Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Today is the Sunday following the Exaltation of the Cross… in today’s Gospel reading we hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.’

This is the fundamental paradox of the Gospel… it is in denying our self that we might be fulfilled, it is in taking up our cross that we might find true joy, and it is in following and surrendering to Christ that we might find true freedom.

The way of the Cross is so contrary to all of our impulses – which seek to place ourselves first, which seek to assure that our wishes and desires are fulfilled. We think that in our pursuit of happiness we will find peace and joy, but it never works. As a matter of fact, it is these selfish pursuits which cause our frustration, our dissatisfaction, our envy of others, our deepest miseries.

Mankind was made to be in relationship with God. And, as our holy father Blessed Augustine of Hippo so succinctly said: ‘Mankind is restless until he finds his rest in God.’

So let us hear and heed the call of God, Who wishes to give us rest, Who wishes to fulfill us with His love. Yet, what an interesting and perhaps intimidating path we must take if we are to find this rest and this love… ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.’

Christ is speaking here of nothing other than the true definition of love. To deny oneself, to take up the cross, to be willing to give up one’s life for Christ, for another… it is in these sacrificial ways that we are transformed by love.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a wonderful thing that our parish is in the midst of the celebration of three weddings… Two weeks ago, our dear Michael and Sophia were married in Ohio. One week from today, Reader Basil and his fiancé Tiffany will be wed at the Russian River. And this afternoon, Nina Neilepko and Dismas Marbury will be crowned in marriage.

So, let’s think for a moment about this call of Christ in the example of marriage. If a marriage is going to be successful, the bride and groom must be prepared to deny themselves, they must be prepared to take up the cross that they will shoulder together. A husband must be ready and willing to give his very life for his wife and family… and the wife must be willing to do the same.

This doesn’t sound like the modern world’s definition of love. Where will they find happiness in all of this self-sacrifice?

Well, I think as anyone who has truly loved another will know… it is precisely in this giving of oneself for the other that the greatest joy transforms one’s heart. I expect that Dismas experiences this in the sacrifices he willingly makes for his son, James. And we have all known and witnessed how beautifully transformed Nina has become in her love and sacrifice for her daughter, Miriam.

This is the true and deep joy of the love of the Cross.

St John Chrysostom, when speaking about the Cross of Christ said: ‘Christ endured all of His sufferings, that we may follow in His footsteps.’

Think about that statement for a moment… ‘Christ endured all of His sufferings, that we may follow in His footsteps.’ Does that mean that we will follow in the footsteps of His suffering? Yes, this is inevitably true…

But how often do we hear it said, or maybe we even say to ourselves, the contrary sentiment that would express itself that: ‘Christ endured all His sufferings so that I never have to!’

The natural consequence of this misunderstanding is that when sufferings and problems arise in our life, we think that something must be wrong… either with us, with our spiritual life, or maybe even with God.

It is true that Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind and that He suffered and died and rose again for our sake. But this accomplishment of our Lord is not so much done instead of us as it is done for us. Perhaps that sounds like a very subtle difference, but it is a very important distinction and understanding.

Only Christ, the Son of God, that perfect and unblemished Lamb, could bear the sins and suffering of mankind upon His shoulders. And only Christ could suffer through the weight and consequence of that sin, and by His divinity could trample down those consequences of death by His death. And only Christ, the Giver of Life, could break apart the gates of Hades and three days later burst forth from the tomb in His risen glory!

In doing so He clears the path for our salvation. To quote St John Chrysostom again: ‘Christ endured all of His sufferings, that we may follow in His footsteps.’

We may follow Him along this way, but the way is now sanctified by His having endured it all and conquered it all for us. We are now never alone – no matter what we may suffer, because Christ has been through it and, if we unite ourselves to Him, we unite ourselves to His victory.

Let us not hesitate, let us not be afraid to deny ourselves, to take up our crosses, and to follow Christ. As we learn in even our earthly relationships of love, it is not in seeking our own, but it is in giving our lives to another wherein we find the greatest love and joy. If this is proven true in our earthly relationships, how much more so shall we find that rest, that fulfillment, and that joy if we dare to love God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength!

May God grant to our newlyweds and to our ‘soon-to-be-weds’ this great joy of sacrificial love for one another and together for God. And may God grant all of us this joy and fulfillment as we heed the call of Christ leading us to the love of God!