It’s an old story. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad.

A young soldier fighting in Italy during World War II managed to jump into a foxhole just ahead of a spray of bullets. He immediately attempted to deepen the hole for more protection. As he was frantically scraping at the dirt with his hands, he unearthed a silver crucifix, obviously left by a previous occupant of the foxhole. A moment later, a leaping figure landed beside him as shells screamed overhead. The soldier turned to see that his new companion was an army chaplain. Holding up the crucifix, the soldier cried, “Am I glad to see you! How do you work this thing?” (1)

I suspect that is a pertinent question for many people when they come to the cross: “How do you work this thing?”

We see crosses hung around people’s neck…