WEBVTT 00:00:02.350 --> 00:00:05.570 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:05.570 --> 00:00:08.890 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.210 --> 00:00:14.429 Glory to Him. Jesus does not sugarcoat things. 00:00:15.570 --> 00:00:19.870 It's not an opium of the people. There's no drugging 00:00:19.870 --> 00:00:22.329 going on here. It's very realistic, and you heard 00:00:22.329 --> 00:00:26.210 His words about the cross. Very, very much. Since 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:31.690 Lent is very structured for the... training of 00:00:31.690 --> 00:00:34.189 the catechumens. This is another reminder to 00:00:34.189 --> 00:00:38.950 the catechumens to count the cost. But did you 00:00:38.950 --> 00:00:42.429 hear what Jesus said at the end? There are some 00:00:42.429 --> 00:00:45.289 standing here who will not experience taste death 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:47.509 until they have seen the kingdom of God come 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:51.429 in glory. That's going to be your baptism. The 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.950 kingdom of God will be implanted in your hearts 00:00:54.950 --> 00:01:00.659 and you will experience that humble but bright 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:04.700 and peaceful and joyful glory that Jesus promises. 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:10.519 By the grace of God, we've been counted worthy 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:16.799 to arrive at this third Sunday of Lent, the Sunday 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.120 which we call the veneration of the precious 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.700 and life -giving cross which lies before us, 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:26.420 the throne of glory which... St. Paul says, let 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:29.040 us boldly come before the throne of glory that 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:33.359 we may receive grace and help in time of need 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:39.079 and mercy. I ask your forgiveness. Since I'm 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:42.659 not going to share my own sermon, but I'm going 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:47.719 to read a sermon by the priest Maximus of the 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:51.159 Seminary of Holy Cross, a former Athonite monk 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:55.379 of Simonopetra Monastery on the Holy Mount. This 00:01:55.379 --> 00:02:00.439 is what he said. Through the cross, we are strengthened 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:05.379 so that we can figure out the truth amidst all 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:08.300 the challenges and the struggles that lie before 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:12.060 us and so we can make progress on our spiritual 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:15.479 journey. And through the cross, we receive joy 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:19.680 just as we say at every Sunday matins and as 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:22.120 we already did last night at the vigil. Behold, 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:25.460 through the cross. Joy has come into all the 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:30.479 world. And through this joy, we can know and 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:33.500 experience the presence of God in every moment 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:37.240 of our life, no matter how difficult those moments 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:43.300 might be. Christ has his cross. We have our cross. 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:49.240 But we join our cross to his. We place our cross 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:56.550 on his cross, of his cross. And this is why St. 00:02:56.650 --> 00:02:59.990 John Chrysostom says this, the whole world has 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:03.629 become a kind of Golgotha, a place where each 00:03:03.629 --> 00:03:06.990 and every one of us is nailed to the cross with 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:10.650 Christ, crucified in our midst. And all of us 00:03:10.650 --> 00:03:15.090 are crucified on either side of him. Now some 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:19.430 of us, like the one thief, are in terrible pain. 00:03:20.870 --> 00:03:24.639 And so we revile and curse. Not only those who 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:26.860 are crucified around us, but even Christ himself, 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:31.300 being angry at him for our fate, blaming him 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:34.360 for our broken bones, for the wounds that we 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.280 bear, calling him to account for our every misfortune, 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:42.960 difficulty, and affliction. But it also happens 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:47.419 that in the midst of our pain, we see our faults. 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:52.319 And then, like the other thief, we realize, We 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:54.819 indeed are suffering justly for we are receiving 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:59.560 what we deserve for our crimes. But this man 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:04.080 has done nothing wrong. And that's when we turn 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.960 to Christ and say, remember me when you come 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:12.860 in your kingdom. And the man who had no business 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:18.860 in heaven becomes on that very day, in that very 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:23.350 moment, the first to enter paradise. St. Maximus, 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:25.990 the confessor, offers us a profound meditation 00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:29.589 on these two men, who in a sense are one man, 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:35.069 or who are all men and all women. This is who 00:04:35.069 --> 00:04:37.209 we are at different times in our lives as we 00:04:37.209 --> 00:04:40.490 struggle, stumbling under the weight of our cross. 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:47.709 Which of the two we will be depends on how we 00:04:47.709 --> 00:04:53.139 respond to our cross. If, on the one hand, we 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:55.480 fail to recognize the presence of the Word of 00:04:55.480 --> 00:05:00.540 God, when His love for mankind is blamelessly 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:02.939 suffering with us, well then, like the thief, 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:07.759 we will revile Him, curse Him, repudiate His 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:12.120 judgments, blame Him for our suffering, and for 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:16.259 the cross on which we have been nailed. And because 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:20.750 we did not recognize the Word of God, and did 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:25.509 not ask forgiveness of our faults, we will be 00:05:25.509 --> 00:05:29.170 sent away, estranged from the kingdom, receiving 00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:31.709 no promise from the word of God that one day 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:35.149 we might attain the kingdom. As for the other 00:05:35.149 --> 00:05:38.529 thief, the Greek fathers of the church never 00:05:38.529 --> 00:05:42.949 called him the good thief. He wasn't that good. 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:47.050 He was arrested. But instead, the grateful thief. 