Homily on the Sunday Before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of Christ
By St. John of Kronstadt
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)
By St. John of Kronstadt
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)
My brethren, this Sunday is abbreviated as the Sunday Before the Exaltation of the Cross, that is, the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross, and today it is appointed to read the Gospel about the infinite love of God for the perishing world or human race and about the sending down to it of the Savior – the only begotten Son of God. The Gospel is read in Russian as follows: “No one has ascended to heaven except He who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” This is the end of today's Gospel.
Let us interpret it, with God's help, according to the mind of the Holy Orthodox Church. No one has ascended to heaven, says the Lord, except the Son of Man who came down from heaven, that is, Jesus Christ, who is in heaven. No one from among men has ascended to heaven, because sin did not allow anyone to ascend to the most pure, most bright, most just heaven, where is the throne of the Lord God Almighty, and for sin the sacrifice of the cross had not yet been brought, from the beginning of the world until the coming to earth of the Son of God, for the redemption of the world from sin, for the reconciliation of people with God, angered by lawlessness, for the purification and sanctification of those who believe in Him and for the opening of heaven, closed by the sins of men, by the righteous judgment of God. Heaven was inaccessible to all men. It became accessible to the righteous and repentant sinners only from the time of the death of the Son of God on the cross for us, for our sins. The Lord Himself spoke of this: "From now on you will see heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." This mystery, this joyful news that heaven is now open to us, is announced to us daily by the opening of the Royal Doors at Great Vespers and at the All-Night Vigil, and especially at the Liturgy – at the opening of the Royal Doors at the Small and Great Entrances and at the bringing out of the Holy Gifts for Communion.
Therefore, no one ascended to heaven before the death of the Son of God on the cross, but from the time of His death and resurrection, heaven became open for all believers - and all who are justified by the most pure blood and grace of the Son of God enter it unhindered after death. So I will say again: the heavenly kingdom is open, paradise is open again, try to enter it by faith, repentance, virtue. Now there is no Cherubim standing at the gates of paradise with a flaming sword, preventing entry into it. And how many people have entered paradise from the time of the death and resurrection of the Son of God until now! Countless. And we, following their example, will go there too. But it is necessary to go, to force our way with all our might - if we do not go, then we will end up in hell - nowhere else. Go, go quickly, cheerfully, firmly, without looking back. The days are evil and short (today you are alive, and tomorrow, perhaps, you will be put on the table in a large corner).
And what does this mean: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life?” Here the Lord points to the action of the Prophet Moses in the Arabian desert, namely, to the lifting up of the copper serpent on the pole, according to the command of God, so that the Jews who were mortally bitten by snakes would look at this copper serpent and be healed. This lifting up of the copper serpent on the tree by Moses prefigured the lifting up, the raising up on the cross of the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, and His victory over the tempter serpent or the devil, and our deliverance by the cross of the Savior from eternal death, for the seed of the woman, i.e. Christ, had to crush the head of the serpent, i.e. the devil, in the image of the serpent who deceived Eve.
Look, O sinner, what a terrible, bloody sacrifice was required by God's justice to redeem you from sin and eternal destruction: the most excruciating, most shameful death on the cross of the only begotten Son of God. And you who still live carefree, unrepentant, sin without fear, do not correct yourself, do not shed tears of repentance, do not care about good deeds, do you crucify the Son of God in yourself? But for those who trampled on the blood of the Son of God there is no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire, ready to devour the adversaries. Fear, tremble, O sinner!
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God so loved the world, that is, with an infinite love that surpasses all understanding, for He gave an infinite sacrifice for our sins - His Son, co-enthroned with Him, God the Father, co-eternal, consubstantial. O the wondrous, most glorious, most sweet, eternal love of God! If God had not given His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, the whole world would have gone into eternal torment and no one would have been saved. All who are saved were saved by the blood and death of the Son of God, all are justified by His grace; the saints became holy by His holiness, righteous by His righteousness, made wise by His wisdom, strengthened by His power, adorned with His incorruptible beauty, attained incorruptibility by His incorruptibility. All who are being saved now are saved only by the blood of the Son of God, or by water and blood, for from His pierced side flowed blood and water, signifying two mysteries: baptism and communion; for without baptism and communion no one will be saved - of course, and without repentance and other mysteries. The Lord Himself says: "Repent; unless you repent, you will all perish" - "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day" - "He who has faith and is baptized will be saved."
"For God did not send His Son into the world," the Gospel continues, "to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." But how do we read in the Creed: I believe in the Lord "who will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;" while the Gospel says that God the Father has given all judgment to the Son? The current Gospel speaks of the first coming of the Son of God, for the salvation of the world, while the Creed speaks of His second coming; the Lord came the first time to save the world, and will come the second time to judge the world. And now, indeed, everyone who desires salvation can be saved through the Son of God, but if now, during earthly life, with such an abundance of grace, with such faithful and all-powerful means of salvation, a person neglects salvation and lives unrepentantly and fearlessly, then after death and at the terrible judgment of Christ he will be judged without mercy.
Save yourselves, brethren, while there is time. If we lose time, we will lose our salvation. It was said to the foolish virgins: "Verily I say to you, I know you not," though they knocked and said, "Lord, Lord, open to us." "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come." Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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