Costly Crosses
Talitha Pennington of Kentwood, MI, USA
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you….I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. -Psalm 16:1-2, 7-8
Easter 2020 was coming, but all plans were canceled when everything was shut down because of the COVID outbreak. Consequently, we made the decision to prepare a booklet of devotions for the congregation to use during Holy Week. We invited several congregants to reflect on scriptures selected for each day. We then collected these meditations into a booklet which we mailed to every family. I made some small crosses from corrugated cardboard, enough for virtually every family in the congregation. They were very lightweight, so it would be easy to include a cross with every booklet.
When I took the packets to the post office, the clerk felt the cross and asked what was in the envelope. I replied, “A small cardboard cross.” He felt the packet again and said, “This won’t bend.” I agreed that it wouldn’t. He informed me that the packets would, therefore, need to be sent package rate rather than letter rate. The bottom line: it cost about four times more than expected to send each packet because of that cardboard cross.
In relating to others what I had learned about post office operations that day, I talk about the costly cross. Then I am reminded again of the “real” costly cross and how Jesus was unbending in his mission to bring God’s love to the world, even at the cost of his life. A year later, I am reminded again of the costly cross and my call to be unbending in following Jesus, the peaceful one.
Prayer Phrase
“Led by the Holy Spirit, we work with God and others to restore peace (shalom) to creation” (https://www.cofchrist.org/enduring-principles).
Spiritual Practice
Embodying God’s Shalom
Find a way to express and embody God’s shalom. Begin by prayerfully listening to your longing for peace and wholeness. Become silent and imagine you can hear the groaning of the Earth’s people, nations, and creatures. Prayerfully open yourself to God’s yearning for peace and the divine vision of shalom.
What images, feelings, and words come to you? What prayer for peace comes to you from your time of listening? Speak or write this prayer. What act of justice, kindness, healing, or peacemaking does God invite you to consider this day?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
