Connected by the Cross

"In Christ we who are many form one body.”
Romans 12:5 (NIV)

One of my favorite jewelry pieces is a large pewter cross that a dear friend gave me for my fiftieth birthday. Whenever I wear it, I am not only reminded of Jesus' love for me, but my friend's love as well.
James Bruce had fourteen wonderful years as a participant in United Ability’s Adult Disabilities program before he transitioned to his residential group home at Rainbow Omega. One afternoon several years ago, I went to pick him up after work. Several of the participants were already gathered in the main dining area waiting for their caregivers to arrive. Young Ray, a large, nonverbal African American man confined to a motorized wheelchair, caught my eye.

It was impossible to miss Young Ray. One of his eyes was always closed, the aftermath of a gunshot wound to his head. The gunshot wound was catastrophic costing him not only his left eye, but his verbal and motor skills as well. On this afternoon Young Ray’s good eye was looking straight at me. I smiled and hesitatingly said, "Hello." With my greeting, Young Ray began excitedly pointing in my direction. Initially I couldn't figure out why he was so excited. After looking around and exhausting other options, I finally pulled at the silver cross necklace around my neck and asked, "My cross??" Young Ray nodded excitedly and gestured for me to come closer. As I approached him, he clumsily reached into his t-shirt and pulled out a beautiful gold cross on a gold chain. Young Ray smiled broadly as he showed me his cross. I admired it and then was struck by what had just happened.  
The cross of Christ had connected the two of us across gender and racial lines; across cultural and socioeconomic boundaries; and even across intellectual and verbal limitations, all without a word!  Jesus' cross truly connects us not only to God, but also to each other.

This week is Holy Week, an annual celebration of the life, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. Author Peter Mead writes, “As we come to another Easter, our minds and hearts will be drawn back to the cross and the empty tomb.  This is the central hinge of human history, and ground zero of our faith…We are a people birthed, marked, shaped, and transformed by the cross and the empty tomb.”

To Mead’s list I would hasten to add that we are people connected by the cross. All who are in Christ are people of the cross, connected not only to Christ, but also to each other. The Apostle Paul wrote, “There is neither Jew not Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 4:28 NIV).

The ground is equal at the foot of the cross. And so are we!  All who are in Christ are connected to Christ and His cross because He is risen! He is risen indeed!