The Power and Mystery of the Cross
Fr. Nicholas delivers a profound sermon on the exaltation of the Holy Cross, urging believers to live by its example. He reflects on the cross as a symbol of victory, reminding us of the eternal plan of God and the true path to salvation. With insight and compassion, he also addresses the collective grief and responsibility in the face of recent violence, calling for a renewal of love and faith.
Transcript
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.
Beloved in Christ, today we bow down before the most sacred symbol of our faith, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross is not merely a remembrance of an ancient event, nor simply the commemoration of the discovery of the true cross by St. Helena. It is the unveiling of the deepest mystery of our salvation, the folly of our God that is wiser than men and the weakness of God that is stronger than men. For as St. Paul declares, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
Today the church calls us to lift high the cross of the Lord. We do not see it as the Romans once did as an instrument of humiliation, nor as the world still sees it, as folly and weakness. We see it as a sign of Christ's victory, the tree of life planted in the midst of the world, the ladder that joins earth to heaven. As the Troparion of the feast proclaims, "Oh Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries and by the virtue of your cross, preserve your habitation."
In today's gospel, St. John leads us into the very heart of this mystery. We see Pilate trembling, the chief priests blinded, the crowds shouting, and Christ silent, serene, and steadfast. The drama unfolds, but behind every word and every action lies the plan of God hidden before the ages. Pilate, though a pagan and cowardly, proclaims a profound truth. "Behold your king." Yet the people cry out, "We have no king but Caesar." Here the contrast is absolute. The king of heaven stands before them, crowned with thorns, clothed in mockery, yet radiant with divine majesty. But they prefer the power of Rome, the illusion of earthly security to the reign of God.
Cyril of Alexandria tells us that in this moment humanity reveals its sickness. In rejecting Christ, they chose slavery to sin and death. And St. Maximus the Confessor reminds us to love the world more than Christ is to crucify him again in our hearts. This rejection was not confined to that moment in Jerusalem. It repeats itself whenever we enthrone another Caesar above Christ. Whether money, power, pleasure, or self-will.
The exaltation of the cross confronts us with the question, who is our true king? Pilate post, "Do you not know that I have power to release you and power to crucify you?" But Jesus answers with divine calm. "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above."
Here is the great paradox. Outwardly Christ seems powerless, condemned, scourged, led away to die. Yet in truth, he reigns. The cross is not an accident, not a tragic mistake. It is the eternal plan of God, the throne from which Christ conquers death. As St. Gregory the Theologian proclaims, "He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon a tree. He who is the king of angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. We worship your humility, O Christ, and we glorify your condescension."
At Golgotha, humanity is divided. The priests mock, the soldiers gamble, the passersby sneer. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene, together with the beloved disciple St. John the Theologian. What holds them there? Not power, not reason, not expectation of victory, but love.
The Theotokos does not turn away from her son. Though a sword pierce her own soul, St. John does not flee as the others did, but remains drawn by the love of the master who first loved him. From the cross, Christ creates a new family. To his mother, he says, "Woman, behold your son." To John, "Behold your mother." In that moment, he entrusts us all to the Theotokos as her children. And he unites us in the communion of the church.
The cross is not only the victory over death. It is the beginning of a new humanity born in love. When the soldier pierced Christ's side, immediately there came out blood and water. St. John insists, "He who saw it has borne witness that you may believe." Why this emphasis? Because this detail reveals the sacramental heart of the church. The Father's sea and the blood and water the mysteries of baptism and the Eucharist. Just as Eve was formed from the side of Adam, so the church, the bride of Christ, is born from his side. From the cross flows our cleansing, our nourishment, our very life.
St. Ephraim the Syrian writes, "With the spear they opened his side, and there came forth living water and blood, the one for cleansing, the other for drink, the one for washing away filth, the other for quenching thirst. This is the fountain that flows from the house of the Lord. From his side he has given us to drink that we might never thirst again."
Thus the cross is not only the place where Christ dies but it is the fountain of our new life, the wellspring of grace, the source of all the sacraments. The church sings, "Come all you nations, let us adore the blessed tree, through which eternal justice has been brought to pass. For he who deceived our forefather Adam by a tree is now deceived himself by the cross. And he who held the creature in subjection by the tree is now cast down in headlong fall."
At last, Jesus bows his head and declares, "It is finished. The work of salvation is accomplished. What seemed like defeat is victory. Death is slain by death. The curse of Adam is broken. The devil is trampled underfoot. The cross, once a sign of shame, becomes the invincible weapon of peace, the trophy of victory. St. Athanasius exclaims, "The Lord did not merely die. He destroyed death. The cross is the trophy of his victory lifted up before all the nations." And St. John Chrysostom adds, "The cross has destroyed the enmity, made earth heaven, brought men to angels, and knit the human race with God." And as it is chanted in great vespers, "Exalted the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of his feet, for it is holy. For behold, through the tree joy has come to all the world."
Beloved, what does it mean to exalt the cross? It is not only to bow down before it, to sense it, or to sing hymns of glory. It is to live by it. Christ calls us, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." To live by the cross means to bear suffering with patience, uniting it to the suffering of Christ, to forgive as he forgave from the cross, to prefer the kingdom of God to every Caesar of this world, to remain faithful in love even when it costs us everything.
When the world seeks comfort, the cross teaches sacrifice. When the world glorifies power, the cross reveals the strength of humility. When the world despairs in the face of death, the cross proclaims, "Christ is risen and life reigns."
Let us then exalt the cross not only with our lips but with our lives. Let it be lifted high in our hearts, our homes, and our actions so that others seeing the sign of the cross in us may also come to believe. For through the cross joy has come into all the world.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I wish now to speak to you personally. I know that some among you are shaken and deeply troubled by what took place last week in America, the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It was a senseless act, the tragic and unjust taking of a human life. In our own parish family, we also have Palestinian brothers and sisters, Syrian brothers and sisters, Lebanese brothers and sisters, and Russian and Ukrainian brothers and sisters, each carrying grief, each touched by violence and the loss of life. The pain of such suffering is not far from any of us.
The killing of another human being must be condemned without hesitation or compromise. There is no justification. Every person is created in the image and likeness of God who called to grow in holiness and to offer thanksgiving and worship to him.
If I were to walk through this room today, I would find a wide variety of political views. But we must remember politics belongs to this fallen world. What unites us is not ideology but a person. Christ our Lord, God, and Savior.
If we are truly Orthodox Christians, then it is Christ who is our model and our focus, not the systems or powers of the age. This is why the martyrs laid down their lives rather than bow to the world. Only in the cross of Christ can the senseless taking of life be given meaning. For the cross is the center of the gospel. Christ crucified and risen. That is the good news we are called not only to confess but to live.
Yet the taking of life seems to be multiplying in our times across the world. And so each of us must examine ourselves. We must repent, for in some way we all contribute through silence, through indifference, through lack of compassion, through lack of faith, through lack of love. If the world is to change, it must begin with us. We must open ourselves to the Holy Spirit to cooperate with his grace rather than resist or ignore it.
In the darkness of history, God has always raised up his saints. St. Benedict and his monks brought life, light, faith, and renewal in Europe in its darkest age. Our calling is no different: to be the light of Christ in our world today. Ready even to lay down our lives for Christ and for our neighbor.
To Christ our God who was lifted up in humility yet reigns in glory, be all honor, worship, and adoration with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and ever and the ages of ages. Amen. Amen.
