“The Cross is the guardian of the whole world. The Cross is the beauty of the Church. The Cross is the might of kings. The Cross is the confirmation of the faithful. The cross is the glory of the angels…and the wounding of demons”.
The Cross is everything for us! We bring it out to the center of the Church. We decorate it with beautiful and fragrant flowers. We bow down low before the life-giving wood. In all of these movements, we give Glory to God for the Cross!
A question that many will ask in the outside world is “Why?” This was an instrument of death. As we heard in the Gospel today, it was used to humiliate God Incarnate…to crucify Him naked and in public, with the crowds “wagging their heads” at our Lord as they walked by. Why would we lift up and magnify the cross?
Next week, we will hear in the Gospel our Lord taking it a step further. He says: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” If we want to walk towards He Who Is our Salvation, we have to carry our own crosses…our own difficulties, our own passions, and all of the tragedies that the fallen world places on our shoulders. We are called to bear them with strength, humility, and yes (as backwards as it might seem) with gratitude.
This past week, I happened across a documentary on the “De-Stalinization” of Russia after the death of Joseph Stalin. When he died, there was a massive state funeral, where his body was carefully placed next to Lenin, the supposed other “Hero of the Russian Revolution”. However, a few years after his death, the truth came out in government circles of just how much of a lunatic this man was. He would turn on his loyal generals and closest allies out of fear and in the blink of an eye. From an Orthodox Christian standpoint, Stalin was responsible for the slaughter of millions of Orthodox Christians, many of which were Bishops and Priests, so that he could stamp out the “opium of the people”, which is what he called the Christian Faith.
After these truths came out, the Soviet Union started to remove all of the statues built to Stalin. They removed him out of Red Square and quietly buried him with other lesser-known generals and leaders.
At the end of this documentary, there was a video of an Orthodox Priest blessing a new statue of Stalin that was erected near Pskov. I watched this priest and immediately asked myself similar questions that I asked about the Cross:
“What is that priest thinking!? Is this some kind crazy resurgence of a love of Stalin and Soviet nostalgia? Doesn’t he realize that this man was directly responsible for destroying the lives of millions of Orthodox Christians? Why would he go and throw holy water on this statue?”
After the blessing, the priest explained why it was that he was thanking God for Stalin. He first turned to the people and said: “Christ is Risen! During Stalin’s time in power, if we are being honest, the Church suffered. But without him, we would be without thousands of Martyrs and Confessors who are now interceding for the Resurgence of Faith in our country.”
Giving thanks to God for our crosses, for our sufferings, and for our weaknesses. To be able to have the faith that is necessary to see them not as a curse, but rather as a blessing….this is what it means to see clearly. This is freedom. This is holiness. This is the peace that the Church offers to us who are bearing our crosses in the world. It is the very reason why the priest comes out multiple times in the Liturgy, and with his hands in the shape of “ICXC”, says “Peace be unto all” in the shape of the cross.
The people of the Soviet Union, along with all of those who have been killed in the numerous persecutions of Christians that have occurred since the time of Christ, bore the crosses that Stalin placed upon them with tremendous love of Christ and Hope in the Resurrection. It was through that hope and perseverance that the goals of eradicating faith in Christ were foiled…and now these former Soviet States are the some of the fastest growing Christian Countries in the world.
Fr. Roman Braga, a man who many of you knew, and who this past week the process of canonization to sainthood began, stated many times that it was through his tortures and hardships that he was able to acquire tremendous peace and closeness to God.
In the past few weeks, parents lost their children while praying a mass in Minnesota. Christians in Palestine starved to death. The Kirk Family this week had a tremendous cross placed upon them with the shooting of their husband and father. While it is difficult now, these families will be able to endure this present evil, because of the one thing they all have in common…an unwavering love of God, and the faith that these crosses will lead to Glory. Until they get to that point, we pray that the cross of Christ and the peace of the Church will sustain them.
“O Cross of Christ, You are the hope of the Christians. You guide those who have gone astray. You are a haven of the storm-tossed, victory in war, a firm foundation of the inhabited earth, a physician of the sick, and the resurrection of the dead..” [1]
Glory to Thy precious Cross O Lord…and give us the strength and courage to bear our own.
[1] Troparia of the Cross, Matins Tone 6