May: Day 7: Teaching 1: Commemoration of the Appearance of the Sign of the Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem in 351 A.D.

May: Day 7: Teaching 1:
Commemoration of the Appearance of the Sign of the Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem During the Reign of Emperor Constantius
 
(Reflecting on the Cross of the Lord, we must not only thank the Lord for the salvation He has accomplished for us, but also pray to Him for the forgiveness of the sins we commit.)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we commemorate the appearance of the sign of the Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem, which was in the sky in the year 351. It was during the days of Holy Pentecost, that is, between Pascha and Pentecost, on the 7th of May, about the 3rd hour of the day. The Cross was made of light and extended over Golgotha, the mountain of Christ's crucifixion, to the Mount of Olives, from where the Lord ascended, about a two miles distance. The Cross was visible to the entire population of the city, and was visible for quite a long time during the day, and its light was stronger than the light of the sun's rays. The people hurried in crowds to the temples, and all trembled and prayed to the Lord. This heavenly phenomenon converted many of the Jews and pagans to Christ. It foretold that great cross which was to come upon the Church for twenty whole years after Constantine the Great from the emperors Constantius the Arian and Julian the Apostate.

II. When we reflect on the miraculous appearance of the Lord's Cross in heaven, we, brethren, must not only thank the Lord for the salvation He has accomplished for us, but also pray to Him for the forgiveness of the sins we commit.

a) The Son of God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator of the universe, a Being in every respect infinitely great and most perfect, came down from heaven to earth, took upon Himself mortal human flesh, was subjected in it to various needs and sorrows, and finally died for us the most shameful death - crucifixion on the cross, like a lawless person! And He did all this not because He had need of us (as the most blessed One, He does not need anything), and not because we people were worthy of His love and of such a sacrifice, which He made for our salvation; but solely because of His boundless goodness and ineffable love for the human race. "God so loved the world," says the Evangelist, "that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

But do we love Him, our God and Savior, as we should, with all our heart and soul? Can it not also apply to us what the Lord once said about the Jews: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Isaiah 29:13)? He who sincerely loves someone tries to fulfill the desires of the beloved object, is afraid to offend him and always remembers, or at least often recalls him; but do we fulfill the commandments of God? Do we not anger the Lord with our deeds? And do we remember Him, at least do we often recall Him? For His love for us we repay with coldness towards Him; for the greatest benefit shown to us in redemption from eternal death, we repay Him with ingratitude and insult to His holiness by our sins. Shouldn't He be angry with us for this? Shouldn't we ask Him for forgiveness? Let everyone cry out to Him earnestly: "Lord have mercy!"

b) Christ died for our sins, suffered to cleanse us of them with His blood (1 Cor. 15:3; Rom. 3:25); and in cleansing them, He desired that we should no longer commit them. And truly, he who truly believes in Him does not sin voluntarily, but “keeps himself” from sin (1 John 5:18), for to sin would mean “crucifying again” the Son of God and condemning oneself to eternal torment (Heb. 6:4, 6, 8).

And we, brethren, do we keep ourselves from sins, do we avoid them? Many of us, in the words of the prophet, “drink iniquity like water,” that is, indulge in sin without fear and insatiably, and we all do not fear sins and do not shun them as we should. We do not even consider some sins to be sins because of their insignificance, while every sin is very grave, because it is a transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4); and we excuse other sins by the weakness of our nature, while we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10), and not for sins, and with the assistance of God’s grace we can resist every attraction to sin (2 Cor. 12:7). There are also those among us who sin not through weakness of nature, but voluntarily and with intent, who themselves seek opportunities to sin, and not only sin themselves, but also tempt and corrupt others. Tell me, do we not all sin gravely before God? Do we not therefore have a great need of His mercy? Let each one cry out to Him from the depths of his soul: "Lord have mercy!"

c) Jesus Christ died for our sins with this great purpose: that we, having been delivered from sins, might live for righteousness and inherit eternal life in the kingdom of heaven (1 Peter 2:24; Heb. 9:15).

But do we, brethren, care to fulfill His will, are we zealous for virtue, are we concerned with acquiring eternal blessedness? Trace your life from youth to the present day, examine at least one day of it and say: what have you done to acquire blessedness in the Kingdom of Heaven? What wicked passion have you destroyed in yourself? What virtue have you strengthened? How much good have you done for your neighbors? What have you sacrificed to the Lord? Alas, almost all of us only ate, drank and were merry; and if we did work, then more for the belly than for God and the salvation of our souls, more for the earth than for heaven and the eternal blessedness in it, which many, perhaps, do not even think about! You see what sinners we are and how we need to pray to the Lord, that He may forgive us for our negligence in pleasing Him and our eternal salvation! Let each one with sincere repentance cry out to Him: “Lord have mercy!”

III. And You, most gracious Lord, listen to the voice of our prayer and be merciful to us sinners! You once prayed to the Heavenly Father to forgive the greatest of the lawless ones who crucified You: forgive us also for our great sins! "Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us!" Amen. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.