Homily on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
By St. John of Kronstadt
"We venerate Your Cross, O Master,
By St. John of Kronstadt
"We venerate Your Cross, O Master,
and we glorify Your holy Resurrection"
(Troparion to the Holy Cross).
The Cross of the Lord is being raised! How many important memories, sad, terrible and at the same time joyful, are awakened in souls at the sight of the raised Cross of Christ, at the mere sight of the Cross! On it was crucified the God-man, the only begotten Son of God, who deigned by His sufferings and death on the Cross to redeem the human race from eternal torment; it was stained with the most pure blood, one drop of which is the purification of the world! For three hundred years it was hidden in the earth, for three hundred years the Church of God, the believers in the Lord were under a terrible cross; for three hundred years the earth was flooded with the blood of Christians: they were crucified on crosses, and often head down, cut, burned, drowned with whole crowds, torn apart piece by piece. The swords blunted and the hands of the executioners weakened - so many heads, arms and legs, various members of Christian bodies had to be cut off. This is how Satan has armed himself against the Church of Christ, acquired by the blood of Christ! The shameful and terrible death of Christ on the Cross was, as it were, a forerunner and indication of the death of His faithful servants. O, terrible mystery of the Cross! O, all-destroying sin, which brought down to earth the Son of God Himself, that He became incarnate and suffered in His flesh for us! O, immutable, eternal justice of God, which demanded such a terrible sacrifice for the sins of the world! Glory to You, most righteous Master, punishing sin and having mercy on repentant sinners! And so - repentance and repentance! No one should be stagnant in a single sin! - Immediately bring ardent repentance, so that you will incline to the mercy of the merciful God and not perish in your sins!
Three hundred years of persecution passed - and the persecution ended. The pious Emperor Constantine appeared on the royal throne of the Roman Empire, with his mother Helen; he favors Christians, accepts the Christian faith himself, zealously honors the Crucified One and not only allows, but commands everyone - both the clergy and his senate, the army and the people to reverently worship Christ. Temples were erected, praises and thanksgivings were carried to heaven. Queen Helen forced herself to find the Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem and it was solemnly raised from the ground, erected and - oh joy! The Life-giving Cross raises the dead, for soon after being found, it was placed on a dead man, and the Cross revived him. It heals the sick, drives away demons, a sick man was healed by its placement. For Who was raised up on the Cross? The King of glory Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth Himself, the only-begotten Son of God. For whom? For the sinful world and for you and me; although we were not on this earth then, the Lord knew that we would be, and what wretched sinners we would be, and therefore He suffered for all of us; much, much bitterness we also poured into the cup of His suffering. Wondrous miracle! The King of righteousness, God Almighty, having taken upon Himself human flesh, suffered execution for us, for our sins! And what execution? The most shameful, tormenting! O, terrible mystery! O, mystery that brings forth tears of tenderness and gratitude! For how can one not be horrified at the sight of the execution not of a criminal, but of the greatest Righteous One, meek, humble, good-natured, merciful, who performed countless good deeds for people and did not do a single evil? It was not in vain that the sun went dark, the earth shook, the curtain of the temple was torn, the stones tore apart, the graves opened, the dead were raised! All irrational nature shuddered and sympathized with the Creator of all. But the stone-hearted Jews did not sympathize! And the frivolous people cried out, walking around the Cross and saying: O, you who would destroy the temple and build it in three days! Save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt. 27:39–40).
O, most beloved Redeemer of the whole world! People did not know that the sins of the whole world were weighing down upon You; that You, innocent and sinless, suffer punishment for us! They did not know that God Himself enters into battle with hades and crushes its power, and wants to deliver from hades the souls held in its bonds from eternity, and deliver us from its terrible torment! O, how dear to God are human souls, redeemed by the blood of His Son! How dear are souls nourished by His flesh and blood! O, what blessedness to taste the most pure body and blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ! O, how terrible and destructive is sin, for the cleansing and eradication of which the death of the Son of God was needed, even death on the Cross! O, how certain is the eternal punishment prepared for the unrepentant! For if they did this to the fertile tree – Jesus Christ, what will happen to the dry and barren one? How wretched are sinners, who in their blindness do not know the full destructiveness of sin! How terrible is hell, the outer darkness and the gnashing of teeth, the tartarus of the underworld, torments with demons!
Brethren! Let us repent quickly, hate sin, love righteousness, cling with heart and lips to the Cross of the Lord and cry out earnestly: Lord! Who suffered for our sake and poured out His most pure blood, and died on the Cross, by those deeds which You know, turn us all to the path of salvation and save us! Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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