Homily for the Sunday After the Elevation of the Holy Cross in the Orthodox Church

Galatians 2:16-20; Mark 8:34-9:1

    As we continue to celebrate the Elevation of the Holy Cross, we must remain on guard against the temptation of thinking that all our Lord’s Cross requires of us are mouthing pious words and cultivating warm feelings.  Through His Self-Offering on the Cross, Christ has conquered death and brought salvation to the world.  For us to share personally in His great victory, we must take up our own crosses, deny ourselves, and follow Him each day of our lives.  If we refuse to do so, we will show that we are ashamed of our Lord and want no part in Him or His Kingdom. We will show that we prefer to continue in the old ways of death rather than to enter by His grace into eternal life.    

            Peter was in precisely such a state when he tried to explain to Christ that dying on the Cross had nothing to do with being the Messiah.  That is when the Lord famously said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”  That is the context for today’s gospel passage as Christ teaches that following Him is not a way to gain anything at all according to the standards of this world, but a calling to offer ourselves without reservation, no matter the cost.  

            The calling to take up our crosses stands in stark contrast to the persistent temptation to try to use religion to exalt ourselves in our own minds.  Some try to use the Cross to support their preconceived notions about political and cultural agendas as they identify their favored type of earthly kingdom with our Lord’s heavenly reign.  Others try to use the Cross to justify their own religious or moral superiority over their family members, friends, or neighbors.  To do any of those things is to be ashamed of our Crucified Lord and His words because it is nothing short of blasphemous to corrupt the great sign of our salvation into an instrument for serving our self-centered desires for earthly glory. Quite to the contrary, our Lord’s Cross calls us to turn away from addiction to gratifying our passions as we offer ourselves in union with His great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world.     

In our epistle reading from Galatians, Saint Paul opposes fellow Jewish Christians who relied too much on their own ability to obey the Old Testament law and would have required the same of Gentile converts.  Refusing to trust in his own ability to obey religious rules, he writes that, “I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me.”  Paul took up his cross by enduring many struggles and difficulties out of faithfulness to the Lord, ultimately dying for him as a martyr.   He wrote to the Colossians that “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24)

There is obviously nothing deficient in our Lord’s great Self-Offering.  All that is lacking is our taking up our own crosses in obedience to the Lord’s calling to deny ourselves and follow Him. Because of our own passions and the brokenness of our world of corruption, the struggle for faithfulness inevitably requires suffering, but not as though pain were somehow pleasing to God in and of itself.  Such suffering results from the inevitable tension we experience in embracing the struggle to offer ourselves fully to Christ. There is so much within each of us that does not want to do that. Truly taking up our crosses means fighting the difficult battle of confronting our own personal brokenness each day as we reject thoughts, feelings, and habits that would keep us focused on serving ourselves and the false gods of this world.  

  Christ prayed the night before His crucifixion, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) He ascended the Cross in free obedience, and no one forces us to take up our crosses either.  Many problems and pains come upon us without our asking for them in this life, even to the point of death, and it is so easy to refuse to suffer in a spiritually health way. As Job’s wife suggested, we can “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) in response to frustrations and disappointments.  We can refuse to offer our wounds to Christ for healing by ignoring them or convincing ourselves that we are still better off spiritually than the people we like to condemn.  Doing so will simply fuel our passions, blind us with spiritual pride, and corrupt our relationships with others.

Since freedom is an intrinsic dimension of being in God’s image, no one can make us take up our crosses. Only we can unite ourselves to Christ in His Great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world. Regardless of the circumstances, we have the freedom to refuse to fall into despair, for any instance of suffering provides an opportunity to purify the desires of our hearts as we learn to entrust ourselves more fully to the Lord.  Difficulties by their nature present challenges to which we may respond in a Christlike way or according to our passions.  He offered up Himself fully upon the Cross and refused to respond in kind to those who hated and rejected Him.  Likewise, we may unite ourselves to Him in every dimension and circumstance of our lives, including those in which we are sorely tempted not to respond as He did. Illness, broken relationships with others, worries about the future, regrets about the past, crushed hopes, and even the worst losses imaginable all present opportunities to grow in “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  Saint Paul wrote that “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  (Gal. 5:22-24)

Our self-centered and distorted desires usually rear their ugly heads quickly when we face trying circumstances.  If you are like me, you sometimes react like Jonah when the vine that gave him shade was eaten by a worm.  That was a very small thing, but Jonah became so angry that he literally wished he would die. (Jonah 4:5-11)   Other times we face circumstances so grave that must struggle mightily not to fall into despair about life itself.  Whether in matters small or great, none of us lacks the opportunity to take up our crosses daily as we struggle to find healing for our souls. 

