WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.219 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. On this day, 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:08.699 the feast of the exaltation of the precious and 00:00:08.699 --> 00:00:12.060 life -giving cross of the Lord, we commemorate 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:15.060 the elevation and veneration of the true cross 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:18.120 in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:26.399 This occurred on September 14, 335, the day after 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:30.170 the Church's dedication. Previously, the cross 00:00:30.170 --> 00:00:33.530 had been discovered by St. Helen, the Empress, 00:00:33.750 --> 00:00:36.850 equal to the Apostles, and the mother of St. 00:00:36.990 --> 00:00:41.750 Constantine the Great. The Lord's cross was found 00:00:41.750 --> 00:00:45.009 together with those of the two thieves who were 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:48.609 crucified with him. With the healing of a dying 00:00:48.609 --> 00:00:53.409 woman who touched one of the crosses, Patriarch 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:58.429 Macarius of Jerusalem was able to identify the 00:00:58.429 --> 00:01:02.929 true cross of Christ. It was with this discovery 00:01:02.929 --> 00:01:06.629 that St. Constantine ordered the building of 00:01:06.629 --> 00:01:11.150 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Besides celebrating 00:01:11.150 --> 00:01:15.430 the finding and elevation of the cross, today's 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:20.090 feast celebrates the Lord's cross itself, which 00:01:20.090 --> 00:01:24.829 by his life creating death on it, he transformed 00:01:25.579 --> 00:01:27.939 from being an instrument of shame, suffering, 00:01:28.019 --> 00:01:32.620 and death, to being one of glory, victory, and 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:37.920 redemption. St. John of Damascus writes of what 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.680 the cross means to us as Orthodox Christians, 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:45.799 first making clear that by the cross we are to 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:51.540 understand the death of Christ. He writes, see 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:56.019 how the death of Christ That is, the cross has 00:01:56.019 --> 00:01:59.719 clothed us with the wisdom and power of God. 00:02:00.099 --> 00:02:03.540 For by nothing else save the cross of our Lord 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:07.299 Jesus Christ, has death been brought low, the 00:02:07.299 --> 00:02:11.900 sin of our first parents destroyed, Hades plundered, 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.479 resurrection bestowed, the power given us to 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.780 despise the things of this world and even death 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:24.439 itself. The gates of paradise opened, our nature 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:28.439 seated at the right hand of God, and we made 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:32.919 children and heirs of God. By the cross, all 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:38.000 things have been set aright. Note that St. John 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.259 says that it is by the death of Christ that resurrection 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:46.860 is bestowed. This is because Christ's death cannot 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:50.680 be separated from his resurrection. They are 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:54.840 of one piece. It was, of course, impossible for 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:59.560 him to resurrect without first having died, and 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:02.479 it was at the same time impossible for him to 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:06.360 die without resurrecting, for he is the author 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:10.819 of life. We might sum up the Orthodox scriptural 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:14.379 and patristic teaching on our redemption through 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:19.250 Christ's death and resurrection as follows. In 00:03:19.250 --> 00:03:22.669 the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve that 00:03:22.669 --> 00:03:26.009 if they ate of the forbidden fruit, on that day 00:03:26.009 --> 00:03:29.629 they would surely die. They ate of the fruit, 00:03:29.789 --> 00:03:33.270 but on that day they did not die a physical death, 00:03:33.550 --> 00:03:36.909 which is the separation of the soul from the 00:03:36.909 --> 00:03:42.169 body. Rather, they died a spiritual death, which 00:03:42.169 --> 00:03:46.590 is the separation of the soul from God. And for 00:03:46.590 --> 00:03:50.629 this reason, they and all of creation became 00:03:50.629 --> 00:03:55.729 subject to physical death. Death, then, is the 00:03:55.729 --> 00:04:00.050 consequence of man's sin. When Christ died on 00:04:00.050 --> 00:04:03.349 the cross, he took upon himself the ultimate 00:04:03.349 --> 00:04:08.669 physical consequence of sin. However, since he 00:04:08.669 --> 00:04:12.430 was holy without sin, he was undeserving of death. 