March 15th, 2026: Sermon on the Precious Cross

of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy

Spirit. Amen. Today, as we come to the middle

of Great Lent, the cross stands before us in

the church, announcing to us that we've reached

the Sunday of the veneration of the precious

and life -giving cross. Today, as we stand before

that cross, the apostle reminds us that we have

a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses,

who has become human in every respect as we have,

tempted in every way, although without sin, who

has learned obedience and indeed has become obedient

to the point of death, even death. on the cross

and because of this reality we can draw near

to his throne of glory without any shame we can

receive mercy we can find grace to help in our

time of need today through the cross joy has

come into all the world paradise has been opened

If you listened carefully to the hymnography

last night, it is drenched with joy. Joy, victory,

life, paradise, resurrection. The cross itself

bears the marks of the resurrection, the fruit

of paradise and eternal life. To those who are

perishing, the cross is folly. It is stupidity.

to the structures of this world, to its power,

the ways the world works, the ways the world

thinks and reasons. But today, to those who are

being saved, the cross is the power and wisdom

of God. Today, through the cross, the world is

crucified to us and we become crucified to the

world. Today, through the cross, we put away

enmity. and hostility we have with one another.

Any baggage that we didn't get off our chest

at the Sunday of forgiveness, we put it off,

we release it, we unite it to that cross, even

our enemies. Today, through the cross, we kill

sin. We put to death the deeds of the body so

that we may not be killed and devoured by demons.

Today, through the cross, Christ cancels the

record of debt standing against us with every

legal demand that the devil brings to charge

against us, that the devil whispers in our ear

time and time again, you sinner. Today, Christ

takes those things, he sets them aside, he tears

up the record of sins and nails them to the cross,

purging the filth by life -giving blood. Today,

through the cross, Christ despises its shame.

He endures it for us so that we might have life,

freedom from sin, release, freedom from death,

the tyranny of the devil, our sin, and even ourselves.

Anything that would hold us back from God. Anything

that we think would keep us at arm's length from

God. Christ destroys it. Brothers and sisters,

today, let go of sin. Let go of the sin that

often clings so tightly and so easily, trips

us up again and again. Let us lay aside every

weight. Let us fix our eyes on Christ, who both

authors and completes our faith and obedience.

who looks at the joy that's set before him and

endures all the shame that comes from the cross,

trampling it, squelching it of its power and

dignity. Let what you have in your hearts go

today. Bring it to confession. Walk forward with

confidence in Christ because the cross is our

weapon. It is our boast. our strength, our joy.

It is our victory. Without the cross, we have

no hope. Without the cross, we have no resurrection

or life. Without the cross, there is no reentrance

into paradise. The life of the cross is what

Lent is all about. That's why we bring it out

right here, right smack dab in the middle of

Lent. When we are getting tired, when we are

becoming discouraged perhaps, when we are becoming

apathetic, do I really need to do all these things?

When we are giving up or losing hope, losing

meaning, the church puts the cross in our midst

to remind us that Christ died for sinners, for

people like you. like you and me, who have messed

up, who have missed the mark, who have fallen

short of the glory of God, that Christ gave his

life for the world which he loved. That it's

only through the cross that anything we do, anything

we are, anything we become, anything we give

away, means anything. Only through the cross,

eternal life is possible for us. Christ sympathizes

with us in our weakness because he is our high

priest. He is God in the flesh. That is, God

the Word vested in our flesh as if he puts our

humanity on as his vestments and goes into the

sanctuary to unite us to his self -offering as

Lamb of God. to cleanse, to purge, to sanctify,

to absolve, to remit sin, to grant life everlasting.

By the mercies of God, then, brothers and sisters,

present yourself, what you are in your bodies,

because this is a time when we focus on our bodies

as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to

God. which is our reasonable worship, our worship

in the spirit, our logiki latria, our human offering,

liturgically speaking, as St. Paul says. That

sacrificial offering, what we present in our

bodies, is cultivated by how we let the cross

work on our lives, by emptying ourselves. By

taking the cross as if it's a medical scalpel

and excising that which is dying and decaying

and diseased through fasting, through confession,

through hospitality, through seeing and noticing

others and seeing Christ in them and treating

them accordingly. By giving away our money, by

giving away our food and drink, by giving away

our clothing, our time, our talents, our resources,

welcoming the stranger. All in love. Because

Christ has welcomed us when we were his enemies.

In our worldly strength and wisdom, these things

are impossible. Remember, they are stupidity

and foolishness, as the apostle puts it. But

by the cross, they become life -giving. They

become the fragrance of paradise, bursting and

spilling out from heaven into this world, the

life of the Spirit. Remember Zacchaeus. They

become our salvation. Today, salvation has come

to this house, for he too is a son of Abraham.

