WEBVTT

00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:07.259
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:13.140
of the Holy Spirit. Today, as we conclude this

00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:17.320
week of formation, we bring into the midst of

00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:20.899
the Church the figure of the life -giving cross

00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:26.320
of the Lord. And this practice originates in

00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.039
the Church of Constantinople when at the beginning

00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:31.780
of August, at the beginning of the Dormition

00:00:31.780 --> 00:00:35.590
Fast, A large piece of the wood of the cross

00:00:35.590 --> 00:00:39.990
was carried from the treasury and placed in the

00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:43.950
Church of the Holy Wisdom of Hagia Sophia. And

00:00:43.950 --> 00:00:47.170
the liturgical practice at that time was to carry

00:00:47.170 --> 00:00:50.109
the cross through the streets of the city in

00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:53.509
liturgical procession during the course of the

00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:58.070
fast for public veneration. And this was a feature

00:00:58.070 --> 00:01:01.869
of the ancient liturgical practice of the Stational

00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:06.200
Liturgy, characterized by a procession to a specific

00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:09.719
station or church where the liturgy was to be

00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:13.239
celebrated that day. And the placing of the cross

00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:16.900
in the middle of the church makes visible and

00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:22.500
tangible the actual events of the gospel. In

00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:26.920
June, I was able to visit the Basilica of Santa

00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:30.879
Croce, called Santa Croce of Jerusalem in Rome.

00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:36.040
established during the time of the Empress Elena.

00:01:36.420 --> 00:01:40.000
And there, the church is laid out as a pilgrimage

00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:43.799
site for those unable to travel to Jerusalem

00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:47.900
to visit the holy places. In addition to several

00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:52.819
pieces of the Holy Cross, there is a piece of

00:01:52.819 --> 00:01:56.420
the board, the titulus, on which Pilate wrote

00:01:56.420 --> 00:02:00.909
the words, Jesus of Nazareth, King... of the

00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:04.730
jews that is placed out for veneration as well

00:02:04.730 --> 00:02:09.430
as nail a nail of the cross and thorns from the

00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:13.430
crown of thorns the effect is to make present

00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:19.210
the event of the crucifixion of our lord and

00:02:19.210 --> 00:02:22.090
today on the feast of the procession of the life

00:02:22.090 --> 00:02:26.469
-giving cross we read the account of the crucifixion

00:02:26.469 --> 00:02:30.229
from the holy gospel according to john And this

00:02:30.229 --> 00:02:34.050
passage provides an appropriate time and opportunity

00:02:34.050 --> 00:02:39.069
to speak a word on the cross. The gospel passage

00:02:39.069 --> 00:02:44.949
begins with this very dramatic encounter, conflict,

00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:49.909
between Pontius Pilate and the elders of the

00:02:49.909 --> 00:02:54.710
Jews. As he brings Jesus forward to show him

00:02:54.710 --> 00:02:58.370
to the people, the chief priests and elders,

00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:03.800
incite the multitude to interject their cry,

00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:11.580
crucify him, crucify him. And this knowing that

00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:14.060
they are attempting to get Pilate to do their

00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:19.340
dirty work, Pilate replies, you take him and

00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:24.020
crucify him, for I find no fault in him. And

00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:28.360
Pilate is unable to de -escalate. what the chief

00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:33.639
priests have incited. They accuse Jesus of making

00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:36.860
himself the son of God. And this is a very important

00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:40.300
point in the gospel narrative, especially in

00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:44.740
our time. In their envy, they charge Jesus with

00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:49.560
death, stating, we have a law, and according

00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:52.439
to our law, he ought to die, because he made

00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:57.509
himself the son of God. And in contrast, To modern

00:03:57.509 --> 00:04:02.250
skeptics and unbelievers that accuse Christians

00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:06.210
of inventing the divinity of Jesus Christ, in

00:04:06.210 --> 00:04:09.830
the gospel, the Jewish religious leaders state

00:04:09.830 --> 00:04:13.650
for the record how Jesus spoke about himself.

