The
Cross on My Collar
Read: Matthew5:14-16
I
got my first cross pin on my first official Father’s day at worship
at GPUMC, and now all my shirts have a hole in the collar. I remember
how much it surprised me the first time it didn’t close up in the
wash. Yes, nearly every day for 27 years I’ve had a cross on my
collar.
It's
strange, but I can only remember a few conversations about it. There
have been coffee hour comments such as “that’s a pretty cross”
or “your cross is upside-down” and so forth, but other than
simply noting the particular cross, there have been almost none.
Two
of those few were employment-related. When I was looking for a job,
years ago, the guy who was helping me said that I might not want to
wear it on interviews, because it might make someone hesitate to hire
me. I told him that if they wouldn't hire me because I had a cross on
my collar, I didn't want to work there anyway. Then, when I did get
hired, my new boss asked, “Now that I've hired you, what’s that
cross on your collar all about? Are you a minister or something?” I
was happy that he had noticed it, and that he wanted to know about
it.
Two
others were in elevators. A different boss asked me if I were
Catholic, because I was wearing a Celtic cross that day, but that was
like the coffee hour conversations about the style of cross. Another
time, a guy who was riding with me, and whom I had never seen before,
asked me if I were born again, and we had a good, but short
conversation about how difficult it can be to share our faith with
others.
My
real surprise is that, just like the fish on my car, the cross on my
collar hasn't started many conversations. In fact, my ARGOS SUCK
bumper sticker starts far more than my fish.
Still
– the fish and the cross both set expectations of my behavior, and
I have to be mindful of that. I’m His ambassador, after all; we all
are, really. I know I'm not always very good at modeling Christ –
far from it – so the cross on my collar reminds me that I need Him
every hour, I need His light to shine in my life, so all will see the
glory of God, rather than me.
Charlie
van Becelaere
Lord,
may we always reflect Your Light to all who seek You, and help us to
remember never to hide it under our bushels. Amen.
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