Every time we fast in faith, we empty ourselves.

And we unite ourselves to the cross. Every time

we confess our sin boldly, we unite ourselves

to the cross, knowing that we have an advocate

with Jesus Christ, the righteous one, who takes

away our sin and cleans us all. Every time we

forgive, we let go of bitterness and resentment.

We unite ourselves to the cross, knowing that

our own forgiveness comes only through it. Every

time we welcome the stranger and practice hospitality,

we empty ourselves and unite ourselves to the

cross because we open our lives and time and

energy up to someone else, someone else who needs

life and help and to be known, to feel like they

belong. Every time we receive hospitality and

help, we unite ourselves to the cross. Because

we put away our pride and delusional thoughts

that we don't need help. I heard Metropolitan

Teehan put it this way last year in a sermon

he gave before me, that it is more difficult,

it is more blessed to receive hospitality than

to give it. Think about that. Every time we give

away our money, time, talents, We unite ourselves

to the cross because we sacrifice what we have.

We expose ourselves. We give ourselves over and

our need to God that he alone will provide for

us. Whatever we give away is already his. Today,

our Lord's words in the gospel force us to ask

ourselves, what have we not crucified in our

lives? What parts of ourselves, perhaps hidden

in the depths and recesses of our hearts, have

we not united to the cross? When we fall down,

when we venerate, when we prostrate before it

and kiss it, but hold on to and cling to particular

sins, are we not simply trying to profit ourselves?

and keep something for ourselves in our earthly

wisdom. For what does it profit a man to gain

the whole world? Why would we want to and lose

his soul? This line doesn't just apply to money,

doesn't just apply to great careers, but to how

we view ourselves in the world. All of it, all

of it needs to be taken and subsumed under the

cross of Christ. All of any significance and

any meaning of what we are, what we do, what

we are trying to become, what we are trying to

run from, it needs to be placed under the power

and wisdom and life of the cross. We need to

deny ourselves our wisdom, our sin, our thoughts

that plague us, our distraction that keeps us

at arm's length, our running from our family.

Our running from things that are before us and

things that we actually need to do. Our running

from things we are unable to confront in ourselves.

That it might be obvious and perceptible to everyone

else, but because it's too scary to us, we can't

do it. We need to take up our cross. We need

to crucify these things. We need to empty them

of their power so that we might have life and

forgiveness of sin. Real salvation. Real freedom.

Real healing. To become communicants of eternal

life truly. Even the things we see as our positive

achievements. Our success. Things that we are

particularly proud of. Perhaps it's how we raise

our kids. Perhaps it's that we've now raised

our kids. They're walking with Christ. Perhaps

it's our solid careers. Perhaps it's our nice

houses. That we have a nice pension or retirement.

Perhaps it's our vigilant attendance in church

services. Our keeping of prayers. Even our keeping

of the fast. Maybe it's our recognition of strangers,

that we are the first ones at the door to see

them and notice them, that we welcome others.

Maybe it's what we focus our energy and life

on, upstanding things we do in the community.

And on and on and on. These things we also need

to bring before the cross and crucify them. Because

apart from Christ, they are nothing. We can do

nothing, as Christ himself says. It is Christ

who animates us. It is Christ who gives life.

It is his cross that gives any power, meaning,

significance, and wisdom to our lives. It is

his cross that fills our hearts with love. Otherwise,

we are noisy gongs. And so today, today, today,

we take up the cross. because it destroys sin,

death. The demons cower and are terrified of

its power. Today we have nothing to be proud

of. As we stand before the cross, how can we

be? What can we boast in? What can we bring before

God? What can we be proud of except the cross

of Christ, as St. Paul says? I will make that

alone my boast, my weakness, because when I am

weak, I am strong. and the Lord. Today we have

nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to hide. Nothing

to run from. Because all of our sin is nailed

to the cross of Christ. All of sin, sins and

death's power is squelched. It's emptied. It's

trampled. The devil has no charge. His works

have been completely undone. Christ has crushed

the enemy. Today there is no condemnation for

those who are in Christ Jesus. Today there is

nothing that can separate us from the love of

God. Today let's look up and fix our eyes on

Christ's cross, which is our hope, our power,

our joy, our weapon of peace, the very means

by which we enter into paradise, the divine life.

To close with the words of St. Paul then, Today

we have been crucified with Christ, and it is

no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in

us. And the life we now live in the flesh, we

live by faith in and allegiance to the Son of

God who loved us and gave himself for us by the

power and might of the precious and life -giving

cross. Amen.