00:04:14.629 --> 00:04:17.850
So skeptics and unbelievers, both of yesterday

00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:22.110
and today, especially those that had once been

00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:27.199
Christians, insist. that Jesus never says that

00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:30.699
he is God or that he is the Son of God. And they

00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:33.399
push their claim that the divinity of Christ

00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:36.279
is a later development of doctrine by Christian

00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:41.839
thinkers. Now Paul does not invent exalted claims

00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.000
about the divinity of Jesus Christ. It is the

00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.680
chief priests and elders that provide clear testimony

00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:53.670
that they are compelling Pontius Pilate. to crucify

00:04:53.670 --> 00:04:57.250
Jesus because Jesus himself declares that he

00:04:57.250 --> 00:05:01.730
is the Son of God. The chief priests never reveal

00:05:01.730 --> 00:05:06.170
any doubt about this. The chief priests know

00:05:06.170 --> 00:05:08.850
exactly who Jesus Christ declares himself to

00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:12.790
be. And they hear and report exactly what Jesus

00:05:12.790 --> 00:05:16.350
says. And so their accusation against Jesus,

00:05:16.449 --> 00:05:20.970
that he said he was the Son of God, and later

00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:24.970
the accusation placed upon the cross, Jesus of

00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:28.389
Nazareth, the King of the Jews. These are things

00:05:28.389 --> 00:05:31.970
that the chief priests know, and of which they

00:05:31.970 --> 00:05:36.769
accuse Jesus. So Pilate orders these words to

00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:41.970
be affixed to the cross, perhaps to mock those

00:05:41.970 --> 00:05:46.089
leaders and the populace themselves, whom he

00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:50.189
fails to bring into submission or mollify. at

00:05:50.189 --> 00:05:53.810
that moment. And the real reason that the elders

00:05:53.810 --> 00:05:58.149
of Israel want Jesus to be put to death is that

00:05:58.149 --> 00:06:04.569
Jesus is the promised Messiah of Israel. And

00:06:04.569 --> 00:06:09.189
if he is the promised Messiah of Israel, who

00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:14.329
then will they be? What will happen to their

00:06:14.329 --> 00:06:18.089
stranglehold on the people of Israel and their

00:06:18.089 --> 00:06:21.250
monopoly? on the customs of the temple that they

00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:25.569
zealously enforce. So their way of life is simply

00:06:25.569 --> 00:06:27.670
incompatible with the coming of the Messiah.

00:06:28.310 --> 00:06:31.730
In the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem,

00:06:32.029 --> 00:06:35.889
Jesus, the King of Israel, shows the chief priests

00:06:35.889 --> 00:06:39.730
to be frauds. And therefore it is no surprise

00:06:39.730 --> 00:06:45.610
that they ask Pilate to crucify him. And they

00:06:45.610 --> 00:06:49.560
use the pretext of blasphemy. In the third book

00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:54.439
of Moses, called Leviticus, it is written, Whoever

00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:58.139
blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely

00:06:58.139 --> 00:07:03.360
be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly

00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:07.040
stone him, the stranger as well as him who is

00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:10.500
born in the land. When he blasphemes the name

00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:14.339
of the Lord, he shall be put to death. And so

00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:17.019
the chief priests appeal to the authority of

00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:20.079
Scripture. To support their charge of blasphemy

00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:25.019
and the proper punishment for blasphemy. And

00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:27.399
their words and threats cause Pilate to return

00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:33.259
and question Jesus. He asks, where are you from?

00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:38.439
And Jesus makes no answer. And his silence makes

00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:43.839
Pilate indignant. He asks Jesus, why are you

00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:47.350
not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have

00:07:47.350 --> 00:07:51.110
power to crucify you and power to release you?

