Holy Tuesday (…but, aren’t they all?!)
“And then there’s that cross people can’t see by looking.”
I had no idea what he meant.
We were in a Tuesday Morning Bible Study in a nursing home. Our topic was The Cross of Christ. I’d begun the discussion by asking how many crosses we owned.
Some had at least one cross on a wall where they lived, some had crosses on jewelry, and someone commented on the cross on the cover of our hymnal. And then he cleared his throat.
“And then there’s that cross people can’t see by looking.” We all waited for him to say more, and he did not disappoint.
“There’s that cross we don’t wear around. We don’t use it for decoration. There’s that cross that’s in our souls. It oughta make a difference.”
We all sat silently, but no longer waiting for him to say more. He had said plenty.
On this particular Holy Tuesday, what difference are you going to let “that cross” make?
joescheets 
Wow! I’d like to meet that man.
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Yup, sharp ol’ boy. Lot of ’em around.
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I have a cross in my wallet. It is in the change purse. I seldom have cash since I landed on my fixed income, but I see it every time I forget I have no change and look to count it. It is from my teens. It use to have a poem with it and the paper dissolved years ago from contact with change and fingers as well as the cross. In paraphrase, I remember parts of the poem: I carry a cross in my pocket, it is a reminder to me… It still is.
A few years ago, I did a Lenten Study at church (when I could go) and at the beginning we were given a nail, a very large sturdy nail, one that could pass through a hand into heavy dogwood. I had a graphc artist friend make me an avatar of such a nail and I used it on the blog I had at that time during lent. I used it during Holy Week this year on Facebook. I explain it when asked, though seldom asked.
Both, kept in places I still see them, are physical reminders. You said something (I am reading backwards so it could be later this week) earlier about our responsibility for that cross and I envisioned being responsible for that nail. Like the very wise man, I don’t need those physical reminders, there is that other cross, and it makes all the difference. It is nice to have the one in my pocket when out amongst those I need to love regardless though! Is that cheating?
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You keep the right symbols, I’d sure say: Cross and Nail. Thank you for this!
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