THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS
(Wednesday, September 13)
“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block (*skandalon*) and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor 1:22b-24)
The way of the Cross, celebrated in the upcoming (this Thursday, on the NC) feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, is, actually, everything we seek, – whether we are Jews, Greeks, or barbarians like me and my people.😊 The Cross *is* a sign, if we can read it; it *is* wisdom, if we let ourselves be teachable on the life-bringing path onto which it leads us; and it *is* power, if we let ourselves be empowered by its “foolishness” and its “scandal,” as it sometimes may appear to us, and to many who seek merely-human power, wisdom, and glory.
As we pick up our cross this morning, once again, and follow Christ on His way, let us let ourselves be led, by His protection and care. Let us trample death “by death,” by walking through our least-pleasant responsibilities and not avoiding them. Let us let ourselves be bound by the boundaries of our own specific vocation, according to our own possibilities and limitations, rather than resenting or fearing who we are. Let us choose faith over fear, as we are given to learn and grow in circumstances we may not have planned or expected today. Let us embrace patience and humility, when our own journey may seem foolish or “not enough” in our own minds or in the minds of others. Thy will be done with all of us, Lord, as You lead us to a new life, a new freedom, and a new happiness, not alone but in communion with You and all the communion of the saints. “Before Your Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Your holy resurrection, we glorify.”
