CROSSED

It’s ironic that the adjective form of “cross” means “marked by bad temper, grumpy.”  The verb forms indicate “to contradict, obstruct.”  But at Easter, there is no greater meaning than "amazing love" for the symbol of an upright and transverse beam. Often at this time of year, I recall the quiet, simple hymn titled “Lead Me to Calvary.” I never paid much attention to the author of the lyrics. Now that I know her story, it means all the more.

A fourth generation Quaker, Jennie Hussey was born in 1874 on the family farm in New Hampshire. You hear her Quaker upbringing in the “thee’s” and “thou’s” in this hymn’s diction. Before long her life was reshaped by the crippling effects of rheumatism. But she couldn’t sit around feeling sorry for herself. She had a sibling who had even greater physical ailments, and Jenny spent much of her life caring for this disabled sister. Instead of complaining about her lot in life, Jennie reportedly had an upbeat attitude about life.

Besides care-giving and writing hymn lyrics (some 150 besides “Lead Me to Calvary”), she wrote children’s stories, devised crocheting and needlework patterns, and published articles about flowers. Eventually, she, too, became an invalid from her rheumatism, dying in a care home at 84.Little more is known about her except that, like King David, she expressed her faith through poetry. Hear the heart honed by suffering in lyrics like the fourth verse of “Lead me to Calvary”:
May I be willing, Lord, to bear/Daily my cross for thee;
Even thy cup of grief to share, Thou hast borne all for me.
Her focus was summarized in the chorus:
Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.

Could it be, that in our secularization of Easter into a spring festival with bunnies, egg hunts, and new clothes, that we’ve shut out the agonizing yet amazing message of the cross? Yes, we need to shout, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” and sing “Up from the grave He arose!” But it’s important to backtrack regularly to Friday, to a cross, and be reminded of what it cost God to reconcile sinful man to Himself. 

Following Christ doesn’t mean everything turns out rosy. We may be asked to carry a cross.  Perhaps, like Jenny Hussey, we’ll be assigned the care of a sick or troubled person.  Perhaps, like for her, fragile health will define our days.  But our attitude can turn on three simple words, “Lest I forget.”  And that can make the difference.