00:07:52.269 --> 00:07:58.670
Pilate simply does not imagine how absurd and

00:07:58.670 --> 00:08:03.550
ironic his words are. Standing before the Lord

00:08:03.550 --> 00:08:08.209
of the universe, he says, Do you not know that

00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:11.649
I have power to crucify you and power to release

00:08:11.649 --> 00:08:15.420
you? And earlier in the 10th chapter, of the

00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:20.160
same gospel according to John, Jesus says, No

00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:25.480
one takes it from me, but I lay it down. I have

00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.519
power to lay it down, and I have power to take

00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:32.659
it again. And even today, the well -meaning skeptic

00:08:32.659 --> 00:08:37.240
asks, Why didn't Jesus answer him? He had his

00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:40.919
chance. Jesus had a chance not to be crucified.

00:08:41.850 --> 00:08:44.649
not to take upon himself the death of all human

00:08:44.649 --> 00:08:48.250
beings, not to shed his blood for us, and finally,

00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:53.950
Jesus had a chance not to ascend the cross. And

00:08:53.950 --> 00:08:56.870
these are the exact sentiments of my closest

00:08:56.870 --> 00:09:01.470
childhood friend. To the modern mind, the wisest

00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:05.809
thing is to avoid death at all costs, especially

00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:11.110
such an inglorious death on the cross. And in

00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:14.730
response, we read the words of the epistle of

00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:19.570
the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians today. Paul

00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:23.610
says, The message of the cross is foolishness

00:09:23.610 --> 00:09:27.389
to those who are perishing, but to us who are

00:09:27.389 --> 00:09:33.669
being saved, it is the power of God. Why is the

00:09:33.669 --> 00:09:37.129
message of the cross foolishness to those that

00:09:37.129 --> 00:09:40.429
are perishing? Because those that are perishing

00:09:40.429 --> 00:09:44.629
want some other way, perhaps some wiser way,

00:09:44.730 --> 00:09:50.350
for God to deliver and redeem his people. And

00:09:50.350 --> 00:09:53.090
the wise in this world do not want to embrace

00:09:53.090 --> 00:09:58.129
the shame, the scourging, the false accusation,

00:09:58.129 --> 00:10:02.429
the spitting, the cross, the nails, the gall,

00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:05.029
and vinegar, and finally the piercing of his

00:10:05.029 --> 00:10:09.889
side. But according... to scripture, there is

00:10:09.889 --> 00:10:15.509
no other remedy to heal the serpent's bite. After

00:10:15.509 --> 00:10:17.750
leading the people of Israel through the wilderness,

00:10:18.070 --> 00:10:22.649
they rebel against God and Moses, saying, Why

00:10:22.649 --> 00:10:26.269
have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in

00:10:26.269 --> 00:10:31.649
the wilderness? And the Lord sends fiery serpents

00:10:31.649 --> 00:10:34.830
among the people. They bite the people, and many

00:10:34.830 --> 00:10:39.259
of the people of Israel die. And they turn to

00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:42.799
Moses in repentance and ask him to pray to the

00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:47.360
Lord to remove the snakes. And the Lord tells

00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:51.559
Moses, make a fiery serpent, set it on a pole,

00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:54.600
and it shall be that everyone who is bitten,

00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:58.639
when he looks at it, shall live. And so Moses

00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:02.519
makes a bronze serpent, raises it on a pole,

00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:06.139
and whoever has been bitten and looks at the

00:11:06.139 --> 00:11:11.440
bronze serpent, Most of us have witnessed the

00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:14.820
rite of the raising or exaltation of the cross

00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:17.919
by the bishop on the feast of the exaltation

00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.799
of the cross in September, allowing all at the

00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:25.220
service to gaze on the cross. And this visually

00:11:25.220 --> 00:11:29.399
illustrates how Moses lifts up the serpent on

00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:34.899
a wooden pole at the command of God to heal the

00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:39.250
Israelites. of the serpent's bite and venom,

00:11:39.370 --> 00:11:42.950
as recorded in the fourth book of Moses, called

00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:47.509
Numbers. Everyone that gazes on the bronze serpent

00:11:47.509 --> 00:11:50.809
lifted up upon the wood, that is, whoever fixes

00:11:50.809 --> 00:11:56.809
his eyes on Jesus, who the apostle calls the

00:11:56.809 --> 00:12:00.470
author and finisher of our faith, will find healing

00:12:00.470 --> 00:12:04.490
from the serpent's bite. And so today we place...

