac) : Sleebo voso the Shaino Sleebo neeshod sokuso
Sleebod Bevoo frikeenan Bekulan Meshthabehreenan

(Malayalam): Shubhachinnam thaan Sleeba Vijayakodithaan Sleeba
Namme rakhshicheedum Sleebayil pukazhunuunaam

(Eng. trans. The Cross is the token of peace and it is the flag/symbol of victory. We glorify the Cross by which we are saved.) 

This same song is used at the occasion of the tying of the ‘Thali’ (Minnu) during the Sacrament of Matrimony per the Malankara Custom. The Bride and the Groom are united in Christ and the Cross. It is noticeable that the Cross is engraved on the ‘Thali’.

Let us pray and beseech the Lord who brought us Eternal Salvation through His Redemptive Passion on the Cross to shower His choicest blessings on all of us.