by Rev Don Schatz

Cross-Centered.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross….”
Hebrews 12:2a, New International Version

The cross at the center of a Christmas Wreath seems rather appropriate.  One cannot kneel at the Cradle without simultaneously kneeling at the Cross.  Of course, one cannot kneel at the Cross without simultaneously rejoicing at the Empty Tomb.  We are a cross-centered people.

That characteristic about us lends power to our Advent preparations of heart and soul.  The cross is at the center of life.  By it God reconciled us to himself, made us his friends again, and adopted us as daughters and sons.  By the cross Jesus calls us “friends.”  By means of the cross we are forever new creations.

So Advent preparations, and Christmas decorations, do not obscure or replace the cross.  They center the cross, and help us refocus on the wondrous truth of God’s love for us.  The wonder of the Christ Child bears full fruit in the wonder of Christ on the cross, God’s love for us forever defined.

The Procession on Christmas Eve will not be led by a wreath.  It will be led by the cross.  In and through the cross of Jesus we enter the true wonder of the Birth of God in the person of his Christ.  In and through the cross we enter each day of our lives.  In and through the cross we close our eyes at each day’s close, entrusting our care to the very loving God who cared for us so much as to endure the cross for us.

When you see a wreath today picture the cross in the center, and remember your life, and your day, is wreathed in God’s love for you.  He centers your vision on the cross so that you may always see Jesus.  He centers your vision on the cross, with the result that others see Jesus in you!

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO