The herald., 1897-05-03
UNITY CHURCH
The symbolical Meaning Of the Cross
of Christ

Of Christ
Yesterday morning the pastor. ]. S.
Thomson, preached a sermon on "The
Symbolical Meaning of the Gross of
Christ" taking the text, "Whosoever
doth not bear his cross, and come after
me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
The cross which Christ required his
disciples to bear was not the wooden
cross on which he was crucified. He
never referred to that WOODEN cross.
The cross, as interpreted by Christ. Sig
nifies the education and conservation of
our spiritual, moral, intellectual, emo
tional and animal natures, for the glory
Of God and the service of man. Tho
cross Is the symbol, not of suffering,
but of education and conservation. Con-
secration involves suffering for our con-
victions and ideals and aims. but not
suffering for our sins. The cross does
not symbolic .consecration in this world
alone, but it means eternal thought and
labor in the worlds to come, along the
lines of spiritual, moral, intellectual and
emotional progress. We can prosecute
our studies and work along these lines
toward eternity and infinity.
Who has power to arrest the progress
of a soul towards its God? The Catholic
church has inherited the c.~S and the
sign of the cross from the ancient mys-
teries of the Hindoos, Persians, Egyp-
tians, Greeks, Celts and Scandinavia
ans, and that church has wisely retained
and utilized the beautiful and express
i've symbol 1t is inconsistent for the
representatives of Roman Catholicism
to condemn Free Masonray, which hon.
ors this symbol, interprets it philisoph-
ically, ceremonially and ritually.
The Catholic, in making the sign of
the cross on his body, is taught to think
of the sacrifice of Christ upon the wood
en- cross, and surely such a. SSefinder of
Christ's self-sacrifice ought to rebuke
our selfishness; but different sugges-
tion can be made by the sign of the cross,
and that is an appeal to the spirit, heart,
conscience and intellect. according
to the two great commandments. The
cross was a symbol of religious and
moral life thousands of years before
the birth of Christ. Krishna, C1iris.
Buddha, and many other reformers, he
roes and deni-gods' were reported to
have been crucified. In the secret mys-
teries Of Persia. Egypt. Mexico and
other nations the mark of the cross was
put upon the forehead of the initiate
after baptism. The scepter and breast
of Osiris as judge of the dead were
adorned with crosses, and Egyptians
put crosses upon their mummies and
upon their sacramental cakes. The
standards of the Persians Romans and
other nations and the banner of Mon
tezuma had crosses. Thor's hammer
was the cross symbol of the Scandina-
vians. Ancient temples were built in
the form of the cross.
Each of the planets. Saturn. Jupiter,
Mars, Venus and Mercury, was distin-
guished by the mystic cross in connec-
ton with symbols of the sun and moon.
In the ninth chapter fEzekiei we learn
that the prophet received divine COM
mand to put the mark of the cross upon
the forehends of religious people in Je-
rusalem. 1t was the Tan cross, or the
letter T.. that was put on their fore
heads. The cross of the Garden of Eden
is composed of the four mystic rivers
which issue from it's center. Out of the
heart are the issues of life. The condi-
tions of discipleship are symbolically
represented in the cross. The fall of
Adam, total depravity, eternal hell of
physical suffering. and the necessity for
the murder OF Christ to make it possible
for God to come ard forgive his own
children are not mentioned in the con-
ditions. Christ's divine life glorified
the meanings Of the ancient cross. He
fulfilled it symbolism. He lifted the
cross from cave, temple and lodge, and
placed it in the moral and religious
heavens as the grandest symbol of hu
man endaaVnr