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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