00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:07.679
the cross, and the middle of the church to remind

00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:13.559
us of our salvation and to whom we turn in affliction.

00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:18.019
The plan of God, however, is not to find the

00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:22.259
easy way out. Neither does the church teach us

00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:26.799
to find a less painful path or what is the minimum

00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:32.179
that we can do to find salvation. Instead, we

00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:36.250
are reminded that the good news speaks of Christ

00:12:36.250 --> 00:12:40.669
crucified. Jesus comes into the world to demonstrate

00:12:40.669 --> 00:12:45.090
how he loves his creation. And through the cross,

00:12:45.090 --> 00:12:48.529
we learn to experience the love of God towards

00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:52.750
us, and likewise, how he expresses this love

00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:57.169
towards us. And this way of love is the model

00:12:57.169 --> 00:13:03.399
for us to understand what love truly is. Love

00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:07.179
is affection, but is not limited to affection.

00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:12.779
Love also embodies pleasure and joy. Yet the

00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:16.879
love of Jesus Christ for us is a love transcending

00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:23.159
every notion of pleasure. He loves us unto death.

00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:27.139
And the message of the cross is that the creator

00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:31.889
of all things has become as we are. to embrace

00:13:31.889 --> 00:13:36.889
us, to love us, and to pour out his life for

00:13:36.889 --> 00:13:42.029
us. And in the Christian tradition, we illustrate

00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:49.409
the pelican as a symbol of Jesus Christ. An ancient

00:13:49.409 --> 00:13:54.370
legend tells us how a mother pelican, having

00:13:54.370 --> 00:13:59.049
no source of food for her dying young, pierces

00:13:59.049 --> 00:14:03.169
her own heart with her beak, and the blood pours

00:14:03.169 --> 00:14:06.730
forth from her heart on her chicklings and brings

00:14:06.730 --> 00:14:11.049
them back to life. We depict the pelican in this

00:14:11.049 --> 00:14:16.269
way in liturgical art, both in hymnography, such

00:14:16.269 --> 00:14:19.789
as on Holy Saturday, as well as in iconography

00:14:19.789 --> 00:14:24.820
and other church arts, such as vestments. This

00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:27.879
image illustrates the reality of the cross and

00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:32.659
why we venerate the cross. And this is summed

00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:35.480
up in the initial words of a hymn that we sang

00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:40.100
last night at the vigil service during the veneration

00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:45.659
of the cross. Come, O ye faithful, and let us

00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:49.259
venerate the life -giving wood on which Christ,

00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:53.220
the King of glory, stretch out his hands of his

00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:57.139
own will to the ancient blessedness he raised

00:14:57.139 --> 00:15:00.759
us up. As we venerate the cross of the Lord,

00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:05.259
we confess the love of God that we have experienced.

00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:09.120
And this love has transformed and continues to

00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:14.700
transform our life. This love, a love unto death,

00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:18.759
becomes the model for every relationship that

00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:23.200
we form. This healing love transforms the life

00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:27.860
of those around us. This love makes blasphemers

00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:33.360
into apostles. This love unites Jew and Gentile

00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.019
as brother and sister. And this love informs

00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:41.399
us what is the wisdom and the power of God that

00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:44.879
we encounter in the person of our Lord Jesus

00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:49.539
Christ who offers himself for us. To our Lord,

00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:52.179
crucified upon the cross, to him be all glory,

00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.899
honor, and worship, together with his Father,

00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:57.360
who has no beginning, and the all -holy Spirit,

00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:00.559
unto the ages of ages. Amen.