The Rectory March 2010

Dear Friends

On a recent broadcast of Any Questions the panellists were asked why, if it is considered appropriate to prohibit wearers of hooded tops from entering some shopping centres, should not wearers of the Burka face the same prohibition. Some of the panel treated the question in a wider context, and one or two were clearly annoyed by the decision of British Airways to ban cabin crew from wearing crosses. The questioner, who clearly had little sympathy for religion, was unimpressed by the argument that the wearing of a cross is a matter of personal choice and is offensive to no one. On the contrary, he argued, a representation of a man nailed to a piece of wood and dying is deeply disturbing. Though I could not agree with the conclusion he drew from this, I found myself in entire agreement with his observation. Yes, the cross/crucifix is deeply disturbing. St. Paul says as much in the first letter to the Corinthians where he acknowledges that the worship of a man who died the humiliating and shameful death of the lowest of criminals is nothing short of scandalous, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to the Gentiles. As far as I am aware crucifixion ceased in the West when the Roman Empire embraced Christianity and we should be thankful that this, and other forms of capital punishment, are no longer sanctioned. Yet it is one of the consequences of crucifixion being so remote from us, that we have become distanced from the shocking and scandalous character of the cross. Were this not the case, I'm sure that the cross would be far less appealing as a fashion accessory and would have many fewer wearers.

Christians are not required to wear a cross or any particular form of clothing as a mark of discipleship. There are of course traditions with regard to clerical and monastic dress, some of which have the force of canonical rule, and we still expect men to remove their hats in church, but this apart we are relatively free to decide what is dignified and appropriate apparel. There is an ancient custom, the remnant of which is still apparent in the christening gown, that the newly baptised wear a white robe signifying that they have been clothed in Christ. As part of that process of taking on and being taken in to Christ they will already have been signed on the forehead with the Cross, a gesture visible to all present, but one that leaves no lasting visible mark. For very good biblical reasons it is sometimes compared with the dye that is used to mark out sheep as belonging to one particular shepherd, yet the analogy has its limitations, for whereas sheep simply belong to the shepherd, the baptised grow, by the grace of God, into the likeness of Christ himself. In theory at least, all external marks of Christian identity are irrelevant, as it is in the totality of our lives no less, that Christ is served, honoured and made visible to the world. Like Baptism and the Eucharist, the Christian life is itself sacramental, an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace, hence the instruction to each candidate to shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.

It follows that effective discipleship is in no way dependant upon freedom to wear particular symbols or garments. For Christians these questions are ones of civil rather than religious liberty. The attitude of other faiths to such issues may be different but the further we go down the road of defending human dignity in terms of rights and equality, the more it seems we reduce it to little more than a legal concept. At the heart of our faith is devotion to God who emptied himself to become one of us, and as a human being submitted to vile and degrading treatment and death. In Jesus of Nazareth we see that the dignity of the person is far deeper than the mere right to express oneself freely so long as it gives no offence to others, important though that idea is. The dignity of the person is innate, God-given, and the challenge of life and faith is to recognize that dignity in all people no matter how difficult or indeed offensive we may find them. In Lent and especially Holy Week we become immersed in a tragic story in which one person suffers horribly for love of all. In his story is contained that of countless people through the ages and we honour it most fully when it elicits from us the deepest and most heartfelt of responses to suffering and sorrow. It is this God-given empathy that is the basis of Resurrection joy.

Grace and Peace to you.

Charles Booth