Although Good Friday has now passed and the church looks forward to the majestic celebrations of Christ’s Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and the Solemnity of Christ’s Body and Blood, nonetheless the crucifix that was the center of attention on that solemn Friday is still the center of attention as believers enter their parish churches Sunday after Sunday.
Prominently displayed in Catholic sanctuaries (by liturgical law, in fact) is the crucified Savior whose body given and blood poured out is renewed daily on every altar. The crucifix quite familiarly displays Christ with his arms widely and largely outstretched. Some people understand the outstretched arms of Christ to be a warm invitation to take advantage of Christ’s saving death on the cross. Christ seems to be welcoming us into fellowship by this expansive gesture. There is even a story of the sinner who asked Christ, “How much do you love me?” Christ magnanimously stretched out his arms broadly and said, “This much,” clearly anticipating his crucifixion.
The outstretched arms of Christ are certainly a welcoming gesture toward the sinner, but the open arms of Christ are primarily and more importantly a sign of worship before God. By stretching his arms widely on the cross, Jesus is declaring himself to be completely open to the will of his Father. Christ is announcing that he is holding nothing back from the Father. He is completely at the Father’s disposal. Worship is the complete orientation of our being toward God.
The outstretched arms of Christ clearly indicate this focus on the Father. Last year many got up early to watch on TV the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. They were married in the Anglican rite. During the ceremony, the prince turned toward his bride and pledged, “With my body I thee worship.” The prince was declaring that he was opening every fiber of his being to the pleasure of his wife. From now on, she would be the focus of his life. This is what we believers do when we worship God. We allow God to become the center of our attention, the master of our destiny, the very reason for our existence.
The outstretched arms of Christ on the cross in our Catholic sanctuaries are reflected in the outstretched arms of the priest who daily prays the Eucharistic prayer with this same worshipful gesture. In the recent past, some have seen the outstretched arms of the priest as a welcoming gesture, gathering the people of God around the table of the Lord. Many of us easily recall the grand emphasis on the communal nature of the Mass emphasized after the Second Vatican Council. Hymn singing, the shaking and holding of hands, the occasional group gathering around the altar, greater lay involvement, and, sadly, more talking in church, tried to emphasize that the assembly are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. Fellowship, community, togetherness were the watchwords of the post-Vatican II era. And this was not all bad. We are indeed all brothers and sisters in the Lord. We should share and care.
But fellowship must never replace worship as the primary purpose of the Mass. The outstretched arms of the priest at Mass witness the church’s unfailing worship of the Father with that same devotion, that same dedication, that same determination, that Christ displayed on the cross. The Mass is the church’s supreme act of the worship, the supreme act of focusing all attention on the Father, the supreme act of opening our bodies and our souls to the service of the God. We are at church first of all to worship God; without his fatherhood, there would be no brotherhood or sisterhood.
When we as Catholic believers approach the altar to receive Communion and share the body given and blood poured out, we are receiving into our hearts Christ’s great act of worship, adoration and love. In today’s Gospel, Jesus vows, “I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth." Through holy Communion, Jesus’ consecration becomes ours. Jesus’ focus on the Father is shared with us. His orientation toward the Father is offered to us. His unconditional worship of the Father permeates our souls. The crucifix, so prominent in our churches, should remind us always that we as Christians are first and foremost a worshipping people, an adoring people, a people consecrated toward the Father.
