The neighbourhood of our church in Winnipeg was diverse. One time, on the way to the cemetery I noticed how a driver in a car going in the opposite direction made the sign of the cross as he encountered our funeral procession. It stuck with me because these are not the signs and symbols we are accustomed to seeing in public.
We are used to other signs and symbols. Pastor Kata sent us pictures of her citizenship ceremony (some of you may remember your own), at sports games we sing “O Canada”, and yesterday another pastor told me of his son’s graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada with all the regalia, pomp and ceremony. Signs point at meanings whose presence may not be apparent. Thus the graduation from the Royal Military College marks not merely the end of educationally conditioned poverty and the beginning of making your own living but rather, it marks the participation in our nation’s story and purpose. Rituals are the way in which we participate and how something becomes ours. Canucks fans say “We” won the Western Conference Final, and to prove our point we wear Canucks jerseys, shirts, and caps.
When Christians make the sign of the cross we remember who we are: God’s children, claimed in our baptism, redeemed in Jesus, and loved by God. I never spoke to the fellow in the car who encountered our funeral procession, but I imagine that seeing the procession and faced with his own mortality, he remembered the one thing that matters more than all else: that through Jesus we belong to God.
When we make the sign of the cross, we remember that God’s story is our story and that it is a story that is “for us”.
Romano Guardini writes about making the sign of the cross, “On the cross Christ redeemed humankind. By the cross he sanctifies us to the last shred and fiber of our being. We make the sign of the cross before we pray to collect and compose ourselves and to fix our minds and hearts and wills upon God. We make it when we finish praying in order that we may hold fast the gift we have received from God. In temptations we sign ourselves to be strengthened; in dangers, to be protected. The cross is signed upon us in blessings in order that the fullness of God’s life may flow into our lives and sanctify us wholly.”
Having grown up Lutheran in Germany, we did not make the sign of the cross often, rather it was a practice we tried to reclaim. My first encounter, and possibly yours, came with Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers in the Small Catechism. I have copied it below.
Yours,
Pr Christoph
Luther's Morning Prayer
In the morning when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say:
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you choose, you may also say this little prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day so from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Then go joyfully to your work, singing a hymn like that of the Ten Commandments, or whatever your devotion may suggest.
Luther's Evening Prayer:
In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say:
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you choose, you may also say this little prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Then go to sleep at once and sleep in peace.
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