WEBVTT 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:39.620 another great and holy week, another great Lent, 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:46.180 and we will be hopefully reaping the benefits 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:52.120 of the fruit of the grace we received for a long 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:57.120 time. So we thank God first that we can be here 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:01.740 today with one another on this incredible day, 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:05.189 the day in which, of course, Whether you're a 00:04:05.189 --> 00:04:07.849 believer or not a believer, history did change 00:04:07.849 --> 00:04:13.009 radically. It pivoted in a new direction. Do 00:04:13.009 --> 00:04:19.149 you remember the superscription that Pilate had 00:04:19.149 --> 00:04:24.370 the soldiers put at the top of the cross? Remember 00:04:24.370 --> 00:04:28.449 what it said? It said, Jesus of Nazareth, so 00:04:28.449 --> 00:04:31.490 it said where he came from, king of the Jews, 00:04:31.689 --> 00:04:34.889 which is a way of disrespecting, It's kind of 00:04:34.889 --> 00:04:37.470 an inside joke, some king this is, we have him 00:04:37.470 --> 00:04:41.329 on a cross. That's his throne, and he is crowned. 00:04:42.029 --> 00:04:46.189 But what Pilate didn't realize is that disrespect, 00:04:46.589 --> 00:04:51.509 that slander, the spitting, the scourging, all 00:04:51.509 --> 00:04:56.110 of that, and the crown of thorns really identifies 00:04:56.110 --> 00:05:00.269 who this is, and this cross is his throne. That's 00:05:00.269 --> 00:05:04.240 why it says the king of glory. Not an insult, 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:09.500 the King of the Jews. It's the King of all creation. 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:16.300 The Lord of glory. We're here not to reminisce. 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:21.240 We're not here to reminisce. We're here to do 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:25.160 something much more profound. You heard all kinds 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:28.720 of readings, incredible and amazing foreshadowings 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:32.120 from two and one thousand years before Christ. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:36.680 about what would happen, down to the very description 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:40.300 in that psalm that Jesus quotes when he's on 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.540 the cross. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 00:05:43.540 --> 00:05:48.439 me? If you read the rest of that psalm, 22, you 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:52.220 see that Jesus is saying those words too. They 00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:55.699 have pierced my hands and my feet, he says. Many 00:05:55.699 --> 00:06:01.839 dogs are around me, yelling and screaming at 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:05.970 me. To put it in my own words. Many will see 00:06:05.970 --> 00:06:09.170 this, it says in the psalm. Many will see this 00:06:09.170 --> 00:06:14.069 cross. And they will believe in you, O Lord. 00:06:14.310 --> 00:06:19.029 For you are faithful. That's the meaning of that 00:06:19.029 --> 00:06:24.230 phrase. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 00:06:24.230 --> 00:06:28.310 me? You see, Jesus turns that forsakenness of 00:06:28.310 --> 00:06:31.870 our condition, the way we feel, into a song. 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:37.500 a hymn of trust in the living God. You see the 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:42.879 cross? Something in us changes. We are not here 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:45.339 to reminisce. We're here to participate. And 00:06:45.339 --> 00:06:48.259 every Orthodox Christian should have it deeply 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:51.420 in their heart that what they're here to do today 00:06:51.420 --> 00:06:54.480 is to stand at the actual cross of the Lord. 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:59.579 On Golgotha, after hearing all of these prophecies 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:02.930 and hearing the gospel message, That we're here. 00:07:03.829 --> 00:07:08.689 Who would not, as a Christian, be at that site? 00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:14.509 Well, the disciples weren't there, except John. 00:07:15.089 --> 00:07:18.529 What was the nature of the church? The myrrh 00:07:18.529 --> 00:07:21.629 -bearing women, the theotokos, some women, and 00:07:21.629 --> 00:07:25.110 the young apostle. That's the church. So let's 00:07:25.110 --> 00:07:28.629 not expect it to be this massive gathering of 00:07:28.629 --> 00:07:32.930 a million people. But for Orthodox, this is where 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:35.629 we are on this day. This is not an extra service, 00:07:35.649 --> 00:07:38.209 just another service in this series of Holy Week. 00:07:38.269 --> 00:07:41.329 No, this is the service in which we hear about 00:07:41.329 --> 00:07:43.649 the crucifixion. We hear of the taking down. 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:49.230 The gentleman that carried this out here. They 00:07:49.230 --> 00:07:53.230 were taking Christ off the cross. And the rest 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:56.769 of us, brothers and sisters, are here to anoint 00:07:56.769 --> 00:08:01.490 him. If you have tears, that's good. If you have 00:08:01.490 --> 00:08:04.829 deep feelings, that's good. If you have nothing, 00:08:04.949 --> 00:08:09.029 then bring that before this tomb and ask God 00:08:09.029 --> 00:08:15.009 to anoint your heart so that you can be a myrrh 00:08:15.009 --> 00:08:20.250 bearer too. All this shame, all this humiliation, 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:23.790 you notice in the Gospel of Mark, St. Mark's 00:08:23.790 --> 00:08:27.629 Passion narrative, it's filled with noisy blabbermouths. 