Doing so usually does not require anything particularly dramatic or extraordinary.  It is normally a matter of focusing on the basic disciplines of the Christian life, such as refusing to accept sinful thoughts into our hearts, forgiving those who have wronged us, and trusting that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:39) The more that we open our souls to the Lord’s healing strength through prayer, repentance, and serving our neighbors, the less time and energy we will have for stirring up and embracing the impassioned thoughts that lead to sinful actions.  The less that we cultivate worry, fear, and resentment, the more we will be able to pray to God from our hearts to grant what is best for all concerned in even the most broken circumstances of our lives. We must follow the Apostle’s teaching, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) This is the path for gaining the strength to take up our crosses, deny ourselves, and follow Christ. 

To do so, we must choose to embrace the struggle of dying to our vain illusions about ourselves, other people, and our world.  Our hope is neither in perfection acquired by our own willpower nor in our ability to dominate anyone else, but in the gracious mercy of the One Who offered up Himself for our salvation purely out of love.  Through the Cross, He has brought life in the midst of death, light in the midst of darkness, and joy in the midst of despair.  We will receive His healing as we persistently offer ourselves to Him in humble faith, no matter what challenges, pains, or disappointments life may bring us.  That is how we may die to the corrupting power of sin and enter into the blessedness of His Kingdom.  The only way to truly elevate the Holy Cross is by denying ourselves and taking up our own crosses to follow the Savior each day of our lives.  That is how we show that we are not ashamed of Him and His Cross, which remains a weapon of peace, a trophy invincible, and the great sign of our salvation.

 

 

 

Homily for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the Orthodox Church

 

1 Corinthians 1:18-24; John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35

 

            We live in an age in which many people do not acknowledge that they are accountable to God or any standard of truth for their actions, especially in how they treat those they view as their enemies.  Dark passions of anger, hatred, and vengeance easily spread like a cancer in our souls when we accept no higher truth than our own desires.  Pontius Pilate said, “What is truth?”  in response to Christ saying His Kingdom is not of this world and that He came into the world in order to testify to the truth. (John 18: 36-38)  Since Pilate’s deepest desire was for his own position of power in the Roman Empire, he allowed the public execution of an innocent Man Whom he knew was no political threat to Rome when the leaders of the Jews shouted, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar…We have no king but Caesar.”

            Pilate and those who called for the Lord’s crucifixion were essentially nihilists who believed in nothing other than their own desire for power in this world.  John’s gospel describes the response of the Sadducees and Pharisees to the Lord’s raising of Lazarus in this way: “Here is this man performing many signs.  If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation. Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’” (Jn. 11:47-50) 

            Like crime bosses arranging to have someone murdered without bloodying their own hands, these men found a way to get the Roman Empire to do their killing for them.  They ironically presented themselves as being more loyal to Caesar than Pilate and publicly challenged him to prove his fidelity to Rome.  They had no principles at all other than their own immediate self-interest.  Pilate shrewdly reminded them of their subservient status by putting a sign on the Lord’s Cross that read “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek in order to make perfectly clear to everyone who really had the power in this situation.

