Upbeat Cross?

Many years later, I was on a program with a famous evangelist from California who had built a huge "Crystal Cathedral" designed by a famous architect. He said there had been a debate about whether the cathedral should have a cross.

Some people thought the cross an excessively gloomy symbol.

"I said that of course there will be a cross," declared the famous evangelist. "The cross is the sign of Christianity and we're a Christian Church.

"Then he paused and announced with a triumphant smile, "But I can tell you that there's nothing downbeat about the cross at the Crystal Cathedral."

An upbeat cross?

Back in Pembroke, a Wesleyan church visited by our elementary school class had in large letters above the communion table, "He is not here. He is risen."

Yes, I thought, he was not there.

--Richard John Neuhaus, Catholic Matters, p. 44