40 Crosses for 40 Days: 35th Cross - The Classroom Crucifix

Today is Monday of Holy Week. Because this is such an important week in the lives of Christians everywhere, we will turn from reflecting on crosses of various types to thinking solely about the Cross of Christ, aka the crucifix.

Our journey through Lent 2024 has focused so far on different crosses, from the crosses in our own lives to the crosses we see others carrying, to the crosses that represent saints. But only Jesus' cross is a crucifix. Whenever we see a crucifix today, we automatically know that the person displayed on it is Jesus Christ. We never think it would be anyone else. Although we take that for granted today, the truth is that crucifixion was a common occurrence during the Roman Empire, and Jesus' actual death would not necessarily have been seen as something different to most people walking by. They would have regarded Him as one more person who had upset Rome, real or imagined, and would have kept right on walking, barely noticing Him or any of the others executed that day.

Although we are thousands of years removed from the historic death and resurrection of Jesus, are we really that much different from the people in ancient Jerusalem? That's why the first crucifix is the Classroom Crucifix.

The crucifix pictured above is hung in every classroom in the parish where I work. It's fairly large, as crucifixes go - almost 2 feet in length. Crucifixes pretty similar to it can be found in most Catholic schools and Catholic churches around the world. Yet, when we walk into a classroom do we even notice it hanging there? Or do we treat it the same way as the posters and the clock? Does the presence of the crucifix affect the way we talk to others or behave in its presence?

Do we act any differently when we see a crucifix?

Catholics believe in a sacramental approach to life, in cultivating a sacramental imagination. Although we know that the crucifix hanging on the wall is made of plaster in a factory somewhere and is not actually Jesus, we nevertheless believe that even the symbolic representation of Christ in His agony should be treated with the utmost respect. It should remind us of His sacrifice in a deep way and elicit some type of response. That's part of the integration of our imagination with our body, through the senses, so that we "see and understand" what we are looking at.

A deeper question, then, might be: Does the crucifixion of Jesus make a difference in my life? Not just a representation of it, but the real event as recorded in the Gospels. How does the sacrifice of Jesus make a difference in my life, now, in Lent 2024? What will have changed in a week, after His resurrection?

Let us pray: Holy Trinity, help us to understand the symbols of our faith, so that they may guide us into a deeper love of You. Give us a better, more faith-filled response to Jesus' crucifixion, whenever we see it. And in all things let us praise You. Glory be to the Father and the the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.