00:04:13.050 --> 00:04:17.480 And since he was divine, he was unable to be 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:22.040 held in the bonds of death and Hades. Therefore, 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:26.500 the spiritual and physical death that had entered 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:30.160 the world through the fall were abolished through 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:34.199 Christ's death and resurrection. All mankind 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:37.360 was given the possibility of being forgiven of 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:41.300 sin and delivered from death both of soul and 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:46.139 of body. In Christ's incarnation, death, and 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:49.860 resurrection, all the consequences of the fall 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:53.899 are overcome. These consequences, however, are 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:58.160 not overcome all at once, but in a certain order. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:03.680 Since man failed to rise toward God, thus cutting 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:07.259 off his way to deification by grace and adoption, 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:12.750 the only begotten Son, being God by nature and 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:17.730 sonship, descended to man. He took up our human 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:22.389 nature at his incarnation, deifying it in his 00:05:22.389 --> 00:05:26.629 divine human person. By dying on the cross, he 00:05:26.629 --> 00:05:30.110 gave man the potential to have his sins remitted, 00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:33.990 a purification and redemption of the human soul 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:38.670 that meant deliverance from spiritual death and 00:05:38.670 --> 00:05:44.029 an open path to the soul's deification. Finally, 00:05:44.050 --> 00:05:47.370 by rising from the dead, Christ opened the way 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:50.750 for humanity to be delivered from physical death, 00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:55.029 what St. Paul called the redemption of our body, 00:05:55.129 --> 00:06:01.149 and for the body's ultimate deification. Since 00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:04.449 that time, those who have been received into 00:06:04.449 --> 00:06:07.310 Christ's church have been given the grace of 00:06:07.310 --> 00:06:10.819 God within themselves. It is in the church, which 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:15.019 is his body, that Christ bestows on us the saving 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:19.759 fruits of his death and resurrection, redemption 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:26.040 and eternal life in him. It is by God's providence 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:30.579 that on this Feast of the Cross, five new Orthodox 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:35.139 Christians have been received into the Holy Orthodox 00:06:35.139 --> 00:06:42.420 Church through baptism. In the Holy Scriptures 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:45.839 and in the writings of the Holy Fathers which 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:50.899 comment on them, we find a clear link between 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:57.379 baptism and the cross. In baptism, we die and 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:00.839 are buried with Christ, thus partaking of the 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:04.639 saving power of his death, which frees us from 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:10.120 sin. As we heard both from the reading from Romans, 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:13.689 During the baptism service and also in Father 00:07:13.689 --> 00:07:20.269 Lawrence's sermon, St. Paul writes of the link 00:07:20.269 --> 00:07:24.689 between baptism and the cross. He says, as many 00:07:24.689 --> 00:07:27.529 as were baptized into Christ were baptized into 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:31.370 his death. Therefore, we are buried with him 00:07:31.370 --> 00:07:35.110 through baptism into death. Our old man is crucified 00:07:35.110 --> 00:07:38.689 with him that the body of sin might be done away 00:07:38.689 --> 00:07:43.730 with. St. John Chrysostom explains, baptism is 00:07:43.730 --> 00:07:47.009 the cross. What the cross and burial is to Christ, 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:50.689 baptism has been to us, even if not in the same 00:07:50.689 --> 00:07:54.730 respects. For he died himself and was buried 00:07:54.730 --> 00:08:01.009 in the flesh, but we have done both to sin. Likewise, 00:08:01.149 --> 00:08:04.290 St. Gregory of Palamas writes, Christ has torn 00:08:04.290 --> 00:08:07.449 up the handwriting of our transgressions on the 00:08:07.449 --> 00:08:11.709 cross. and has made guiltless all those who have 00:08:11.709 --> 00:08:17.329 been buried with him through baptism. As mentioned 00:08:17.329 --> 00:08:20.870 earlier, however, the death of Christ cannot 00:08:20.870 --> 00:08:24.509 be separated from his resurrection. For this 00:08:24.509 --> 00:08:26.949 reason, the mystery of baptism not only means 00:08:26.949 --> 