Homily Two on the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
Today the Holy Church solemnly remembers the discovery of the Holy Cross of the Lord. This joyful event took place, as is known, three centuries after the Resurrection of the Lord and was accomplished by the zeal of the Holy Empress Helen, the mother of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine. The Lord Jesus Christ entered into His glory by a long and difficult path of humility, and the humiliation of the Life-giving Tree, on which the Lord sacrificed Himself for our sins, continued incomparably longer.
The Savior of the world was already in Heaven, and the instrument of salvation was contained in the depths of the earth; the glory of the Crucified One had already resounded throughout the ends of the universe, but no one knew about the Tree of the Cross, not even in those places that were adjacent to Golgotha itself. But the world began to be convinced that the "message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18), and the Tree of the Cross needed to appear to the world for its joy, for the triumph and adornment of the Church. Constantine the Great, who himself had repeatedly experienced the power of the Cross, set out to find the very Tree on which our Savior was crucified. This sacred work was undertaken by his praiseworthy mother, the Empress Helen. The Holy Spirit inspired this equal-to-the-apostles empress to use effort and zeal to seek the Cross. But how to find this treasure? On the advice of Patriarch Makarios of Jerusalem, the oldest Jews were summoned, and when asked where their ancestors had hidden the Cross of Christ, they pointed to a certain Judas, who, having led the queen and the archbishop to the north-eastern side of Golgotha, said to them: "In this place, where the temple of Venus stands, you will find the Cross of your Christ." The temple was torn down and after much labor - since the Cross was covered with rubbish and earth - the Cross of the Savior - and along with it the crosses of the thieves crucified with the Lord - were found. Even before their discovery, a fragrance emanating from the earth was sensed. But since three crosses were found, in order to determine which of them was the Cross of the Lord, Patriarch Makarios ordered that a sick pious woman lying on her deathbed be placed next to the crosses. When she was touched the first two crosses, they did not produce any effect or change in the condition of the sufferer, but touching the third not only raised her from her bed of illness, but also gave her greater strength than she had possessed before. After this, giving glory to God, everyone unanimously recognized the miraculous cross as the Cross of the Lord.
But this was not enough. It pleased God's Providence to glorify the power of the Cross even more, so that even its enemies would believe in it. A dead man was being carried past the house where the sick woman lay to be buried. And so the Patriarch again placed three crosses on the dead man, one after the other. When the Cross of the Savior was placed, a miracle occurred: the dead man rose from the dead, so that even the enemies of Christ's Church from among the Jews believed. Each of those present wanted to fall down before the Cross and kiss it, but the cramped space with the large crowd of people did not allow this. Then the people began to ask that at least the Tree of the Cross be shown to them.
Saint Makarioss, standing on a high place, erected the Honorable Tree, and the people, seized with reverent joy, exclaimed: "Lord have mercy!" Therefore, the memory of this glorious event received the name of the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross of the Lord in our Church. Judas, who suggested where to find the Cross, believed in the crucified Lord, was baptized with the name of Kyriakos, and later became the Patriarch of Jerusalem and died a martyr's death.
The power of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord gives the greatest help to those who protect themselves with its sign. "The Cross is the sign of our salvation, common freedom and mercy of our Lord," says Saint John Chrysostom about the Cross. This sign, both in former and modern times, opened locked doors, took away the power of harmful substances, made poison ineffective and healed the deadly bites of animals. For if it opened the gates of hades, opened the door of heaven, reopened the entrance to paradise, crushed the fortress of the devil, then what is surprising if it defeats the power of poisonous substances, animals and everything like that?
Indeed, the sign of the Cross has great power. Once in the city of Bostra in Arabia, there was a bishop named Julian, a monk. Some of the inhabitants of that city, enemies of Christ, wanted to poison him. They bribed a young servant so that when he would give Julian a drink, he would mix poison into the cup. He did as he was told and gave the cup with poison to Saint Julian. Julian recognized the treachery and, having accepted the cup, placed it before himself, without saying anything to the youth. Then he called together all the citizens of the city, among whom were the evil-doers, and, not wishing to expose them, said to everyone: "If you think to poison the humble Julian with poison, then here I am drinking it before you." Having blessed the cup three times with the sign of the Cross with the words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit I drink this cup” - and having drunk it before everyone, he remained unharmed. The attackers saw this, fell to the ground and asked for forgiveness.
Seeing the numerous miracles in which the power of the Cross of Christ is manifested, Saint Dimitri of Rostov says in his homily on the Exaltation of the Cross: “It is worthy and righteous to venerate the Cross of Christ, for by this blessed Tree death was put to death and life was granted. By the tree of paradise we were put to death, and by the tree of the cross we were revived; by the first we were expelled from paradise, by the second we ascend to heaven; by the first the enemy conquered us, by the second we conquer our enemies; therefore this blessed Tree is worthy of all veneration. If the weapon with which David beheaded Goliath was kept in great honor in the Temple of Solomon, then the weapon of the Cross is worthy of even greater veneration and adoration, with which Christ conquered not a man, but the devil, this hellish Goliath, with all his army. Before the coming of Christ, the demon had power, because people had no weapons to resist him, but now there is the Cross of Christ. Just make the sign of the cross on yourself, and he will immediately flee from you. He is bound by the power of the Cross, and if he is bound, how can he harm you? But if he harms you, you yourself bind him, that is, make the sign of the Cross of the Lord on yourself, and he will be bound. Does the devil put evil thoughts into your mind? Make the sign of the Cross on your forehead, and he will flee from you. Does he force you to turn your eyes this way and that? Make the sign of the Cross on your forehead, and he will flee from you. Does he force your tongue to talk? Drive it away with the Cross. Does the vain words of others reach your ears? Protect your hearing with the Cross of Christ."
Saint John of Damascus also advises us this, saying: "The Cross was given to us as a sign on the forehead, just as circumcision was given to Israel. We, the faithful, are distinguished from the unfaithful by the Cross, we are marked by the Cross, the Cross is a shield, a weapon and a victory over the devil; it is a seal so that the destroyer cannot touch us."
Dear brothers and sisters, when we venerate the Cross of the Lord, we must ensure that our outward veneration is an expression of our inner spiritual worship before the Savior. It will be salutary for us if it serves as an expression of our sincere and reverent faith in the crucified Lord. Jesus Christ crucified on the Cross is our Savior and God, the Cross is the banner of our victory and Christian faith. With humility we bow our knees and our minds before this sign, reverent before the incomprehensible wisdom of God and the highest secret love of God for the human race. We must always confess our faith in the Lord crucified for us, remembering the words of the Savior: "Whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 10:32).
Dear brothers and sisters, knowing the power of the Life-giving Cross and that the Lord suffered for our sins so that we might live for the truth, let us try to live piously, in the truth of God, otherwise we will be subjected to terrible punishment not only for our sins, but also for trampling on the Blood of the Son of God. May this not happen to us. On the contrary, let us be filled with a feeling of gratitude to the Lord and with true filial devotion and love let us fall down before this Cross, kissing the Savior depicted on it and crying out: "We venerate Your Cross, O Master, and glorify Your holy resurrection!" Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.