Chapter 20

From the Homilies of Our Father Among the Saints Gregory, Archbishop of Thessalonica, Palamas

Not only the word of the Cross and the mystery, but also the figure itself is divine and worthy of veneration, being a sacred and revered seal, sanctifying and perfecting the supernatural and ineffable blessings promised to the human race in God, destroying curse and condemnation, overthrowing corruption and death, bestowing eternal life and blessing, a saving tree, a royal sceptre, a divine trophy against visible and invisible enemies—even if the children of heretics rave senselessly. For they did not attain the apostolic prayer, that they might be strong to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth. For the Cross of the Lord reveals the entire oikonomia of his parousia in the flesh, and contains within it every mystery according to it, and extends to all the ends, and encompasses all things—the things above, the things below, the things around, the things in between. But putting forward some pretext by which they too ought to venerate it with us, if they had any sense, they reject the symbol of the King of glory, which the Lord himself clearly calls both his reproach and his glory when he is about to ascend upon it. And concerning his coming parousia and manifestation, he proclaims beforehand that this sign of the Son of Man will come with power and great glory. But they say that Christ was nailed to it and died, and for this reason we cannot even bear to look at the form and the wood on which he was put to death. But the handwriting against us, which came upon us through disobedience at the tree, when the forefather’s hand was stretched out—to what was it nailed? And through what was it removed from our midst and destroyed, so that we returned to the blessing from God? And by what did Christ strip off the principalities and authorities of the spirits of evil, which gained a foothold against our nature from the tree of disobedience, and utterly cast them away, and triumphing over them put them to shame, so that we received our freedom? By what has the dividing wall of the barrier been destroyed, and the enmity against our God been abolished and put to death? And through what were we reconciled to God and received the good news of peace with him? Was it not on the Cross and through the Cross? Let them hear the words of the Apostle, who writes to the Ephesians: Christ is our peace, who has broken down the dividing wall of the barrier, so that He might create the two in Himself into one new human being, making peace, and reconcile both in one body to God through the Cross, having put to death the enmity in it. And to the Colossians: “When we were dead in our trespasses and the uncircumcision of our flesh, He made us alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting against us in the decrees, which was opposed to us, and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the Cross, and having disarmed the principalities and the authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

Let us therefore honor it. Shall we not make use of this divine trophy of the common freedom of our race, which by its mere appearance puts to flight and triumphs over and shames the Evil-Plotting Serpent, proclaiming his defeat and ruin, while it glorifies and magnifies Christ, revealing His victory to the world? And yet if the Cross is to be despised because Christ endured death on it, then death itself will not be venerable and salvific. How then, according to the Apostle, were we baptized into His death? And how shall we share in His Resurrection, if we have not been united with Him in the likeness of His death? Otherwise, if someone were to venerate the form of a Cross that did not bear the Lord’s name inscribed upon it, he would justly be accused of acting improperly. And since at the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and since the Cross bears this venerable name, would it not be the height of madness to refuse to bend the knee to the Cross of Christ?[1] But let us bow our hearts together with our knees, and come, let us worship along with the psalmist and Prophet David at the place where His feet stood, where the hands that hold all things together were stretched out, and where for our sake the life-giving body was extended. And as we venerate it in faith and embrace it, let us draw and preserve in abundance the sanctification that flows from it, so that at the most glorious coming of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, when we behold it going before Him, we may rejoice and leap for joy in glory, unassailably,[2] attaining the standing at the right hand, and the promised blessed voice and blessing, to the glory of the Son of God who was crucified in the flesh for us. For to Him belongs glory, together with His Father without beginning, and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.