00:08:30.069 dying with Christ, it also means being resurrected 00:08:30.069 --> 00:08:34.870 with him and given a new life. St. Simeon the 00:08:34.870 --> 00:08:37.379 New Theologian goes so far as to say that we 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:45.440 are given a new soul. St. Paul writes, buried 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.220 with Christ in baptism, you are risen with him 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:52.559 through faith in the working of God, who has 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:55.600 raised him from the dead, and you being dead 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.139 in your sins, as he made alive together with 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:03.730 him, having forgiven you all trespasses. having 00:09:03.730 --> 00:09:06.250 wiped out the handwriting of requirements that 00:09:06.250 --> 00:09:10.250 was against us, which was contrary to us, and 00:09:10.250 --> 00:09:13.690 he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to 00:09:13.690 --> 00:09:18.129 his cross. This spiritual resurrection in Christ 00:09:18.129 --> 00:09:22.110 is the uniting of man's soul once again with 00:09:22.110 --> 00:09:25.350 the grace of the Holy Spirit, because man is 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:29.029 cleansed of sin in holy baptism through Christ's 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:33.220 redemptive sacrifice. Grace is no longer foreign 00:09:33.220 --> 00:09:36.779 to his nature, and he becomes a fit receptacle 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:40.960 of the Holy Spirit. Thus, in the mystery of baptism, 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:43.399 together with the mystery of chrismation that 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:46.620 follows upon it, man receives the grace of the 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:50.159 Holy Spirit as he had it before the primordial 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:54.100 fall. In the words of St. John Chrysostom, this 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:56.460 is what the apostle means by the Spirit gives 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:01.220 life. In baptism, the sins are buried. The former 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:04.820 things are blotted out and man is made alive. 00:10:05.299 --> 00:10:09.480 The entire grace written upon his heart as if 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:14.559 it were a tablet. Consider then how high is the 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:19.399 dignity of the spirit. Saint Simeon the new theologian 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:21.940 explains how baptism together with chrismation 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:27.299 is both a death and a resurrection for man. Granting 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:30.720 man forgiveness of sins. while at the same time 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:34.059 imparting to him the grace of the Holy Spirit 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:59.580 that he had lost at the fall. He writes, benevolently 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:02.519 forgiven for the sake of this great and fearful 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:06.600 work that is for the sake of this sacrifice of 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:10.159 Christ and in order that by its power there might 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:13.600 be performed another new birth and recreation 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:19.419 of man in holy baptism in which we also are cleansed 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:25.419 by water mingled with the Holy Spirit. We know 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:31.460 that the triple immersion of baptism is an image 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:36.879 of the Holy Trinity. But there is another layer 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:40.559 of meaning, as Father Lawrence indicated in his 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:47.440 sermon. Simeon the New Theologian writes, from 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:52.460 that time, people are baptized in water, are 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:55.679 immersed in it, and taken out from it three times. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:59.240 in the image of the three -day burial of the 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:02.779 Lord, and after they die in it to this whole 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:06.820 evil world, in the third bringing out from it, 00:12:06.899 --> 00:12:10.700 they are already alive, as if resurrected from 00:12:10.700 --> 00:12:13.720 the dead. That is, their souls are brought to 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:17.000 life and again receive the grace of the Holy 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.879 Spirit as Adam had it before the transgression. 