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:31.839 False witnesses. offering testimony. Oh, they 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.980 couldn't find any for a long time. Caiaphas feigning 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:41.840 outrage. Peter offering vehement denial. You 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.659 see it there in this incredible ensemble on the 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:48.100 back wall. Peter at the fire, a woman saying 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:50.899 to him, but you're with them, your speech betrays 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:53.299 you. He said, no, no, no, I'm not with them. 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:56.480 I'm not with that man. And then again, another 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.480 person says, but you're with, I saw you. And 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:04.460 then the cock, the rooster, crowing. And Peter, 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:10.019 with his hand on his head, in sorrow. Let that 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:15.419 be the symbol of how we treat our sin. It is 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:21.419 a denial of God's love. Pilot equivocating, crowds 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:25.860 clamoring for execution, soldiers mocking, reviling, 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:31.820 self -importance. One writer says they all suffer 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:39.779 from logoria and talk non -stop. The gospel presents 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:46.379 all this shame and this brutality openly. In 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:49.679 the ancient world, that's not a strong selling 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:55.460 point for a god and a hero. You know, the Lord 00:09:55.460 --> 00:09:59.259 was spit upon. He was hit and he was scourged. 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:03.059 Do you know what a scourge is? It's a whipping 00:10:03.059 --> 00:10:07.059 with a bundle of leather straps. And each strap, 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:09.440 and there are many of them, has a small metal 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.200 ball sewn into it. And at the end of each strap, 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.600 there's a metal hook. And the person is whipped 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.860 until their bones show. And they lose copious 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:25.259 amounts of blood. Gods and heroes don't suffer 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:28.139 like that. Which is why St. Paul says this is 00:10:28.139 --> 00:10:31.200 a stumbling block for the Jews who expect a sign, 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.620 who expect a Messiah that's going to rule the 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.539 world. And this is foolishness for the Greeks 00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:42.039 who expect wisdom of some sort. My teacher at 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:45.940 seminary, Fr. Alexander Schmemann, who I am not 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:49.799 even worthy to quote, wrote this about Great 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:52.159 and Holy Friday. He said the cross reveals two 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:57.419 things. Hold on to this. They're simple. The 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:01.960 first thing it reveals is all the ugliness, the 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:07.220 hatred, the violence, the sin, and the darkness 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:11.559 of the world in opposition to God. You don't 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.639 have to look far. We look in our own hearts for 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:20.440 that first. Don't go to the TV or to the papers 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.340 or to websites to find that. You will find that 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:27.860 within yourself. Jesus says they love the darkness 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:31.500 more than they love the light. And all this hatred 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:35.940 condenses around the pure one, the innocent one, 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:39.000 the word of God, despite the fact that all he 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:46.899 does is heal, lifts up, restores, teaches. When 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:49.600 he was raised upon the cross, as he said he would 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:54.580 be, drawing all people to himself. Darkness covered 00:11:54.580 --> 00:12:00.440 the land to the ninth hour. The darkness is not 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:05.379 merely symbolic. Father Alexander Sherman also 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:08.659 wrote, he said, this is the day of sin, the day 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:11.279 of evil, the day in which the Church invites 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:15.159 us to realize the awful reality and power in 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:18.899 this world. For sin and evil, he says, have not 00:12:18.899 --> 00:12:22.149 disappeared. but on the contrary, still constitute 00:12:22.149 --> 00:12:25.850 the basic law of the world and of our life. The 00:12:25.850 --> 00:12:29.909 crucifixion account is the summary of all the 00:12:29.909 --> 00:12:33.029 