The body is marked with the cross of Christ from the top all the way down to the bottom. The last mark is placed on the feet. Receive the cross on your feet, that you may walk in the way of Christ.
The traditional way of following does carry the image of getting up onto our feet and going after the one we follow. It is here at the last mark of the cross that we are invited into the "way." This is like walking along the "way" to Emmaus as in the post resurrection story in Luke's gospel. Or it could be like the song "walk this way" that seems to carry a bit of a comment about a whole manner of living. When we are marked to walk in the way of Christ, we walk upon a foundation of the gracious love of God that gives purpose and worth and direction to the "way" we move along through this day. To get a hold of that "way" we go back to the stories of Jesus...we re-view the story of the followers of Jesus throughout the generations...we take a look at those faithful ones who walked through the stories of the Hebrew scriptures. There is something in the "way" they went through their lives. The way a person lives can be described in many ways. When our "walk" begins to look like the walk of another person, we are walking in their way. We are marked so that all the ways we move through the day will carry a touch of that faithful walk of Jesus who, like us, faced the day at hand as the beloved of God - a statement of fact and a call to walk in the way of our God.
Connection: In the routines of our lives, there are many opportunities to recall the way of Jesus so that as we walk into them, we will bring a bit of the life of the Christ with us. Rather than make a list of the many ways that could take place. Simply go for a walk today.
As we enter the many ways of our lives, O God, remind us that this is the life you have given us and you call us to walk through this life in the way of your beloved, Jesus. To walk in such a way means that we are forever in need of the power of your Holy Spirit to lift us up to see the way and then encourage us to go along that way knowing you are with us in our walking. Amen.
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