We bow to Your Cross, O Master and we praise your third-day resurrection
As we complete the third week of the Great Fast, the Church calls us to venerate an image of the Cross. It signals that we are at the mid-point of the Great Fast. Our attention is now directed toward the most profound lesson that God has taught us through His Son, Jesus: How we embrace the challenges of life is absolutely critical if we are to truly become spiritual people and learn what life is meant to teach us.
The Church presents the Cross for our veneration so that we might make, as we venerate it, a personal commitment to embrace the cross that life has given us in a manner similar to how Jesus embraced His Cross. As we venerate the Cross this weekend, let us ask Almighty God to give us the strength and courage to imitate Jesus.
Consider what we know about how Jesus carried His Cross. The way He endured the Cross truly summarizes all of His teaching. It reveals to us, in a profound manner, His teaching in actual practice. We understand that He (1) embraced it without complaint; (2) thought about others even in His agony; (3) treated those mourning for Him with love; and (4) forgave those who tortured Him and expressed hatred for Him. To the very last moment of His human life He truly lived what He preached. He lived those four basic rules which, I am sure, all of my readers recall: (1) He did unto others as He would have them do unto Him; (2) He unconditionally loved others as Himself; (3) He unconditionally forgive others; and (4) He judged no one for His crucifixion. Again, He lived His beliefs fully, placing absolutely no conditions on His loving response to others. Jesus presents us with a real example of how to live this human life.
As we venerate the Cross today, we are called, to honestly challenge ourselves to assess our level of belief. Do we truly believe in the teachings of Jesus? Do we understand that He is God’s revelation about how to be a proper human being, made in His own image and unto His likeness? Have we set a goal for ourselves to do all within our power to live like Jesus lived? Are we prepared to embrace the challenges of life in the same manner as Jesus did? Are we resolved to carry, as Jesus did, the cross that life presents us.
To live this way we need faith and a desire to be God’s child. It is a way that offers hope and the fullness of life!