Dear deacons, brothers and sisters, and children,
the church puts before us today the reason that
we are fasting, the reason that we are Christians.
The cross is here in the middle of the church.
Of course, it speaks to us about ourselves and
our life and our world. On the one hand, it tells
us what a mess we are all in. It tells us about
it's the revelation of human cruelty and misery
and suffering and separation and alienation from
God. But about that, we're going to wait till
Holy Friday because the tragic side isn't the
focus today. Last night, the hymns were very
triumphant about the beauty of the cross, the
glory of the cross, the strength of the cross,
the joy of the cross. We even address the cross.
Rejoice, O life -giving cross. We speak to it.
Like Christ spoke to the sea and the wind. Is
it animate? Is it inanimate? Doesn't matter.
And this brings us to the gospel we heard. The
point of which is to save us from ourselves.
The rest of my remarks are borrowed heavily from
Bishop Irenae of London. In a sermon he gave,
he says this, Let there be no confusion, no dancing
around the point. Today the church also places
before us and spells out for us in plain terms
the cost, the cost to be called a Christian.
There's a price to be paid. Christ spoke of it
explicitly in the gospel that the protodeacon
just intoned for us, for our benefit. The Lord
said, those who wish to save their life will
lose it. But those who lose their life for my
sake and the gospels will save it. To be a child
of God, to be a Christian, costs one simple thing.
Your life. That's all you have to give, actually.
But you must give it. You don't have to have
wealth. You don't have to have education. You
don't have to have social standing or power.
You don't have to have influence. You don't have
to have stature or stability. You just have to
have a life that you are willing to give away.
Everyone has this. It's the universal reality
of our human nature that the one thing we all
possess, whatever else our circumstances might
be, whatever injustices you might have suffered,
whatever terrible circumstances that may make
some people weak and others strong, everyone
has that, which is required to follow Christ.
No one is deprived. But we can't follow him without
giving this, without paying that price. It's
an exchange. That's why. It's an exchange. He
who wishes to save his life will lose it. Will
lose it. He does not say those who wish to save
their life might lose it. Will. Will. It's a
vain attempt to think we can work our way into
self -help by all the alternatives out there.
The billion dollar so -called health and wellness
business. That's all about saving myself and
getting something. And only for this life. Whatever
benefit might come. It's only for this life.
True joy. True healing. The acquisition, the
gift of God's kingdom cannot be acquired by any
other means than that which Christ lays before
us today. And he does it completely openly. And
he does say, there are some standing here who
will not taste death till they've seen the kingdom
of God come in power. That's the church. That's
the communion you're going to receive. You see
the kingdom of God in power. Not the power of
this world, no. It's something so humble that
maybe we just discount it. Look at this cross
here in the middle. It's a brand new icon that
the cross is embedded in, by the way. And we
put it in the middle of the church for a reason
today. This isn't just some random thing. Oh,
it would be nice to have the cross out there.
It's brand new, so. No, this is the way. That's
why it's here. Now you choose whether you follow
it or not. No one can force you. God himself
will stand beside you, weeping with you, waiting
like the father of the prodigal son, but he will
not force you. He who wishes to follow me, Christ
says, must take up his own cross. It can't be
forced on you. You can't be pressured into it.
That's not what I'm trying to do by speaking
to you today. You decide that your life has value
in being given away. If you want that exchange.
And not just given away generically, but given
to the God who will do with it wonderful things,
beautiful things. People are frightened to give
away their life because they feel that they're
losing something they possess. How foolish we
are to think that we have possession of our souls,
our life. Can any one of us control what comes
later today? Can you possibly know it? Can any
one of us, Christ says, by worry or by intention
or by plan or by design or any other contrivance?
Piously motivated? Or otherwise? Can anyone add
a single day to his life? Can anyone stop the
suffering? Can anyone know that there'll be a
tomorrow in which to make a better choice? No
one can. Who are we to think that we possess
the souls and hearts and lives that we have,
that we have been actually given from God? So
why do we so foolishly cling to them? Why are
we so afraid to give them to the God who made
them? We're frightened because we're full of
passions, impulses, compulsions, and we are sinful.
We have debased ourselves as humans rather than
be shining images and likenesses of God himself
like the saints are. We have debased ourselves
by becoming self -centered. And rather than grow
angry with us and impatient with us and frustrated
with the incredible capacity of our human nature
to be dense and thick and not see what lies before
us, Christ in his infinite patience and love,
because the cross reveals his love, places again
and again and again before us the signs of redemption.
and all the invitations over and over again.
And here today, in our midst, is this cross.
But not just the cross, but one that is decorated
so beautifully with branches and flowers and
leaves so that it is beautiful. So that when
you look at the cross, you see the power of this
cross to create beauty. It's from a tree, after
all. flowers, plants, these are the signs of
birth and growth. This is so that we don't look
at the cross as a thing of sorrow or grief or
despair, no longer a punishment, but that you
were reminded, as we were reminded last night
at the matin service, that through the cross,
joy has come to the world. We sing that every
Saturday night. Through this cross, my brothers
and sisters, joy comes to your world if you will
let it. Through this cross, joy will come into
your heart if you will simply give your heart
to God. Through this cross, you can say, I am
yours, Lord. Make me more fully your own. Say
to him, if you are filled with doubts and fear
and wonder about what we're doing, say to him,
as did the apostle. as did the man with the son
who was ill. I believe Christ. Help me in my
disbelief. If you love him but are afraid, say
to him, I love you, Christ. Take away my fear.
Don't hold back. Give him what he needs in order
to make your life whole. The cross is... Also
here in the middle of the church on this Sunday
so that you have to walk past it to receive communion.
You become part of a little living icon by walking
with the cross as you approach Christ who sanctifies
us through the cross. And this is the life that
awaits us. This is the grace that he provides
today for those who are ready. Those who have
prepared themselves through fasting, through
repentance, through prayer, through a recent
confession. Take up that cross and receive the
body and blood of the one who died upon it. And
he will give you strength to overcome every foe,
every obstacle, every spiritual and worldly trouble.
He won't take those away from you, but you will.
not only endure, you will flourish. And for those
of you, the catechumens, who are preparing for
holy illumination during this sacred period,
the inquirers, the learners, those who are not
yet receiving communion, don't feel that you
are being deprived of something. No, you're being
prepared for something. Watch. Watch as those
who have been made worthy by Christ's blood to
draw close to him. Let it inspire your own hearts
with deeper fervor as you take up your cross.
And at the moment God blesses you through his
wisdom and his grace, that you can give him your
life by being plunged into the waters of baptism
and chrismated with the holy oil. You will know.
The strength of the cross. One saint says, you've
been anointed with holy chrism on your forehead.
It's the demons that are afraid of you now, not
the other way around. Give him your life by dying
to the world and all that you have as yours now
that he may give you a new life, an exchange.
He will show you a new world. He will give you
grace and gifts and peace of heart. that you
can't fathom, you can't explain, and you don't
have to. May God give us strength, bless us,
and keep us through his precious cross, now and
to ages of ages. Amen.