Remember the Cross

There is a certain perspective which the Cross of Christ can supply to those struggling to live a virtuous life. The perspective is in recognizing just how minimal are our discomforts today compared to the intense sufferings which Jesus (and many of his followers) had to face. If Christ can bleed and die the way he did for love of me, then perhaps I can abstain from whatever sinful comforts to which I have attached myself over the course of my life.

I have been told, even in the confessional, that there is value in trying not to do something again, but that nevertheless I must accept that I will do it nonetheless. I imagine I am not the only one who has been told that. We are told that we are human, that we are normal and healthy and that people will simply do these things because certain "experts" have said that it is in our nature to do so. And besides, we ought not to be preoccupied with being "perfect" (even though Jesus called us to be). All of that does seem to make sense. The passions are too deep-seated. The temptations are too strong. The ideal is an ideal and normal human beings are not, and thus will trip up from time to time.

And the good news is that God is a merciful God, and he will take us back even if and no matter how many times and how badly we trip up, as long as we turn to him. All of that is true, but it lacks one element. The element is the perspective afforded by the Cross. Jesus, a human (in fact the human par excellence), overcame every deep-seated instinct, including that of survival, and stood up against every temptation, becoming obedient to the point of death, and by doing so, really lived the ideal and invited us time and time again to do the same.

Jesus said after washing the disciples' feet, "As I have done, so you must also do." In other words, "If I can do it, you can do it!" It is about time we stopped complaining about how he is God and we are not. For that did not seem to enter into the equation for him when it came to living the virtuous life. Quite the contrary, he is "the vine" and we are "the branches." All we need is to remain attached to him. "Abide in me as I abide in you." In practical terms, we just need to keep some perspective, and remember the Cross. The Cross is the key to Christ.