Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 27, 2002
Applying the power of Christ's cross in our lives
Sinful patterns are broken when Jesus is called upon in moments of temptation
Last week we began to consider the teaching of St. Paul in Romans 6 about the power of Christ's cross to transform us. We considered first the doctrinal teaching that Jesus, in his death on the cross, joined to himself every sinner. In this way God brings about the death of the "old man" enslaved to sin. Through our crucifixion with Christ we are set free "so that the sinful body might be rendered powerless and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (Rom 6:6). Immediately after this explanation of the saving power of Christ's death, Paul begins to explain how we can apply this teaching in our struggle against sin. This is what we want to consider now — how to apply and experience in our lives the power of Jesus' cross.
It is clear from Romans 6:11-14 that Paul considers it possible for Christians to have authority over the sinful drives within them: "So you also must reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ... For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." This text proclaims a basic optimism with regard to the Christian struggle against sin. Many times, however, our experience seems to be that some sins are so ingrained in us that any positive transformation seems impossible. Against this, Paul proclaims clearly that the cross of Jesus can free us from the drives of sin within us.
How can we apply the power of Christ's cross in our lives? The basic requirement is to love what Jesus accomplished for us on his cross and "to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God" (Rom 6:11). We must begin and end our days on the foundation of Christ's death for us. When we rise each day we ask the Lord to position us on the ground of his cross and to plant his cross in our life. At the end of the day, we examine whether we stayed upon the foundation of Christ's cross.
If we are not rooted in Jesus' cross during the day, then moments of temptation will expose our spiritual nakedness and we will fall into habitual patterns of sin. We can receive forgiveness for these sins through the sacrament of confession, but the confession of sins without a daily reckoning of ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God can only place us in a situation of spiritual futility. We will end up like one who confesses a sin, is forgiven, and then goes out to commit the same sin again, because we are only dealing with the sins we commit and not with the sinner who commits the sin.
If we love Christ's cross, we will be in a strong spiritual position to counteract moments of temptation each day. At first, as we begin to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, it may not immediately result in overcoming sinful patterns. What will happen, however, is that we will become more aware of when we give in to temptation and sin. This is already the first step towards victory. It is important not to become discouraged by failure, but to repent quickly and to thank God that we see the problem. As we persist in reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, eventually we will notice the movements of temptation before we yield to them. It is not God's will that we fall to temptation and sin. As we make the cross the foundation of our life, we will see habitual patterns of sin rendered powerless as we call upon Jesus in moments of temptation.
The redemption of humanity is only accomplished by the death of Jesus upon the cross. This truth is the foundation of all transformation in us. Because Christ's cross is the price of our redemption, we must treasure this gift unceasingly. Joy and gratitude to God for the work of the cross must be the bedrock of any Christian spirituality. Christ also calls us to apply the power of the cross in our lives. As Paul teaches, to apply the power of the cross in our lives, we must daily reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. The "Good News" is that Jesus has saved us through his cross and gives us the means to be fixed with him in death to sin and life to God.
Father Gerard Beigel is chair of theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.
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