Instruction for the Eighth Sunday After Pentecost (11)

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1Cor 1:18).

To which of the perishing, then, is the word of the cross foolishness? Surely not to any among us? Perhaps the Apostle says this not of us, but of the pagans, of whom there were so many in his time, and who, indeed, counted it madness to render honor to the cross as an instrument of shameful execution. Is it of them, then, that this is said? Do all of us honor the cross as we ought, and is the word of the cross the power of God for us—are we those being saved, of whom the Apostle speaks after naming those who perish? Is the word of the cross a foolishness to no one among us? Let each man’s own conscience answer these questions; for it is true enough that there are, even among those who are Christians in name, pagans in deed; and since faith without good works is dead, the name of Christian, for such people, is but a dead sound, which will bring them no benefit at all. It is our duty to offer a brief word on when the cross becomes for us the saving power of God, and how we ought to honor it earnestly. The cross becomes for us the saving power of God when we look upon it in no other way than with a living faith in God and with a feeling of sincere love for God. A wondrous thing! The cross has become inseparable from the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom eternal righteousness and the love of God the Father for us put to death upon the cross for our sake—yet with the consent, moreover, of the Son Himself, equal and consubstantial with the Father. Therefore, brothers, wherever we may see a cross, let us at once picture to ourselves the Son of God hanging upon it, nailed there for us, and let us never picture any cross at all apart from the crucified Lord—for the cross is honored only on account of Him who was crucified upon it: the crosses of the thieves, crucified with Christ, were like the cross of the Lord in form, yet we do not honor them.

Together with picturing the Lord crucified upon the cross, let us picture also the most fearsome sufferings that those crucified had to endure—the blood flowing from hands and feet pierced with nails, and the blood and water that flowed from the Lord’s side, pierced with a spear—and how this same blood is to this day poured out and given to all of us, together with His body, broken for the remission of sins, and will be poured out until the end of the world.

Even the pagans love those who love them (Lk 6:32). Shall we not, then, love the Lord who loves us so, who laid down His very soul for us? «Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his soul for his friends» (Jn 15:13). But if anyone loves Me, says the Crucified One, he will keep My word (Jn 14:23). Ah, brothers! If only we fully knew how priceless the death of the Lord upon the cross is for us! But we do not grasp this as we ought. Only in part can this be rightly understood by one who has been condemned to death for his crimes, and is being led to an execution that now threatens him and must, without fail, be carried out. Suppose that, for this man, at the very moment he is being led to execution, a stranger pays his ransom, and says to the executioners: let this criminal go free; instead of his head, I give my own. How great would be this man’s joy, and his gratitude toward such a deliverer! This is exactly what the Son of God has done for us: before our heavenly Father we were all criminals, liable to eternal execution. This temporal life, too, is dear to all of us, and no one wants to die. But how much dearer still is eternal life! We do not know it, and therefore do not value it as we ought. But our Redeemer knows how grievous eternal death is, and how precious eternal life is. It was from this very eternal death that He redeemed us by His cross and His death, that He might grant us eternal life. What love, what mercy!

Therefore, brothers, let us all earnestly honor the cross, kissing it with faith and love, in church and at home and wherever we may be, tracing its sign upon ourselves correctly and with reverence. There are people who, through carelessness, trace the cross upon themselves badly, and think this is nothing; but it is not nothing—it is a great sin.

This is ingratitude for the mercies of God, a carelessness toward a thing worthy of every attention. What! The Son of God endured the sufferings and death of the cross for us, shed His blood for us—and we are unwilling even to trace this saving sign upon ourselves properly!

Brothers! Let us be on our guard. In the Cross, let us honor the Lord who was crucified upon it: for it was there that our love was crucified—and this love is the incarnate Son of God Himself. Amen.