A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sign of the Cross

Encore Post: I began this series on the liturgy by talking about Confession and Absolution as preparation. Today, I am hoping to talk about one action that pastors do over the people: making the sign of the holy cross.

I received a question from one of my confirmation students asking about the sign of the cross, and why “we don’t do it.” I responded, that all Christians are encouraged make the sign of the cross for it is their mark, it was given to you all the way back at your baptism (see page 197 of the link). It is by this sign of the cross that you were and are marked as of one of the redeemed by Christ.

The Lutheran Service Book encourages all the baptized to make the sign of the cross at the Invocation and elsewhere throughout the service. There in red, we read, “The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.” The sign of the cross is not just for the pastor to make, but for the whole congregation to do for themselves.

The sign of the cross is the oldest symbol of Christianity. The cross and specifically the crucifix, that is the cross containing the body of Christ, represent clearly that Jesus Christ and him crucified is the object of our faith and worship. There is no other sign more Christian than the cross, and it is a sign for all the baptized to use in worship and devotional life.

Luther in the Small Catechism makes that explicitly clear. “In the morning when you get up [in the evening when you go to bed], make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The sign of the cross is not just for Sundays. It’s for every day because every day we are to drown the Old Adam and rise to newness of life. Remembering our Baptism into Christ helps us in that fight. Making the sign of the cross then is a physical action in which our body and our brain are engaged in worship, helping us to further meditate on the gifts given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have the desire, make the sign of the cross this Sunday when the hymnal suggests, and may it be an aid to you in your worship and devotional life.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

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