Balcony of Saints

AM Psalm 66 • Numbers 21:4-9 • John 3:11-17
PM Psalm 118 • Genesis 3:1-15 • 1 Peter 3:17-22

Today marks the Feast of the Holy Cross, a day which celebrates the empty cross as a symbol of Jesus’ triumph over death. The originator of this celebration is St. Helena, mother of the Constantine the Great, the first Roman Emperor to profess the Christian faith. Helena traveled to Israel in search of the places most significant to Christians. Her search was made easier because the Romans had built pagan shrines over these holy sites. When she arrived in Jerusalem, she located the places of the Crucifixion and the tomb and then commissioned the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to be built over them. The church was dedicated on September 14, 335 AD (James Kiefer, sawtucket.com).

Tertullian, a well-known early Christian author, wrote in 211 AD that Christians rarely do anything significant without making the sign of the cross. Even earlier another ancient author, Justin Martyr, in his First Apology, written between 148 and 155 AD, refers to the cross as a standard Christian symbol. Some scholars trace the symbol all the way back to the Old Testament. Ezekiel, in a vision, refers to a mark on the foreheads of the faithful in the shape of the Greek letter, TAU, or “T” (Kiefer).

In those grey days when my faith grows weak or is on the verge of disappearance, I will pray, “Oh, God, help my unbelief!” but I also find refuge when I consider the age of the great symbols and sacraments of our faith. Even more, I find comfort when I consider the “great cloud of witnesses” who went before us, worshipping these same symbols and enduring these same grey days.

A Presbyterian minister, Claiborne Bell, introduced me to a metaphor that is a more personal version of the “great cloud,” and I bet some of you are familiar with it. He asked me about my “balcony of saints,” those friends and acquaintances who have passed away but whose faith sustains me to this day and who cheer me on in my journey. I promise you that I can name them and that they are with me today. They help me persevere in the faith on those grey days and hasten the blueing of skies.

Written by Grimsley Graham

...who prays that we all be aware of our balcony of saints, for they will bring us comfort and strength.