THE CROSS IS A KEY THAT UNLOCKS OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Here I give my reflection on the meaning of the cross and its position in the life of a Christian.

The cross is at the centre of our Christian faith. Our Christian faith cannot exist without the cross of Jesus. Redemption cannot be acquired except through the cross. A cross is strength through weakness, joy through suffering, greatness through simplicity, triumph through mockery and hope through despondence. The cross of Jesus gives us confidence and surety through uncertainty, attraction through rejection, glory through shame, comfort through affliction, light through darkness and life through death. A cross is a point of death to sin and birth to holiness. It is the gateway to heaven and a key to the doors of the heavenly riches. It is an inevitable door to salvation. It is healing through pain and suffering; gain through loss and liberation through slavery. The cross humbles us in order to be exulted in Jesus Christ.

A cross is a meeting point between a believer and Jesus Christ Himself. However sinful we are, a cross enables us to meet Christ. It bridges the barrier that is created by sin preventing us to meet Christ. It was on the cross that the sinful thief met Jesus at the time of crucifixion. We too, in the cross we meet Jesus Christ with all our sins. If you want to meet Jesus and to ask him to do something great for you, embrace his cross. Crucify yourself and you will meet Jesus. You will do wonders and miracles. You will be freed from all kinds of bondages. You will get strength in your weakness. 

We meet the personality and divinity of Christ on the cross. A cross is a point and moment repentance and forgiveness. It was on the cross at Calvary that the thief repented of his sins before Jesus—and still it was on the cross that Jesus forgave that thief of his sins. Therefore, in order for us to seek and receive forgiveness and reconciliation from God, we need to embrace the cross. Still, those who find it difficult to forgive those who hurt them need to embrace the cross. The cross of Jesus gives us the power to forgive others.

The cross of Jesus Christ is the key that unlocks our spiritual gifts. The cross is one of the symbols in which the power of God resides. Those of you who need power from above, the power to heal self and to heal others, the power to deliver, cast out and exorcise others from demonic possession, afflictions and oppressions, the power to preach the word of God in a more impressive and fruitful way, the power to perform miracles and wonders, the power to tap all the gifts of the holy spirit to work in you in a spectacular and amazing manner, the power to be a true, faithful and fruitful witness of Christ, the power to overcome witchcraft, evil spells and curses with all their effects, the power to triumph over all kinds of evil spirits and the power to overcome all kinds of addictions, sin, evil and Satan; you need to embrace the cross of Jesus. There is no way you can escape the cross of Jesus Christ if you want to be a winner in this world. In His own wisdom and design, God put all heavenly powers and authority in the cross so that every human person who wishes to gain access to such powers must do it through the means of the cross. If you want to reach heaven;  embrace the cross of Jesus Christ.

Today, more than ever, we all need to embrace and crucify ourselves on the cross of Jesus Christ if we are to be winners both here on earth and in the life to come. The blunt, bitter and painful truth is that; today there are very few people who are living a gospel-crucified-life, even though they call themselves Christians and even possess valid baptismal certificates. That is why the anointing of God, heavenly virtues and spiritual gifts are disappearing very fast away from the body of Christ and from communities and thus prayer gatherings and prayer celebrations have now become formalities. They lack a tangible spiritual gist that can make a profound channel to win souls for Christ.

We all need to go back to the cross if we are to reclaim back for ourselves the anointing of God and a spectacular powerful working of the spiritual gifts and talents within us. The cross is a believer’s drawing board. We all need to go back to that drawing board in order to trace and rediscover where we went wrong.

The only parts of our nature which the devil can never touch or claim authority over are those parts which have been crucified. The only time or moments Satan and his agents cannot touch a believer are those moments when he or she is crucified on the cross of Jesus. It should be recalled that at the time when the body of Jesus was hanging on the cross at Calvary after they had nailed him, the soldiers came to break the bones of his legs; but when the soldiers reached the cross they noticed that Jesus had already died and so they retreated. They never broke Jesus’ bones. Below John reports:

From John’s account in the above scriptural excerpt, the soldiers broke the legs of other people but did not break those of Jesus simply because he had already died on the cross. We too, whenever we embrace and crucify ourselves on the cross of Jesus; we become dead to sin and so the devil has no way to break us down. The only time the devil will not manage to break you down is that time when you are on the cross of Jesus. The only time when witchdoctors, wizards, witches, occultists, sorcerers and devil worshippers will not have power over you is that time when you are crucified on the cross of Jesus.

The only moment your enemies will not triumph over you is when you are on the cross. The only time witchcraft and evil spirits will not have effect on you is when you are crucified on the cross of Jesus Christ. The only time when your husband will not abandon you for that nearby concubine or prostitute is when you are on the cross of Jesus. Similarly, the only time when your wife will not dissert you is when you are crucified on the cross of Jesus.

The only time when you will cope well with your fellow workers at your place of work is when you are on the cross. The only moment when your employees will not riot against you and your policies: are those moments when you allow yourself to be crucified on the cross.  The only moment when our ministry of evangelization will bear lasting fruits, especially in this secularized time, is when we are on the cross. Without crucifying ourselves on the cross of Jesus:—forget about success in ministry, and expect to be swallowed by the world. We shall always remain a “sleeping giant”.

The only formula we can use in order to grow spiritually is embracing the cross of Jesus. To avoid the cross of Jesus is to remain spiritually cold and stagnant. Many people ‘stopped’ growing spiritually on the day of their baptism or confirmation or on the day of their marriage and wedding, or on the day they were received in the holy sanctuary—and thus have already reached a ‘spiritual menopause’. 

The only moment when those under your authority and jurisdiction will comply with you is when you are living a gospel crucified life. The only time when we shall manage to practice what we preach and live what we teach is when we are crucified on the cross of Jesus. The only moment when we shall be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ in today’s world is when we allow ourselves to be crucified on his cross. The only way through which the church will be a light in the dark is when it allows itself to be crucified on the cross. Still, the only way through which the church will be a visible sign of God’s presence in today’s globalised and secularized world is by crucifying itself on the cross of Jesus Christ.

The only moment when your business, will flourish and bear genuine, lasting and ‘peaceful’ profits is when you are crucified with it on the cross of Jesus Christ. The only time when your marriage and family will have lasting peace and stability is when you are crucified on the cross of Jesus.  The only time when your work and career will bear lasting fruits is when you are on the cross of Jesus. The only moment when you will cope well and get well along with those people whom you live with is when you are crucified on the cross of Jesus. The only way you will have genuine influence over the people is when you live a gospel-crucified life.

If your thoughts, your desire and love for money and material possessions, your sexual life, your temper, your anger, your eating habits, your love for power and dominance is not yet crucified on the cross of Jesus Christ; then you still have a long journey to navigate.

Be blessed.

Fr. Stephen Kakande C.S.Sp