Remember the sacrifice behind the symbol

No offense to my Roman Catholic friends, but their worship services are way too long for my patience level (same with Jewish services, with the added drawback that I don't understand a word they're saying).

But one thing I think Catholics get right is their use of the crucifix. As I said earlier during Lent, I'm not trying to be sadistic or to focus only on the negative, depressing section of the Holy Week story. I just think we often forget the reason we use the cross to symbolize our faith.

The late comedian George Carlin went so far as to argue in one of his stand-up routines that "symbols are for the symbol-minded." While it's pretty clear from his comedy that Carlin was an atheist, I always thought it was a cheap shot to take a other people's beliefs, and even though I still like many of his routines, it did nothing to endear him to me.

But he might have had a point. If we wear the cross and never think about its meaning, we risk becoming "symbol-minded" people who just wear it out of habit. (I don't wear a cross around my neck, but I have one hanging from my car's rear-view mirror. My mother-in-law bought it for me, and I like it because it's made out of old nails and copper wire. The red-colored copper wound around the junction of the nails reminds me of the blood spilled for my salvation.)

Of course, you could argue the opposite position just as easily. For years, Pastor Jon told us on Easter Sunday that we are called to be "Easter people." We are not meant to wallow in the sadness and misery of Jesus' death on the cross, he argued, but to celebrate his resurrection and the hope that his death for our sins and rebirth means for our lives.

I wholeheartedly agree with him. We should live as forgiven, loved people who are meant to love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves and want others to love us. But I think we also should reflect from time to time on the sacrifices Jesus made for us and realize that we are called to make sacrifices of our own -- albeit much smaller ones -- if we are to live up to our Christian titles.

And I don't think once a year is often enough.

In today's part of the Holy Week journey, Jesus is lying in a tomb, wrapped in cloths and covered in scented oils. His mother, his disciples and others who believed he was the Messiah are mourning. Jesus' death was full of pain and misery.

Tomorrow brings a happy ending to this tale of woe as the women find the empty tomb and encounter the resurrected Lord. Praise God!

But even Jesus showed his pierced hands and side to those who refused to believe it was him. We don't need to dwell in the details of his death (so maybe the crucifix is a bit too much) but we should never forget.