This essay is a continuation of one I wrote back in October about Jesus visiting the disciples after the resurrection. I used the version of the story found in John’s gospel to suggest a simple contemplative breathing practice. You can read that essay by clicking HERE. In this essay, I use the same story to pontificate on the meaning of the sign of the cross. This teaching follows after my essay last week on the cardinal virtues and the springs of life, which you can read by clicking HERE.
In chapter 20 of John’s gospel, Jesus visits the disciples after his resurrection to relieve them of their fears. The disciples were afraid that they would be persecuted in the same way Jesus had been, so they hid in a room behind closed doors. When he appeared in their midst, he blessed them with peace, breathed on them, and showed them the wounds of his crucifixion. The text reads,
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:19-22
The disciples are symbols of our thoughts and emotions, the ones whom Jesus has called to follow him and learn to walk in his ways. Each disciple has their own strengths and weaknesses, their own unique personality and relationship to Christ. In the same way, each part of our soul is uniquely related to our truest and deepest selves – the image of God, the mind of Christ.
In my previous essay about this story, I explored the way Jesus breathed on the disciples as a framework for a contemplative breathing practice. Here we will consider the way Jesus showed the disciples the wounds in his hands and side as a form of prayer as well. We can imitate Christ in this regard by making the sign of the cross while we breathe peace into ourselves.
Making the sign of the cross is an ancient practice Christians have used in personal devotion and communal worship since ancient times. It is an embodied prayer that symbolically enacts Christ’s command to pick our cross and follow him. If you are right handed, the sign of the cross is made by touching the forehead, belly, left shoulder, and right shoulder. If you are left handed, the shoulders may be reversed.
The sign of the cross is a gesture of love towards the disciples. Christ showed them his wounds so they would recognise their friend and believe in the power of his resurrection. In the same way, allow the sign of the cross to be a gesture of solidarity between the mind of Christ and the parts of your soul. Allow them to reach out their hands and touch the hurting places. Show them that you have suffered for their sake, that you have endured every hardship along with them. Do not hide your own wounds from yourself.
In Mark’s version of the story, when Jesus visited the disciples after his resurrection, he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). The whole creation, both heaven and earth, are contained within human nature. In the microcosm of the human being, our animal nature (earth) is contained within the loving embrace of our angelic nature (heaven). You can read more about this idea HERE.
The spiritual journey begins with the element of earth, establishing itself on the solid ground of practical action, before it takes flight into the heavens. The cardinal virtues are often associated with the cardinal directions (four corners of the earth) because they are the virtues of practical action in the world around us. Solomon uses this imagery when he describes the four practical virtues as the labours of Wisdom when he says,
“She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well…her labors are virtues, for she teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for mortals than these.”
Wisdom of Solomon 8:1&7
Making the sign of the cross, feel the springs of life bursting forth from the core of your chest, just as the rivers of paradise do in Eden. As you touch your head, belly, and shoulders, feel the rivers of living water emerging from your heart and flowing in the four cardinal directions. Prudence in the head, temperance in the belly, courage and justice in the strength of the arms.
When this practice is combined with the breath of peace, we unite our animal and angelic natures, bringing to life the fullness of who we are. With the breath of spirit you evangelise the heavens, with the sign of the cross the gospel is preached to every corner of the earth. This is how we follow Christ’s command, proclaiming the good news to the whole of creation.
In the spirit of the desert monks, I have written the following short story. It is a dialogue between an imaginary novice and his elder. You may find it helpful to sit in lectio divina with this saying, allowing it to speak to your condition. Read it several times over, think about the deeper meanings it carries, make prayers to God based on the insights you receive, then spend some time in silence allowing those insights to seep into the hidden recesses of your soul.
A novice asked his elder, “How can I put on the mind of Christ when my thoughts are a whirlwind of shadows?” The elder responded, “Make the sign of the cross to embody Christ’s passion.” But the novice was too embarrassed in his own eyes to keep up the practice. When the novice asked the elder for advice, she replied, “You should make the sign of the cross twice before you pray. First releasing your attachments to the wind, then putting on the mind of Christ.”
If you enjoyed this, please share it on your favourite social media and tell your friends about it. If you would like to learn more about our online community, click HERE for information on what we do and when we do it. Click HERE to join our email list and receive new free content every Sunday morning.