            Those who think in such worldly terms wallow in a pit of despair and use their brutal domination of others to distract themselves from their own weakness before the grave as along as possible.  As we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross today, we enter into the most foundational reality of the Christian faith:  namely, that through His Cross our Savior has conquered the power of death, emptied the tomb, and made us participants in His eternal life.  He has liberated us from slavery to the fear of death, which makes it possible for us to become radiant with His love, forgiveness, and service even of those we consider our enemies.  As He said from the Cross about those who rejected, condemned, and killed Him, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Lk. 23:34)

            Whether in first-century Palestine or in our own society today, the Cross of Christ appears foolish according to the ways of the world.  As St. Paul wrote, it is “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  The established religious and political powers of first-century Palestine did their best to destroy our Lord in the most public and humiliating way possible.  All that they accomplished, however, was to reveal their own impotence before a Kingdom that stands in judgement over all their vain attempts to find peace by dominating and destroying their enemies.  The great leaders and empires of history are dead and gone.  No matter what our opinions may be about politics and world affairs today, they will never bring healing to our souls.  The more we allow the projects of earthly factions to take root in our hearts, the harder it will be for us to take up our own crosses in learning to love those with whom we disagree.  

            This past week was the 24th anniversary of 9/11, an unspeakably tragic day of unimaginable violence that those old enough to remember will never forget.  In the aftermath of such barbarism, the passions of some led them to take vengeance on innocent people of Middle Eastern descent, including by burning The Orthodox Church of the Redeemer in California.  The gospel passage that survived the fire read, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matt. 5:38-39)  When the priest from that parish visited the 9/11 Museum last year, he was shocked to find that the very same gospel passage had survived the destruction of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, which was destroyed on that awful day.  It was fused to a piece of metal and opened to the identical words of our Lord.[1] 

 

            Apart from the Savior’s Cross and glorious resurrection, such teachings would probably strike us as beautiful ideals that are simply irrelevant for a world in which terrorists kill thousands, armies intentionally slaughter countless civilians, shooters regularly take the lives of school children, and assassins murder public figures.   As St. Paul taught, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins…If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Cor. 15:  17-19)   But because death could not hold captive the God-Man Who offered Himself for our liberation from corruption in all its forms, His Cross stands as the invincible trophy and weapon of peace through which the joy of eternal life has come to the world.  By ascending the Cross in free obedience, He revealed the power of sacrificial, forgiving love that empties the tombs, raises the dead, and brings us by grace into the communion of the Holy Trinity. That is why we elevate the Cross today as the great sign of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

 

As we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross, let us examine ourselves to see if our lives appear foolish by the standards of the fallen world because of our faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Let us search our souls for signs that we view our neighbors and our world in light of the fear of death instead of in light of the Savior’s glorious resurrection.  Let us take up the cross of refusing to fill our eyes, ears, and minds with media that tempts us to hate, disregard, or refuse to forgive anyone who bears the image and likeness of God.  If such passions have taken root in our souls, we must pray, fast, give alms, and struggle to mindfully reject such thoughts and feelings so that we may become more personally receptive to the gracious divine energies of our Lord.

 

The challenge of living cruciform lives is surely great because nothing about the Cross makes sense according to conventional standards.  We simply cannot get around the truth that the Cross was and is a scandal in this world.  Humble self-sacrifice is not the path to power. Dying at the hands of enemies is not a sign of success.  Dead people do not rise up from their graves. Such apparent wisdom is revealed to be utter foolishness, however, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As St. Paul taught, “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”  The One Who reigns is not the person with the largest army, greatest amount of money, or the most political power.  The One Who reigns is “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.”    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Fr. Samer Youssef, “The Gospel in the Ashes,”  https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2564

Homily for the Sunday Before the Elevation of the Holy Cross and the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Orthodox Church

 

Galatians 6:11-18; John 3:13-17

It is easy to fall into despair when the deepest desires of our hearts go unfulfilled. When that happens, we suffer but also have an opportunity to learn to entrust ourselves to God in a way that is not focused simply on getting what we want.  In our pain and disappointment, we may learn to find joy as we receive unanticipated blessings that enable us to fulfill our distinctive vocations.  It is by embracing the struggle to take up our crosses in humble obedience in such circumstances that we become “a new creation” as those transformed personally by the gracious divine energies of our Lord.

