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PAGE 10 — The Georgia Bulletin, June 7,1990
The cross is obviously Christianity's
chief symbol. Go to any corner of the
world and a public building with a cross
over the door will almost invariably
house a Christian institution.
Yet this symbol can sometimes be
lost in a world of misunderstanding or
overexposure, reduced to a mere
decoration.
In the same way, talk of ‘‘picking up
our cross" as a way to face problems can
sound trite when all it means is a dull
tolerance of dreary days or a choiceless
acceptance of the inevitable.
The cross is Christianity’s
prime symbol, not an end in
itself but because it leads to
the resurrection.
This is an impoverished and hopeless
view of our greatest symbol of richness
and hope. But where is the hopefulness?
Let me explain with a story.
A friend recently gave birth to her
second child. Linda is now 29 and is a
talented writer. Her first story was
published before she graduated from
college and she managed to publish one
a year for several years.
Like many writers, she needs a few
hours of quiet each day to pull her ideas
together and sketch them out. She
believed that once she had a baby those
necessary quiet hours would be just a
memory. So she thought long and hard
before deciding to marry Jack.
Linda and Jack are believing
Catholics whose faith is important to
them. This is where the idea of the cross
came in for them, but not the view of
the cross that says Linda should just
forget her writing career in order to take
care of her children.
Instead, it is the viewpoint that in her
new life as a wife and mother, which
obviously involves a loss of in
dependence and the ability to set her
schedule as she wishes, there will be a
new life df a different kind.
This is what Linda discovered. The
birth of their first child, a little girl,
definitely changed Linda’s daily routine.
"And as much as I knew things would
be different," she said, "I had no idea
just how different. It just doesn't stop.
I 've never had a responsibility like this
before that never, ever stops.”
But there was also an unexpected
development.
‘‘Writers can be so wrapped up in
their own ideas, their own world, and I
was no exception," Linda said. “I never
knew I could be so interested in some
one else. Jack has always been very sup
portive of my career. He is so generous,
or maybe I was just demanding.”
Her oldest, now nearly 3, was tugging
at Linda’s sweater as we spoke,
shouting as she tugged. ‘‘But little
Gracie could not care less,” Linda said
with a laugh as she lifted the little girl
up into her lap.
“She wants what she wants when she
wants it. And I discovered that I was
able to take care of her. I even like it.”
This is no begrudging or Stoic accep
tance of a dreary life. There is none of
the sense, sometimes incorrectly
associated with the cross, that having
made her bed she must now sleep in it.
Rather, what Linda discovered is that
the loss of some good can, and perhaps
should, lead to an enrichment of a
different kind.
The cross is Christianity’s prime
symbol, not as an end in itself but
because it leads to the resurrection. As
an end in itself it would be abhorrent.
But because it leads to new life it is a
sign of hope, even in the midst of
turmoil.
Some religions and some cultures do,
in fact, make much of learning to accept
even bad situations with grace and
dignity. They regard people as
powerless in the face of events and try
to teach people to survive in an over
whelming world.
How to keep aloof from external
events, how to put up with adversity,
how to maintain a sense of detachment
or distance in the midst of troubles are
all highly praised in some parts of the
world.
But the Christian view is different.
Christians believe that if things are bad,
attempts should be made to try to
change them; if people are suffering,
alleviate the suffering. Do not be
detached from these situations if that
means not digging in to make things
better.
The difference in the two views lies in
the quality of hope. Christian faith says
that in all our moments, including the
most difficult, God is with us. Even
when a sense of powerlessness seems
overwhelming, as when people are
mistreated by armed captors, power
lessness does not mean hopelessness.
My friend Linda put aside her writing
when Grace was born, thinking that, at
least from the point of her career, it was
all lost. She learned differently.
While the time demands of being a
mother actually exceeded Linda’s fears,
the vitality and growth that came with
it changed her into a different person
and, as she sees it, a better person and
a better writer.
“I have so much more to write about
now,” she said. And then, as she pulled
Grace off the coffee table, she added,
“and someday I will have the time.”
(Father O'Rourke is pastor of St.
Dominic's Parish, Benicia, Calif.)
FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE
Looking out into your world, where is Christ’s cross
borne today? How is it borne?
“I have cerebral palsy... There are times when I fall physically and times when
I fall mentally.... But the Lord is right there, either behind me picking me up
...or ahead of me, reminding me that his cross is a lot heavier than mine. ”
— Mary Ann Gala, Wheeling, W. Va.
“I know of one family where the father is an alcoholic, the daughter became
involved in drugs and ran away and the son came down with mononucleosis.
(But) the mother continued on ... the son got his GED ...the daughter earned
her master’s degree. ” — Judy Furman, Tampa. Fla.
“My own mother is an example.... My dad died, her youngest child married,
a best friend and the family pet died all in the same year. Slowly these crosses
are being lifted from her life making her a stronger person. ”
— Lynne Kendig, Lake Mary, Fla.
“Lives which avoid any sacrifice and suffering really carry a great cross. For
humans of this condition are at distance from ... a knowing and intimate union
with Jesus.” — Francis Richard Lalor, Iowa City, Iowa.
An upcoming edition asks: “What most helped you begin to understand the Bible: a group, a seminar,
a book?” If you’d like to respond for possible publication, write: Faith Alive! 3211 Fourth St. N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20017-1100.