Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross… and today we celebrate the Afterfeast. We heard in today’s Gospel reading the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.’

This is the fundamental paradox of the Gospel… it is in denying our self that we might be fulfilled, it is in taking up our cross that we might find true joy, and it is in following and surrendering to Christ that we might find true freedom.

The Epistle reading for the feast of the Cross reminded us that ‘the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.’

How strange and foolish indeed does it seem that the path to happiness, to joy, to resurrection… the path to the Kingdom of Heaven is along the way of the Cross.

The world tells us that happiness can only come from seeking our selfish pleasures. Suffering and sorrow are to be avoided at all costs… they are obstacles and interruptions which get in the way of our happiness and, ultimately, they are seen as failures in some way.

We go to great lengths to avoid and mask our pain and the sufferings of this life. We anesthetize ourselves with distractions and amusements, with chemicals, with denial… But the reality of the presence of suffering in this life will not go away.

Why is this so? Why does there have to be such suffering in this world? We witness the horrors of war on the world stage, we experience the tragedy of disease and poverty, we suffer through the conflicts and loneliness of this life. Why would God allow it? If He is all-powerful, why doesn’t He do something about the horrible things which happen in the world day after day and year after year?

In daring to ask these questions we must be prepared to confront the true source and the true solution to these problems.

All too often, when people react to and reflect upon the sufferings of this world, they stand as judges of the world and of God – criticizing the disfunctions of the world and even accusing God as being the supposed author of such miseries. And this attribution of the horrors of this world as God’s doing are not just associated with atheists or those who stand against God; even the pious will assign the cause of sin and misery to God, saying that everything that happens is according to God’s will. In this we must make the distinction between God’s providence and God’s will… It is certainly true that everything that happens falls within the providence of God – for God stands outside of time and has knowledge of all things that have happened, are happening, and will happen – from the time of Adam to the time of the last day. However, can we say that it is God’s will that mankind sins? Can we say that it is God’s will and His wish that any human being should commit atrocities upon another? No, such sin and darkness are not according to God’s will… but God will allow it both in order that some good may come from it and also in respect to the freedom given to mankind which is necessary for us to make those choices between good and evil. God’s will is that each and every one of us would choose the good, however it is within His providence that we are given the freedom to choose evil.

And that freedom is essential if we are to participate in a genuine relationship of love with God – which is what our whole life is about.

No man has the right to stand aloof from the tragedies of this world and stand as its judge. As long as we have sin residing within us, we are part of the problem. Never presume or pretend that you stand apart… when you see the sorrows and the sufferings of this world, recognize the part you play in that by your actions, by your words, by your thoughts. Don’t shake your head in accusation, but fall upon your knees and pray. Only he who is without sin might cast the first stone of judgment upon the world.

The one Person Who has distinguished Himself as sinless, as capable of judging the world… this one Person said: ‘I have come not to judge the world, but to save the world.’

And in what manner does our Lord come to save the world? Does He do so by swooping down and scorching the sinful earth with His righteousness? Does He put an end to His patience with us by usurping our freedom and forcing us to bow down before Him?

No, He comes in humility and poverty… He comes with compassion and mercy… He comes taking our humanity upon Himself and bearing those tragic consequences of our sinfulness: pain, loneliness, betrayal, torture, and even death upon a cross.

I will never tire of quoting St Gregory the Theologian who writes: ‘That which is not assumed, is not healed.’ What do these words mean? And why are they such a significant insight into the reason for and the meaning of Christ’s death upon the Cross?

‘That which is not assumed is not healed.’ In other words, that which is not taken up, or put upon oneself… is not impacted. This is the significance of Christ’s incarnation. He assumed upon Himself our humanity. In so doing, He took upon Himself and experienced the joys and sorrows of what it is to be a human being. All that we might suffer, He has endured - and in so doing, in assuming these things upon Himself, He triumphed over them and healed them. And this assumption of our humanity He takes to the ultimate level in submitting to be nailed upon a Cross, to suffer, and to die. His humanity submits to death and His divinity triumphs over it.

This is why we have hope amid suffering. Suffering need not just be misery… it can serve to raise our sights above the tragedies of this world and to place our hope in Christ our God. This is why we look to the Cross of Christ… because the Cross is the ultimate sign of God’s love and because it is the ultimate sign of Christ’s victory over sin and suffering and death.

May the Cross of our Lord be your guiding light amid whatever darkness this world might throw your way. As we sing in the Resurrection Matins: ‘Let us venerate Christ’s holy resurrection, for behold, through the cross joy has come into all the world.  Let us, ever blessing the Lord, praise His Resurrection, for by enduring the cross for us, He has destroyed death by death.’