evil the world has to offer. It's what happens 00:12:33.029 --> 00:12:39.950 when God proclaims himself. But it's also, Father 00:12:39.950 --> 00:12:43.509 Alexander says, the second thing, the thing that 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:48.250 gives us hope, the reason we're here today. It's 00:12:48.250 --> 00:12:52.549 the full demonstration of the love of God. Moses 00:12:52.549 --> 00:12:57.570 says, I want to see your glory. This is what 00:12:57.570 --> 00:13:02.210 we're looking at. The face of the Lord on the 00:13:02.210 --> 00:13:06.190 cross. God's glory is his love for us because 00:13:06.190 --> 00:13:10.029 he shows us the way in his death. He will destroy 00:13:10.029 --> 00:13:13.769 death and he will destroy sin. Father Alexander 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:17.000 says, this is the day of redemption. The death 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.500 of Christ is revealed to us as a saving death 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:24.740 for our salvation. To be victorious, evil must 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:28.019 annihilate the good, must prove itself to be 00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:31.200 the ultimate truth about life, to discredit the 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:34.120 good, and in a word, show its own superiority. 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:37.860 What does Christ do? He embraces, he becomes 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:43.840 sin, and he defeats it from the inside. Throughout 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.720 the whole passion in his Christ, and he alone 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.019 who triumphs. The evil can do nothing against 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:54.100 him, for it cannot make Christ accept evil as 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:59.779 truth. We call Jesus our Lord and God and our 00:13:59.779 --> 00:14:02.399 Savior. We believe all the words we just sang. 00:14:02.539 --> 00:14:06.039 We believe all the words we just read from the 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:08.620 Gospel, from the Epistle, from the Old Testament. 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:14.879 This is about God. Saving us. This is not the 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:18.360 secular God. The God that sort of is off in the 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:21.720 distance. Some deity. And will maybe come back 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.720 someday. And boy will he be mad. You've seen 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.620 all that. This is not that God. This is not the 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:30.399 philosophical God. This is not as sometimes I 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:33.220 hear. Oh Father pray to the man upstairs for 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:36.440 me. This is the man who is here on the earth. 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:40.919 In the tomb. That's not the man upstairs. That's 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:45.639 the man. who is the true man. Pilate never spoke 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:52.799 to her words. Behold, the man. What love for 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:57.259 us, his creatures. He endures all that for us 00:14:57.259 --> 00:15:02.220 to bring us to what we are intended to be, little 00:15:02.220 --> 00:15:08.139 Christs, called to be like gods. Our God is so 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:11.750 humble. that this is the way he has chosen it. 00:15:11.789 --> 00:15:15.730 Maybe there is no other way. So we have our own 00:15:15.730 --> 00:15:19.730 cross, and it is the cross that when it is united 00:15:19.730 --> 00:15:23.269 with his cross, it's the cross that heals us, 00:15:23.370 --> 00:15:26.169 that removes sin, that removes fear of death, 00:15:26.409 --> 00:15:29.450 that gets us out of the superficiality of the 00:15:29.450 --> 00:15:33.870 religion and brings us to the true light and 00:15:33.870 --> 00:15:38.809 the true world. Of heaven. And the kingdom of 00:15:38.809 --> 00:15:43.190 God. So this brothers and sisters. Is but a word. 00:15:45.250 --> 00:15:50.389 Which one could say. Infinite words about. This 00:15:50.389 --> 00:15:54.230 word of the cross today. To our Lord. Be glory 00:15:54.230 --> 00:15:59.110 now and ever. To ages and ages. Amen. Wisdom. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:09.419 are always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:15.460 Amen. Establish upon the holy Orthodox faith 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:20.639 of Orthodox Christians unto the ages of ages. 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:25.419 Most holy Theotokos, save us. More honorable 00:16:25.419 --> 00:16:29.879 than the Cherubim, and beyond their own glorious 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:44.570 than the Seraphim. Glory to thee, O Christ, God 00:16:44.570 --> 00:16:49.350 of all. Glory be to thee. Glory to the Father, 00:16:49.409 --> 00:16:53.610 and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both 00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:57.909 now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. 00:16:58.730 --> 00:17:02.470 Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have 00:17:02.470 --> 00:17:12.569 mercy. Father, bless. To endure fearful suffering, 00:17:12.769 --> 00:17:16.150 the life -giving cross, and voluntary burial 00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:18.809 in the flesh on behalf of us and for our salvation. 00:17:19.230 --> 00:17:22.730 Christ, our God. Have mercy on us and save us 00:17:22.730 --> 00:17:25.690 for as much as he is good and loves mankind. 00:17:27.329 --> 00:17:32.609 Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.