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:24.850 Then they are anointed with holy chrism. and 00:12:24.850 --> 00:12:27.750 by means of it are anointed with Jesus Christ 00:12:27.750 --> 00:12:34.230 and are fragrant in a way above nature. St. Simeon 00:12:34.230 --> 00:12:37.649 then writes of how those who are baptized and 00:12:37.649 --> 00:12:42.149 chrismated are united to Christ and his sacrifice 00:12:42.149 --> 00:12:46.450 through the Holy Eucharist. Having become in 00:12:46.450 --> 00:12:50.009 this way worthy of being associates of God, they 00:12:50.009 --> 00:12:54.019 taste his flesh and drink his blood. and by means 00:12:54.019 --> 00:12:57.559 of the sanctified bread and wine, become of one 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:01.620 body and blood with God, who is incarnate, and 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:06.279 who offered himself as a sacrifice. In a similar 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:10.279 vein, St. Nicholas Cabecillas speaks of how we 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:12.840 partake of Christ's redemptive sacrifice on the 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:17.759 cross when receiving Holy Communion. Since, therefore, 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.740 the only begotten Son has left nothing undone, 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:26.179 which pertains to the Father's glory, he alone 00:13:26.179 --> 00:13:29.500 has broken down the middle wall of separation 00:13:29.500 --> 00:13:33.860 and clears man from his indictment. Christ's 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:37.720 body then is the only medicine against sin and 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:41.559 his blood the only ransom from offenses. This 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:45.399 is the body that was slain upon the cross. In 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:49.039 this witness before Pontius Pilate, it made a 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:55.500 good confession. It paid the penalty of death 00:13:55.500 --> 00:13:58.620 for this confession and that upon the cross. 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:03.559 The blood springing out of the wounds darkened 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:06.980 the sun and shook the earth. It hollowed the 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:11.600 air and washed the whole world clean of the filth 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:16.000 of sin. Therefore, concludes St. Nicholas, the 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:18.580 labors and tears of those who repent of sins 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:22.159 after the baptismal washing and plead for grace. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:25.679 "'stand in need of the blood of the new covenant 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:29.279 "'and of the body which was slain, "'since the 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.559 labors and tears are of no avail "'without the 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:37.279 body and blood.'" Elsewhere, St. Nicholas affirms 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:39.779 that in the Holy Eucharist, we also partake of 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:42.840 Christ's resurrection, since we receive the risen 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.799 one himself, the very benefactor himself, the 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.720 very temple whereon is founded the whole compass 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:52.970 of graces. Through the saving work of Christ, 00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:56.289 we are not only given access to what Adam and 00:14:56.289 --> 00:15:00.889 Eve lost in the fall, we can also attain to what 00:15:00.889 --> 00:15:03.549 they were meant to attain, the deification of 00:15:03.549 --> 00:15:07.389 our souls and the general resurrection, the deification 00:15:07.389 --> 00:15:11.490 of our bodies as well. Throughout our lives as 00:15:11.490 --> 00:15:14.809 Orthodox Christians, we are to grow toward a 00:15:14.809 --> 00:15:18.129 more full deification, a more perfect participation 00:15:18.129 --> 00:15:21.629 in God's life, through the Holy Mysteries, through 00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:24.490 prayer, through following Christ's commandments. 00:15:25.309 --> 00:15:28.389 As St. Macarius the Great says, referring to 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:31.049 what has been made possible by Christ, by the 00:15:31.049 --> 00:15:33.809 power of the Spirit and the spiritual regeneration, 00:15:34.289 --> 00:15:37.809 man not only comes to the measure of the first 00:15:37.809 --> 00:15:42.090 Adam, but he also reaches a greater state that 00:15:42.090 --> 00:15:46.789 Adam possessed, for man is deified. On today's 00:15:46.789 --> 00:15:49.929 feast, let us give thanks to our Savior who out 00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:52.950 of infinite love for us has paid the price for 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:56.750 our sins, dying and resurrected, resurrecting 00:15:56.750 --> 00:16:00.009 so that we can be raised up together with him 00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:04.210 in this life and in his kingdom that has no end. 00:16:04.450 --> 00:16:20.419 Amen. with all our soul, and with all our mind, 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:25.840 have mercy. Have mercy. O Lord, almighty, the 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:28.659 God of our fathers, we pray thee, hearken and 00:16:28.659 --> 00:16:29.360 have mercy.