When was the last time you explained the cross to someone?
I recently found myself trying to explain the significance of the cross to a group of young people in a small group I lead. We were specifically talking about how the cross is connected to hope. Well, let’s just say you could easily hear the proverbial crickets.
It’s always hard to tell if teenagers aren’t interested, aren’t paying attention, or just aren’t willing to participate for fear of peer pressure, but I got the sense that they were not easily connecting the idea of the cross and hope. I quickly realized they couldn’t make that connection because they weren’t looking at what happened on the cross as message of love. These teens could see the cross as the instrument of torture that it was, but not the amazing act of sacrificial love and hope it symbolizes.
The cross can be a hard thing. We wear it around our necks. We pray before it. We are called to meditate on its meaning, especially during Lent. But the cross can be difficult, even a stumbling block for some. An instrument of the cruelest torture, a symbol of execution and persecution, the cross is something we, by nature, should want to avoid at all costs. Even Jesus didn’t desire to hang on the cross, but He did desire to perfectly follow His Father’s will.
As Christians, we know the cross doesn’t make sense without the Resurrection, which is where the hope comes in. Even though it may have appeared, at first, that evil had triumphed over good, when Jesus breathed His last, we know the story didn’t end there. We know that His supreme act of love liberated every single soul from death and opened the gates of eternal glory forever.
If you haven’t yet spent time this Lent just sitting and gazing at a crucifix, do yourself a favour and find a quiet spot to do just that. It’s essential for us to contemplate exactly what Christ endured for us, to procure our salvation. We need to face the crucifix, mull it over and let it break our hearts, just like it broke His Body. The precious Blood that was poured out for us from that cross freed us from the bondage of sin that had held humanity captive since the Garden of Eden. Only when we connect the cross to loving sacrifice can we realize that all our hope does rest in what happened on that crucifix, followed by what happened three days later on Easter Sunday.
But how do we help kids do this? We need to make it practical for them. As we get closer to Holy Week, encourage, your family to participate in the Stations of the Cross and really meditate on our Lord’s passion. This can be done at home using a YouTube video that gives images and meditations for each station. You could also use a booklet or printed script from online. Many churches offer Stations of the Cross services during Lent. Some children may find dwelling on Jesus’ suffering uncomfortable at first, and, really, the cross should make us uncomfortable. Parents can explain that Christ’s suffering was done out of perfect love for every human being, and that the story has a happy ending because Jesus rose from the dead and continues to love us from Heaven.
One thing we’ve done in our family for many years now is make hot cross buns for lunch on Good Friday, a day specifically focused on the cross of Christ. While it is a day of fast and abstinence, some people may choose a strict fast on Friday and think sweet buns are too decadent for a penitential day, but these buns can be made any time during Lent, Holy Week, or even for Easter Sunday. We limit our lunch to a couple of buns, a bit of cheese and perhaps some fruit, to keep things simple.
What is important is the symbolism of the hot cross bun, which dates back to ancient times and was adopted by Christians, especially those of Celtic origin, as a Good Friday food. A cross made of simple pastry, or snipped into the dough before baking and traced with icing afterwards, brings to mind the sweet sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Consuming the cross shape might remind one of how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross led to the gift of the Eucharist. The dough can be gently spiced with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and any number of aromatic spices, recalling the spices used to anoint Jesus’ body before He was laid in the tomb. As we eat the buns, we can think about how the cross was so very bitter for Christ, but such a sweet outcome for us.
Recipes for hot cross buns abound on the Internet. There are some great looking recipes on Sally’s Baking Addiction and Mennonite Girls Can Cook if you want a more traditional hot cross bun recipe with mixed candied fruit, raisins, currants and multiple spices. I simply use my trusted raisin bread recipe, which I shape into buns instead of loaves, and then pipe a cross of simple buttercream icing or vanilla glaze on top of each bun.
Incorporating a bit of theology into meals or mindfully practicing the devotion to the Stations, are two of the ways Catholic parents can keep the conversation with their children going on matters of faith. If you serve hot cross buns at your home on Good Friday, or on any of the remaining days of Lent, remind your family that the cross may be something we don’t want to look at or even think about, but this is exactly why the Church has us venerate the cross at the service on Good Friday afternoon. We need to make that connection between the cross and hope. We need to acknowledge the cross so we can acknowledge the love that led to the cross, which, in turn, leads us to the hope of the Resurrection.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, six children and her mom. She can be reached at [email protected]