Everlasting Cross
There is a cross in the centre of a lemniscate infinity symbol 
(see Tasuki Cross) and this conjures up all sorts of paradoxes:
Both eternity and infinity are concepts not easy for us to grasp. Think for too long about the 'fact' that there are an infinite number of points on a circle, and then realise for that to be true, these points would need to be infinitely small, that is, zero width. You end up with no circle but a splitting headache.
So most of us non-philosophical, non-pure math types, are content with the notion that infinity is as long as something that's really very long. How long we don't know, but longer than we need to worry about for all practical purposes. Infinite love is like that. It goes on for as long as we need, and then keeps going. That's pretty long.
Möbius strip
Q: Why did the chicken cross the möbius strip?
A: To get to the same side!
That a Möbius band is one-sided
And you'll get quite a laugh
If you cut one in half
For it stays in one piece when divided
Equally interesting are the Klein bottle and the Möbius (or Moebius) strip. The latter has a surface with only one side and only one boundary. (To make one, take a paper strip, give it a half-twist, and then join the ends together.) It has curious properties in that if you cut down the middle of the strip along a line parallel to its edge, instead of getting two separate strips, it becomes one long strip with two half-twists.
This illustrates another definition of everlasting love: indestructible love. And that is the love that Jesus showed us through his sacrifice on the cross.
Everlasting crosses in use
The Assumptionists of America (an order of Augustinians of the Assumption) use an Everlasting Cross in their logo (assumption.us) | |
Another version is the Māori Koru Cross of New Zealand. | |
Sean Wright noticed this neat arrangement of Fish Symbols on a magnet sold by CafePress.com (cafepress.com/...). |
(Click photo to enlarge)
And here we see a beautiful example in a cross from Eglise Sveti Sedmochislenitsi à Sofia (the church in honour of Cyril and Methodius), in the ancient city of Sofia, Bulgaria.
Cyril and Methodius were brothers, born in Thessaloniki early in the 9th century, and became Christian missionaries to the Slavic people of Bulgaria. They are now patron saints of Europe.
The overall shape of the cross is budded, with a fleur-de-lis pattern in the ends of each arm and in the corners where the main cross members meet.
Photos reproduced with the kind permission of Lozan Todorov, Bulgaria
The overlapping lines in the centre (see photo on the right) form two, intertwining and continuous loops. These two loops could represent the two brothers, but are more likely to remind us of the dual nature or facets of Jesus Christ (the Hypostatic union of Christ's humanity and divinity).
It doesn't take long to move your eye along those overlapping lines to see that they are indeed, continuous.
The word 'infinity' comes from the Latin infinitas, which means 'unboundedness'. And this is the love that God showed to us through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. And this love didn't stop 2,000 years ago when Jesus was crucified; the love continues to this day and will do so for eternity.
How long is a piece of string?
The theme 'eternity' has been popularly taken up by several famous people. Stephen Hawking quoted Woody Allen's joke that "Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end".
And it's a long time to suffer if we make a mistake while we have our chance here on earth. As John Lennon said: "Eternity is a hell of a long time."
See also Carolingian Cross, Braided Cross, Bent Cross, Curved Cross and Romantic Love Crosses
