Before we process with it to the tetrapod on for the Veneration, the Holy Cross is on the
holy table in the place where the gospel usually rests. The typicon instructs
us to place it there before Vespers the night before the Veneration of the Holy
Cross. It rests on the holy table all night long in the place of the Holy Gospel. How can anything take the place of the Holy Gospel? Nothing can. But
that Holy Cross contains within itself the whole gospel.
What is
the gospel?
Christ
is risen from the dead. By death, he tramples death and to those in the tombs,
he grants life.
That’s
the gospel.
We’re about halfway
to the great day when we get to sing those words - halfway to Pascha. This week
is the midpoint of the Great Fast. And here, in the middle of the fast, in the
middle of the church, stands the cross.
Only in
and through the cross is the gospel of resurrection available to us. The only
way to life is through death.
Jesus says
today that whoever loses their life for his sake and for the sake of the gospel
will save it. That sounds like the cross, doesn’t it? The way to the gospel is
the way of the cross. The way to life in Christ is death in Christ. We are baptized
into his death so that we might also rise with him.
But then Jesus says that there are some who
will not taste death before they see
that the kingdom of God has come with power (Mark 9:1).
Most of
us hear that and think that sounds pretty good. We think, "Hey, I hope I get to
be one of those people who doesn't have to taste death." But, if we're saying that, it's
like we haven't been listening to what Jesus is saying about the cross.
Are we following
him, or aren’t we? To go after Jesus means to embrace the cross. Would we rather
not taste death unless first we see the kingdom of God? Unless we have proof? Do
we need to be impressed with power first? Must we see to believe?
Jesus
says that if we want to come after him, we must lose our life (Mark 8:35) and let him save it instead of trying to save
ourselves. Those of us who try to save ourselves are lost. We fail as saviors.
There is one savior, and his name is Jesus Christ.
Is anything
in our life or even our whole life more precious to us than life in Christ? Are
we afraid to lose it? Or even to lose worldly things or comfort, or position,
or human respect, or power?
Are we
ashamed of him or of the cross ? Do we care more for the esteem of our fellow humans
than for being the beloved of God? Do we regard the opinions of this adulterous
and sinful generation to be of some great weight (Mark 8:38)?
When Jesus
calls a generation adulterous, it’s worth remembering that we are adulterous whenever
we are unfaithful to God by failing to keep his commandments. Whenever we hold anything
or anyone or our own lives higher than God in our hearts, that is adulterous.
It’s
worth periodically examining our priorities so that we may repent when they get
out of whack. So that we may return again to the Lord and renew our focus on
him.
The way
of the cross is the way of repentance, which “is the beginning, middle, and end
of the Christian way of life,” as St.
Gregory Palamas says.
Fascinatingly,
to be marked with the cross was a sign of repentance even before Christ. In the
prophecy of Ezekiel, those who sigh and groan over the sins of Jerusalem are
marked with this sign on their foreheads (Ezekiel 9:4; Jerome Commentary).
Let us
be unashamed of Jesus Christ and of his cross. Wear a cross to remind others
and yourself that you’re a Christian. Make the sign of the cross whenever you
pass by a church or a cemetery or a funeral, whenever you hear a siren or pass
by an accident, before you eat a meal. Fill your whole life with reminders of
the cross.
And do
not forget even for one day that your own true life was created upon that cross
– your life in Christ was born there and, if you embrace that cross, it will
continue with him forever. For that it is worth giving up everything.