00:05:47.949 --> 00:05:50.449 Because he is grateful to suffer ill treatment 00:05:50.449 --> 00:05:54.069 with the word of God. Who blamelessly suffers 00:05:54.069 --> 00:05:57.990 ill treatment for his sake. And so he endures 00:05:57.990 --> 00:06:01.629 his suffering with gratitude. He sees the word 00:06:01.629 --> 00:06:04.029 of God present with him. And he acknowledges 00:06:04.029 --> 00:06:06.730 his responsibility for all that he has done. 00:06:06.930 --> 00:06:09.790 And he asks that when the light of the kingdom 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:13.930 shines forth. All the pain, all the suffering 00:06:13.930 --> 00:06:18.779 imposed on him. By circumstances. might, on account 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:22.759 of his gratitude, be reckoned as virtues he had 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:27.279 freely chosen. Of course, there are many crosses 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:31.160 in life, many crucifixions, and we need to know 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:37.079 that we are not to blame for them. Your cross 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:40.939 can be an illness, a disability, an injustice 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:45.360 that you've suffered, a false accusation. The 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.220 pain of being betrayed. Your cross can be the 00:06:49.220 --> 00:06:53.040 parent who didn't love you. The loss of a spouse. 00:06:53.300 --> 00:06:57.379 Or the sickness of a child. A cross is a place 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:02.699 where you end up when things fall apart. When 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.660 your dreams die. When your career collapses. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:09.920 Or when your marriage ends. A cross is where 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:14.060 you are when you don't know where you are. The 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.959 cross is what you're doing when you don't know 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:20.519 what you're doing. It can be the loss of all 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.740 that you have and all that you are. Above all, 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:30.120 your cross is also the little sins committed 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:34.160 every day without thinking and the chronic habitual 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:40.199 sins being committed the whole of our life. And 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:42.639 these things happen to us either because the 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.759 circumstances of our birth, or because of the 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.240 things around us, things we're exposed to, stresses 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:53.600 and pressures that we suffered as children, or 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.339 out of insecurity, ignorance, fear, the absence 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:04.620 of love, and so many other things. But whatever 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:08.339 the causes, whatever the causes, the cross that 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:13.430 you carry was given to you. Through God's plan 00:08:13.430 --> 00:08:18.829 of salvation. And it is through that cross that 00:08:18.829 --> 00:08:23.089 God will save you. Who or what would we be without 00:08:23.089 --> 00:08:26.410 our struggles? This is why they say that the 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:28.709 devil tries to destroy us through our virtues. 00:08:29.769 --> 00:08:32.450 While God tries to save us through our passions 00:08:32.450 --> 00:08:37.539 and our failures. God allows this so we can see 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:41.200 our weakness and our inability and run for refuge 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.580 to his grace and strength. There's a profound 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:48.360 mystery here. A mystery in which God enters into 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:51.879 the darkness of our souls, into the pain and 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:55.480 suffering of our crosses and makes it his own. 00:08:56.100 --> 00:09:00.320 And we are healed. We often think that God is 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:02.940 going to come into our life by means of some 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:06.580 pleasant experience. That will require little 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:12.720 or no change on our part. But God is much more 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:17.159 likely to enter our lives through a crisis. Like 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.620 a serious illness. The experience of loss and 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:25.500 failure. Or the affliction of some kind. Because 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:29.799 these are signs not of God's absence. But of 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:34.080 his active presence. God comes to us in the dark 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:39.649 cloud. In the eye of the storm. In silence. In 00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:43.190 midst of suffering and pain. He comes to us, 00:09:43.210 --> 00:09:45.929 in other words, through the cross. And this is 00:09:45.929 --> 00:09:50.190 because affliction alone can tear us away from 00:09:50.190 --> 00:09:55.350 our isolated individualistic existence. And our 00:09:55.350 --> 00:09:59.149 house of cards will fall apart. And we will be 00:09:59.149 --> 00:10:03.370 transformed into something whole and open and 00:10:03.370 --> 00:10:07.009 healed. But the mystery is even deeper than this, 00:10:07.129 --> 00:10:11.789 even more wondrous and even more divine. The 00:10:11.789 --> 00:10:16.070 crisis that engulfs me, said Elder Emilianos 00:10:16.070 --> 00:10:20.389 of Simenopetra, the pain that I feel is a kind 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:23.889 of birth pain, for it's the initial movement 00:10:23.889 --> 00:10:29.490 of my soul longing to be united to God. And my 00:10:29.490 --> 00:10:34.509 longing for God is meant... with God's longing 00:10:34.509 --> 00:10:40.149 for me. For it's God who is seeking me in and 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:43.110 through my sufferings, in and through my pain, 00:10:43.250 --> 00:10:46.490 so that in the end, the cross is not so much 00:10:46.490 --> 00:10:48.990 the agony of man struggling to find God, but 00:10:48.990 --> 00:10:53.610 the agony of God struggling to find each person. 00:10:54.850 --> 00:10:58.529 If we can see Christ in whatever cross that we 00:10:58.529 --> 00:11:01.080 have, then the cross changes from an instrument 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:04.159 of death to one's life and to healing, to a path 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:09.440 of victory of God's grace in me. This is why 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.480 we call it the life -giving cross, the victory 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:16.720 of the cross, the tree of life, not the tree 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.139 of death. And what was the source of pain and 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:24.500 death before now becomes the source of joy. and 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:27.720 life, and healing, because the one on the cross 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:31.980 is the source of life himself, our Lord and God 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:35.480 and Savior Jesus Christ, and the cross is his 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:41.039 throne. Let us not be like the thief who rejected 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:44.460 the cross, who blamed God for his problems and 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:47.480 spoke abusively to Jesus, but let us imitate 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.220 the grateful thief and acknowledge with gratitude 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:54.289 the justice and the wisdom of God. And because 00:11:54.289 --> 00:11:58.190 we are never closer to Christ than when we are 00:11:58.190 --> 00:12:03.350 on a cross in our moments of difficulty, let 00:12:03.350 --> 00:12:07.129 us speak to him and ask him to remember us so 00:12:07.129 --> 00:12:13.909 that we too may hear him say, today you will 00:12:13.909 --> 00:12:17.049 be with me in paradise. Amen.