Why is the cross so crucial?

Lucasfilm

In the Star Wars saga, recently concluded with Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker, one of the key characters, and perhaps the one most easily recognisable, is Luke's lightsaber -- the blue laser sword illuminating the film posters.

It may sound strange to consider an inanimate weapon as a character, but many legends and histories elevate weapons to almost the same status as living beings, sometimes going so far as to give them names. 

Consider the legendary sword of King Arthur, named Excalibur, granted by the Lady of the Lake and embued with power. Some believe Excalibur is the inspiration for Aragorn's sword Anduril in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Once shattered in battle, it is reforged by elves, renamed 'the Flame of the West' and used by Aragorn to establish his return as king.

Although Luke's lightsaber doesn't have a name, it does seem to have a life of its own. (Warning: slight spoilers ahead.) The tale of the lightsaber runs as an undercurrent throughout the saga: the lightsaber is wielded, inherited, lost, found, shattered, restored and finally used to defeat evil. It is given honour in the last scene of the film, when Rey buries it in Luke's home moisture farm on Tattooine.

The reason I mention all this (and now returning to our own galaxy) is because I have been thinking about the reverencing of a certain weapon recently -- though in a slightly different way. During the recent Holy Week and ongoing celebration of Christ's Resurrection, the Church has been honouring the weapon Christ wielded: the cross.

The cross is not often considered as a weapon, and certainly not one that Christ used. It was a Roman form of execution, and it seems on the surface that rather than conquering anything, Jesus himself was conquered by the cross, hanging and dying on it between two crucified robbers.

In the words of one ancient prayer of the Church on Good Friday, 'Today is suspended on a tree He who suspended the earth upon the waters.'

But Christ allowed himself to be crucified because knew that, through the cross, he would defeat the great enemy, Death.

Christ is risen from the dead,

Trampling down death by death,

And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Because Christ was God in human form, through dying on the cross he took away the sin of the world (John 1:29), crucifying sin so that it would no longer hold us as captives to death (Rom. 8:1-4).

After dying on the cross, Christ descended into the realm of the dead, where he proclaimed freedom to those who had died before him (1 Pet. 3:19-20). The icon to the right depicts Christ trampling upon Death, breaking its gates and then raising Adam and Eve, the first man and woman.

On the third day, Christ rose again, paving the path from death to life for all who follow him.

Whereas the evil spiritual powers thought that the cross would extinguish the Light of the World, it actually brought the Light into the very place where its brilliance would defeat them (John 1:4-5)!

In the words of St John Chrysostom, addressing Death:

Chris is Risen, and you are overthrown!
Christ is Risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life reigns!
Christ is Risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

Christ took an instrument designed for evil and wielded it to obtain healing and deliverance for humanity and the world.

Various saints have named the cross the Tree of Life because on it hung for our salvation the life-giving body of Christ (John 6:51).

So, why is the cross so crucial? Why do Christians honour it? I believe the short answer is, 'Life.' Although we often associate the cross with gravestones of people who have died, death is only one end of the tunnel. The cross is the sign that life is on the other end.

In the words of one Church prayer, 'For behold, through the Cross, joy has come into the whole world.'

Rather than being a symbol of defeat, the cross is a symbol of victory.

I am not trying to downplay Christ's suffering and death. He did suffer and die, as will we all. But the good news of the cross is that through dying, Christ overcame death, and he offers to us the same victory.

Christ says, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it' (Matt. 16:24-25).

We take up our crosses by offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1; this is to put it simply, since I haven't the space to unpack this here!). As we do this, we become more like Christ, trusting that in spite of the challenges we face in this life, and although our bodies are decaying, his Resurrection life is growing in us, the evidence that even on the other side of death, Life awaits us.

Celtic crosses at Iona Abbey