The cross, for all its religious significance, has become such a common, even over-used "emblem" in our society today. Showing up so often on rock stars, sports heroes, and super-models, it sometimes seems more like an image for the fashion-savvy and superstitious than for the religiously sincere. A magazine cartoon in the New Yorker captured this shift about a year ago. The drawing shows two glamorous women on a city sidewalk, looking with admiration at an orthodox priest as they pass. One of them says to him, "Wow! Fabulous cross!" What a far cry from those early Christians who shied away from the cross as a sign of their crucified and risen Lord.

For us as Christians this symbol is the furthest thing from a "fabulous" fashion statement. Whereas a colleague of mine once overheard someone at a jewelry counter naively asking for "one of those crosses with the little man on it," we revere this sacred image as one pointing to the power of God's undying love as expressed through the resurrection. Though once only an instrument of cruel execution, the cross has come to serve as a beacon of truth leading Christians to understand the redemptive and reconciling nature of God. "That little man" - the figure of the dying Christ - shows the extent to which God goes to offer the world salvation. As described by the words of Christ at the Last Supper we remember the impact of God's claim: "This is my body, given for you; this is my blood, shed for you. Eat, drink all of you in remembrance of me."

Appreciating such redemptive teachings is what helps us to embrace the cross as a sign of our hope. Living in what is now so frequently referred to as the "post-Christian era" we're reminded through the history and theology of this image that God's grace is at the heart of our salvation, grace that comes even in the face of denial and rejection. Whether we hold the symbol close on a pin or pendant or see it rising high above us on a steeple or in a sanctuary like this one, the cross gives witness to the reconciling nature of divine love, symbolizing the invitation to be brought into new, harmonious relationship with God and others in this world. As described by the great preacher and evangelist Jonathan Edwards, it captures the power of Christianity as it offers "Undying hope both for this world and the next." It's this kind of hope Paul is pointing to in his letter to the Romans. As we heard just a moment ago, he talks about the ways we're changed by God's grace and empowered to endure the challenges of life and of living faithfully. Working to help both the Jewish as well as the Gentile converts in Rome get on solid footing in their newfound religious practices, Paul articulates basic Christian theology as a way of building greater peace among them. Having never met the members of these small and struggling congregations he works to establish Christ's dominion over the teachings of the past, conveying, at the same time, his own authority.

So how does he do that? What does Paul manage to say in order lift up the cross as a symbol of hope and harmony? With the phrase "since we are justified by faith" Paul begins this passage by making it clear it's solely through God's merciful love that salvation is offered to the world. Even though Paul's never met these people he understands that their inner turmoil stems from the fact that their desire to earn the mercy of God and their efforts to convince others to do the same. Paul knows how these converts are accustomed to "paying their own way," if you will. For the Jews among them, it's countless religious laws that have to be abandoned - the many do's and don'ts of their orthodoxy. For the Gentiles it's creeds of secular paganism and so many superstitious sacrifices that need to be discarded. Like Paul before his own dramatic conversion these men and women are accustomed to doing something in order to earn their gods' good graces. So this brazen apostle lifts up the cross, showing them that they are now justified, simply, "by faith." He's telling them, "There's nothing you have to do anymore. There's nothing you can do. Just let go of your own pious efforts and humbly receive the healing love of God."

What a cause for hope. What a reason to breathe a big sigh of relief. But as we may know, accepting this Christian claim can be hard to do. And so in the second portion of this passage Paul works to outline just how this grace is so freely given. Describing the sacrifice of Christ on the cross he tells those ambitious Romans that while they'll never be worthy enough to receive God's love it's offered to them just the same. As he writes, it was "while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly," going on to say, "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." In this densely theological paragraph we hear Paul explain that hope comes despite the weakness of humanity; that God offers salvation even in the face of sin. As in the words of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew he reminds them that, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…For [Christ has] come to call not the righteous but sinners" (Matthew 9: 12-13).

Those poor Romans. Here they don't even know this man and yet he writes them sixteen chapters of didactic theology. Doesn't he know they're doing the best they can? Can't he just leave them alone and preach at the churches he founded himself?

Maybe that's what we'd like to say to Paul. Perhaps it's you and me who'd rather write across the face of this letter, "Return To Sender."

We don't often talk about our state of sin in the mainline Protestant church these days. We don't typically focus on the way repentance leads to salvation. But embracing the cross as a symbol of hope requires us to confess our need for God's mercy; it demands that we ask for strength and guidance and forgiveness. God, through the teachings and Spirit of Christ, leads us to admit that we can't make it on our own and encourages us to let go of our feelings of total self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. That's what the resurrection is all about, after all. As we've read in Paul's letter, it is God's final sacrifice for the healing and salvation of humankind.

Embracing the hope of the cross gives us the opportunity to recognize there's a new day dawning, one filled with reconciliation and greater wholeness. Coming to peace with God's sacrifice we're led to realize the many ways we're given the strength to grow and change for the better, letting go of old and ineffective ways we've used to cope. As so beautifully described by Paul in this passage we're assured that through the resurrection "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Yes, a new day has dawned when we're open to the loving and merciful touch of our Creator.

Contemporary theologian, N.T. Wright, talks about this change in his latest collaboration with Marcus Borg titled "The Meaning of Jesus." In it he writes about the potential of transformation, saying, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above;' get rid of all the dehumanizing behavior that destroys God's good creation and the creatures made in [God's] image, all anger and lust, greed and pride. The resurrection opens the door to a new world: a new mode of life for the whole cosmos and for all who will dwell in it here and hereafter." Indeed we are changed with the whole of creation through the hope of the cross.

Living, then, as a resurrected people we see the world in a different way, witnessing stories salvation all around us. Through the lens of our faith we see renewal and redemption at every turn: in the man healed of addiction by the grace of God, day by day; in the woman given strength and hope through the power of prayer as she struggles with the illness and loss of loved ones; in diverse communities like Greater Boston Interfaith Organization that works to provide better housing for the homeless and education for our youth; in our team of volunteers going to serve the hungry at Sunday's Bread this very afternoon. In our individual as well as corporate lives we see the promises of new life evolving all around us and our hope is strengthened even more. Can we cling to it? Dare we embrace the hope of the cross? Morton Kelsey, in his inspirational offering called "The Other Side of Silence," writes, "Someone has said that the lives of most persons are like jewelry stores where some trickster has mixed up the price tags. The diamonds are priced at next to nothing and some worthless baubles at thousands of dollars. Unless we stop business as usual and take stock, we are likely to end up in bankruptcy." Appreciating the teachings of our Christian faith we see that God wants to help us reorder our lives, placing our need for peace and redemption as our top priority. Like those early converts in Rome we realize Paul and so many others seek to teach us about this salvation. We are given the cross as a symbol of our greatest hope and our most powerful healing. May we embrace it as the most treasured jewel of our lives. Let us pray.

Eternal and Gracious God, we thank you for the hope you offer and the patience with which you offer it. We thank you for leading us through Christ to your mercy and care. Give us the strength and the humility to embrace it, that we may know your peace and salvation as offered through your sacrifice on the cross. Amen.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely than, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Eternal God, how grateful we are for your presence in this world. How thankful we feel you came to earth in Christ. Through the inspiration of your teachings and Spirit we're offered such merciful healing and comfort. Thank you, O God, for your eternal care. Amen.