Our Community Cross
The symbol of our Community flows from our mission and values. The heart at the center of the cross symbolizes that our foundation is in Christ. The Four Gospels stretch forth from this foundation as the key scriptures from which we live. (This does not limit our scriptural study, of course – it merely serves as a guidepost from which to work.) The Gospels and the love and compassion of Christ pierce the heart of each of us, leading us to a life of community. Each of us strives to know, love and serve the Lord in our own unique way, and yet be a part of the total body of Christ.
The Gospel is represented by the four letters on the cross. The Synoptic Gospels rest on the branches of the cross, while the Gospel of John is on the trunk - the foundation of the cross. The love of Jesus for this world and its people flows up from John into the branches of the cross.
* This love is represented by the heart at the center of the cross, where it spreads out into the branches.
* The Gospel is our core reason for prayer.
* The Gospel is our core resource for study.
* The Gospel is our core example for service.
* The cross does not carry the broken body of Christ. He is risen and is now active among us.
* Our Cross rests on the Rock, the Christ, the Cornerstone that was rejected.
* We wear the cross over our hearts, the temple of God, to remind us of this love as we move through every moment of the day.
Each of us strives to know, love and serve the Lord in our own unique way, and yet be a part of the total body of Christ.
Transformation from Jesus to The Living Christ
In most of my recent postings. I have been using the phrase “The Living Christ”. But where and how has this phrase joined my lexicon? Let me be open on this subject, this is not something that just became a part of my speech. It is something that has had a very deep meaning in my soul for a long time. It has become much more concrete in my life since becoming a professed member of this community.
Our neck cross is a perfect representation of my understanding of how the transformation from the ‘physical Jesus’ to ‘the Living Christ’ takes place. When we think back on what the symbol of the cross itself represents, we think about the self-emptying of Jesus as an atonement for our sins. Just what are our sins? From my understanding of what the Gospels have taught us, we have all been guilty of denying our true connection with God based on our ego-centric mindset. That is where Jesus stepped in and took that burden upon himself for all of us. The cross that we wear shows that the canonical Gospels all point us to the center of the cross where we have a heart that represents ‘love’.
It is in this space that we see and experience the transformation from the ‘physical Jesus to the Living Christ’. The Living Christ points us to the center of the cross and all the lessons that Jesus tried to teach us on his earthly journey. All of his lessons direct us to the two commandments of Love— Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, mind, body, and spirit, AND to Love your neighbor as you love yourself! The transformation leads us to do something with all that we have been taught!! The Living Christ is always that to walk us through what we are called to be and to do. We are enabled to take on the actions needed to make God’s presence known and a reality in our lives. We are no longer stuck at the foot of the cross waiting for something to happen. We have been moved (Transformed) to the center of the cross where the Living Christ is waiting for us to move us into the action of Love.
Rev. Br. Simeon (Lew) Powell,
CG In the Ancestral Home of the Nisenan
November, 2023