Thoughts on the Divine Service
2. The Sign of the Cross
Dear friends,
We started our look at the liturgy last week with the Invocation, a sentence begun at your baptism (“I baptize you…”) and continued every time the Divine Service begins—“… In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Liturgy includes movement along with words, and the hymnal’s nearby rubric (literally, a red note) says that “The sign of the cross + may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.”
In my neck of the woods growing up, the sign of the cross was saved for Roman Catholics mostly and vampire movies maybe, so making the sign of the cross took some getting used to. But what does it mean?
Imagine a cheesy movie in which a couple of sweethearts must say goodbye. A few steps after parting, they turn and look at each other: the girl kisses her hand and flings it in her guy's direction, and the guy “catches” it with his hand and touches his palm to his cheek. In throwing the kiss, the girl says, “This is for you.” In catching it and touching his cheek, the guy says, “This is for me.”
To be clear, I did say it was a cheesy movie.
When the pastor speaks the Invocation, he makes the sign of the cross—not on himself, but toward the congregation. The gesture is a visual sign that the cross of Jesus is for you, that He sacrificed Himself for your sin so that you might be forgiven. To make the sign of the cross on yourself is a visual statement, “Amen! The cross of Jesus is for me!” Where does Jesus give His cross—the benefits of His death—to you? According to Romans 6:3-4, He joins you to is life and death when you’re baptized. So as we start the service with the Invocation and the reminder that your life in Christ begins in Holy Baptism, the sign of the cross is a visual confirmation of that.
That’s not the only place in the service where the + appears, suggesting worshipers make the sign of the cross. It pops up a few minutes later during the absolution: “I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Why? Because once again, in the absolution Jesus is giving the benefits of His cross to you—forgiveness, life and salvation.
The + appears again, twice, during the Words of Institution. With “this is My + body, given for you” and “this cup is the testament in My + blood, which shed for you,” the sign of the cross is a silent acknowledgment that His body and blood are for you.
The + also appears at the end of the Creed: “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life + of the world to come.” Why do we have such hope? Because Christ died for our sins and rose again. Remember Romans 6:3-4: Jesus doesn’t just share His death with us, but also His resurrection. His life is for you as much as His death, and it is all given with the forgiveness of sins.
Although not noted in the hymnal, some Lutherans make the sign of the cross during the Lord’s Prayer at “deliver us from evil.” Why does the Lord deliver us from evil fulfill and of the other petitions? Because Jesus’ cross is your cross.
A few technical notes:
1. The sign of the cross is entirely optional and voluntary. If it’s of help to you, then make use of it. If it’s not, there should never be any pressure.
2. How exactly should you make the sign of the cross? There’s no one right way, by which I mean there’s no command in Scripture, even though some folks are pretty adamant about a certain method. In general, people usually put their thumb, pointer and middle fingers together as a symbol of the Holy Trinity; then they draw a line from their forehead to abdomen, left shoulder to right.
3. Similarly, when the pastor makes the sign of the cross towards the congregation, he usually curls three fingers together to symbolize the Trinity, with two extended to remind you of the two natures, divine and human, of Christ.
For those wondering if the sign of the cross wards off vampires, I offer no comment; but I will leave you with this: “Baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.” That’s what the sign of the cross signifies. What joy!