Some time ago, when I was engaged in a period of intense discernment, a dear friend of mine, Bill Cherry, presented me with a small silver cross I can carry in my pocket. He told me, that God had led him to give me the cross and that when the reason becomes clear to me God will let me know to whom I should pass the cross along. He's given out hundreds of these crosses through the years and each one has its own special story.
The story of this pocket cross is not complete because the time to pass it along to someone else has not yet come. So it is in my pocket every single day, reminding me of several things. For example, whenever I reach into my pocket and touch this cross, it reminds me of my friend and the faith we share. My pocket cross is also a constant reminder that a lot of people around me are carrying crosses. Some of these crosses are visible. However, there are crosses that people carry in their hearts. The crosses of the heart are usually carried quietly, sometimes secretly, and on occasion they seem almost too heavy to bear.
During Holy Week, we will walk with Jesus in the Way of the Cross. As we do, we should remember that Jesus carried two kinds of crosses. One was visible, made of wood. It was ugly and heavy as he dragged it down the streets of Jerusalem toward Golgotha. The other cross he carried was even heavier. It was the cross of estrangement between God and humanity. It was a cross weighed with the sin of the world and the evil of a fallen cosmos. But Jesus carried both of these crosses with such courage and grace that today the cross is a symbol of hope and a testimony about life’s meaning and purpose.
I think my friend gave me the pocket cross because he recognized that I seemed to be struggling under the weight of a cross I was trying to bear. He wanted me to know the strength that comes from the Savior who carried a cross to Golgotha and transformed an instrument of death into a means of redemption. When I am thinking that I have a cross of the heart to bear, he wanted me to remember how to carry it as Jesus carried his, trusting in the divine power that is at work in me, which can accomplish more than I can ask or imagine. After all, God can do more with us than we can do with ourselves. That's what St. Paul is getting at when he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20).
P.S. Here's an inspirational poem entitled The Cross in My Pocket written by Verna Mae Thomas. The photo is of the actual cross I carry in my pocket, created by artist Jeep Collins.
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