Homily

Our Suffering God

April 2^nd, 2000 The Veneration of the Precious Cross

St. Andrew Orthodox Church

Father Josiah Trenham

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. How important it is for us Orthodox Christians to live in sync with our Holy Church. From the beginning of time the Lord has ordered His world in certain repeated patterns designed to regulate man’s life and to lead us into salvation. There is a pattern in the seasons of the year which convey deep spiritual truths concerning repentance, death and resurrection, and rebirth. There is a pattern in the individual day with its cycle of sun and moon, work and rest, which is designed to govern our existence and promote our salvation. There is a pattern in the calculation of time, especially in the divine appointment of a seven day week with six days appointed for labor and one for worship and rest, which is designed to nurture our relationship with God and lead us to the eternal Sabbath rest. Of all the providentially arranged patterns in life the Church’s liturgical calendar is the most important of all. The liturgical cycle of the church is divinely designed to mold our hearts and minds, and to form within us a true Christian spirit. There is a time for repentance, and a time for rejoicing. A time to meditate on our sins, and a time to celebrate God’s love for us. There is a time to meditate upon the birth of our Savior, on His baptism, on His transfiguration, on His Resurrection, etc.. Through the church’s liturgical cycle we have small portions of our Savior’s life set before us in a way that is possible to assimilate and retain. The calendar in this way is a powerful instructor. We as good Orthodox Christians should be attuned to it and allow it to teach and mold us. There are certainly many competing calendars and rhythms that would like to mold us, but these competing calendars attempt to distract us. The liturgical calendar glues us to Christ.

The Veneration of the Precious Cross. “May it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Three times a year the Holy Church appoints that the Precious Cross be brought for in procession in the divine services and offered for veneration by the faithful. The first time is on September 14^th, the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross. This Feast commemorates the discovery of the true Cross by St. Helen and its subsequent exaltation. The second time is right in the middle of Great Lent on the Third Sunday called the Sunday of the Veneration of the Precious Cross. The third time is on August 1^st, the Feast of the Procession of the Precious Cross, which is the first day of the Dormition Fast. Each of these Feasts of the Cross has its own theme.

The Feast of the Exaltation on September 14^th focuses on the fact that the Cross is victory, and the path to victory. The Cross is the end of sin, death, demonic tyranny, and hell itself. Far from being simply an unfortunate tragedy, the Precious Cross is the salvation of the world. “And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rules and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Col. 2:13-15). The Feast of the Procession of the Cross on August 1^st focuses on the fact that the Precious Cross is our path to redemption and transfiguration in this life. This connection is made clear by this feasts connection with the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord just five days later on August 6^th. “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The life that I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). There is a voluntary crucifixion not only for our Savior, but for every Christian. It is through the many tribulations and sufferings of our personal crosses that we enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and are made fit for eternal glory of transfigured life.

The Third Sunday of the Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Precious Cross, contains elements of each of these other two Feasts of the Cross, but its theme lies somewhere else. The Cross appears in the middle of Lent as an emblem of victory, yes. Just as before the arrival of a king his royal standards, trophies, and emblems of victory first come in procession announcing the coming appearance of the king himself in a victory parade so the Precious Cross appears today announces the Lord’s coming appearance to proclaim His victory over death. “His Life-giving Corss is His royal scepter, and by venerating it we are filled with joy, rendering Him glory” (Synaxarion for the Triodion). The Cross also appears today as a reminder that cross bearing is the means toward transfigured life. This is clear from the Gospel text appointed for today. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it” (St. Mk. 8:34-35).

The central focus of today’s Feast, however, lies in the Cross as our refreshment and hope. We have for three weeks been struggling to purify ourselves. We have been hungry, tired, contrite. We have known tears. We have known the bitterness of our own passions and weakness. And have experienced a little bit of humiliation. If we have not, we haven’t been living Lent and are asleep in sin. (Wake up before you find yourself numbered with the goats). Now in the midst of our bitterness and depression the Tree of the Precious Cross appears. “As they who walk on a long and hard way and are bowed down by fatigue find great relief and strengthening under the cool shade of a leafy tree, so do we find comfort, refreshment, and rejuvenation under the Life-Giving Cross, which our Holy Fathers “planted” on this Sunday. Thus, we are fortified and enabled to continue our Lenten journey with a light step, rested and encouraged (Synaxarion for the Triodion). Like the wood of Moses’ rod which was dipped into the bitter waters of Marah so the Tree of the Cross arrives today to sweeten all the days of the fast as we are reminded that we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Glory to Him!