The Savior’s grandparents Saints Joachim and Anna had despaired of fulfilling their role in the ongoing life of the Hebrew people due to their childlessness well into old age.  God heard their prayers, however, and miraculously blessed them to conceive a daughter, whom they offered to the Lord by taking her to live in the Temple as a three-year old. That is where she grew up in purity and prayer as she prepared to become the Living Temple of the Lord, the Theotokos who would contain the Son of God in her womb as His Virgin Mother.  Her parents had learned through decades of bitter disappointment that there was much more to life than getting what they wanted on their own timeline.  Through their patient endurance, they were prepared to receive the unlikely blessing of a daughter who would give birth to the Messiah.  That is how they fulfilled their unique role in the life of Israel in ways well beyond their own expectations.

Christ Himself fulfilled the hopes of the Hebrew people in a surprising fashion. In today’s epistle reading, St. Paul argues against fellow Christians of Jewish heritage who thought that Gentile converts had to be circumcised in obedience to the Old Testament law.  He rejected that practice, “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”  As St. Paul taught, “you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3: 26-29) By conquering death through His Cross and resurrection, the Savior has opened the gates of Paradise to all who respond to Him with faith, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.  As He said to Nicodemus in today’s gospel reading, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Our Lord was lifted up upon the Cross because, contrary to the expectations of the Pharisees, even the strictest obedience to the Old Testament law could never have made us “a new creation.” The cycle of birth and the grave had reigned ever since the corruption of our first parents for those who had the law and for those who did not. The path out of slavery to corruption was not through obedience to religious rules, but in being healed by the gracious mercy of God, Who blessed an elderly, righteous Jewish couple with a long-awaited daughter named Mary.   She, in turn, received the unique blessing of becoming the Virgin Mother of the New Adam, Who would set right all that the first Adam had gotten wrong.  The Theotokos is the New Eve through whom Life came into the world.  Her birth foreshadows the coming of the Savior in Whom we are born again for the life the Kingdom.

In Christ’s conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, He spoke not of law, but of the life into which we enter by faith, saying that “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  He refers here to an event described in Numbers 21:8-9, when the Hebrews were saved from deadly snake bites when they looked at the bronze snake held up by Moses in the desert.  Christ does not describe Moses here in connection with the Ten Commandments, but instead as foretelling His victory over death through the Cross. Against those who trusted in their obedience to the law, St. Paul wrote, “far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.”  Through His Cross, Christ has liberated us from obsession with self-justification so that we may become “a new creation,” being born again into the eternal life that He has brought to the world

In order to find the healing of our souls in Him, we must embrace the struggle to take up our crosses like Joachim and Anna, who bore the heavy cross of childlessness for decades.  When God miraculously blessed them with the conception and birth of a daughter, they offered her to grow up in the Temple.  After decades of faithfulness amidst disappointment, they knew that God’s blessing was not their private possession but a calling to offer even the greatest desire of their hearts to Him.  The Theotokos followed their example by bearing the unbelievably heavy cross of seeing her Son lifted up for the salvation of the world.  As St. Symeon prophetically told her, “a sword will pierce your own soul also.”  (Luke 2:35)

As members of Christ’s Body, the Church, we reap the blessings of the faithful obedience of Joachim and Anna and of the Theotokos.  We must now take up our own crosses as we unite ourselves more fully to Christ in His great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world.  It is only by dying to our obsession with getting what we want from God on our terms that we will be able to know the joy of becoming His “new creation.”  We will condemn only ourselves if we celebrate the faithfulness of the Theotokos and her parents while not following their holy examples.  They did not try to use God to serve their agendas or justify themselves. They humbly entrusted themselves to Him in ways that required deep faith and personal sacrifice.  We must do the same as we endure the struggle to “seek first the Kingdom of God” with the assurance that He will grant what is best for us, our loved ones, and our world. (Matt. 6:33)  

We will remain enslaved to the corruption of the first Adam and Eve if we refuse to crucify the disordered desires and unholy habits that keep us wedded to the self-centered misery and despair from which Christ came to set us free.  The birth of the New Eve foreshadows our salvation in the New Adam through His Cross.  “For God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  Let us celebrate the Nativity of the Theotokos by freely taking up our crosses as we turn away from all that distracts us from entering into the great joy of the fulfillment of the ancient promises to Abraham to which the Savior has shockingly made us heirs by faith.   “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”  That is precisely who our Lord, the New Adam, calls us all to become as those transfigured personally by His grace.