Holy Spirit, glory to Jesus Christ. Today is
the third Sunday of Lent, and the Church in her
wisdom has made this Sunday the Sunday of the
precious and life -giving cross. And as Orthodox
Christians, we make the sign of the cross physically
when we cross ourselves. We display crosses on
the tops of our churches. Take a look when you
go outside at the beautiful dome and the cross
on top. We display crosses inside our church.
And even the very architecture of this building
is the shape of a cross. And the cross is the
very symbol of our faith. And all this is true.
because the Son of God, Jesus, our Lord and God
and Savior, was crucified on a cross. When we
look at the cross, we see Christ. And we see
also our redemption from sin and death, for it
is upon that cross that Jesus was crucified in
order to redeem us all. And thus the cross represents
our salvation, God's love for us, his plan for
our redemption. And so we venerate that cross
because of God's great love for us. John 3, 16
and 17 says, For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through
him might be saved. And all this is accomplished
through the cross. But the cross is a paradox.
What is a paradox? It is something that at first
glance seems contradictory, that through this
object of death, somehow we have life. The paradox,
though, when you look at it more deeply, then
it makes sense. An example of a paradox is the
saying, the louder you are, the less they hear.
For when you speak more loudly, people hear better,
but yet if you look at the deep level, people
won't listen. Or perhaps you might remember the
movie The Godfather, and there is a paradox in
the line, I'm going to make him an offer he can't
refuse. For in an offer, you would have a choice.
But we know the deeper level. There is no choice
in this matter. Offers can be refused. The deeper
meaning is seen when you reflect upon it. And
there is a paradox with the cross as well. For
this object of Roman executions, a thing giving
death, and yet we call it precious. We call it
life -giving. For there is something deeper going
on when Christ is crucified. This deeper level
can be seen in viewing the two other crosses.
at that same crucifixion, one on either side
of the Lord Jesus. Jesus hangs in between these
two thieves, both sinners deserving death. Christ,
in the middle, is performing the sacrifice of
redemption for the whole world. These two thieves
react to Christ in opposite ways. One thief blasphemes
Christ. If you are the Christ, save yourself
and us. And there is total unbelief and even
ridicule in his words. The other thief says,
Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
And Jesus responds to him saying, Assuredly,
I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.
And this paradox. This deeper meaning to the
cross is found in today's gospel in Mark 8, 36
and 37, where Christ asks, For what will it profit
a man if he gains the whole world and loses his
own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange
for his soul? And you and I, we can choose to
be like either one of those thieves on either
side of Christ. We can reject the saving work
and with lack of faith miss out on salvation.
Or we can humbly come before Christ and we can
say, Lord, remember me when you come into thy
kingdom. What about you? Which thief are you
more like? Take a careful look at your life,
at your actions, for they truly reveal your heart.
Are you fleeing from sin and clinging to the
Lord? Or are you avoiding the Lord so that you
can continue in sin? Jesus says, 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 gospels will save
it. And this is the paradox of the cross. We
must lose our life to save it. Saint Tikhon of
Zadonsk says this. We honor Christ who suffered
for us when we hate sin. and follow his holy
word and the example of his blameless life. As
he says, if any man serve me, let him follow
me. For honoring Christ and serving Christ are
one in the same. He taught us by word and by
example how to live a virtuous life. As we read
in his holy gospel, if we want to honor him heartily,
we must listen to him. We cannot honor him without
obedience. He himself, Jesus, says, Why call
ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which
I say? True honoring is shown not by words only,
but also by deeds. And so let us, each one of
us, determine and pick up our cross and follow
the Lord. in not just word, but also in action,
and follow the Lord Jesus Christ example and
walk into eternity with him. Glory to Jesus Christ.