Homily

In the vespers for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, there is a reference to Moses and the Israelites and their battle against the Amalekites. Here is what it says in chapter 17 of the Book of Exodus:

“Then Amalek came and waged war against Israel in Rephidim….So Moses said to Joshua, `Choose some men for us, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle while Moses, Aaron and Hur climbed to the top of the hill. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight. Moses hands, however, grew tired; so they took a rock and put it under him, and he sat on it. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady until sunset. And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.”

The fathers believed that Moses' hands were outstretched like this. And therefore, by stretching out his hands the Israelites were able to win the battle which made Moses a prefigure of Christ. When Christ stretched out His hands on the Cross, He won the battle for us against sin and death.

I wondered how long it might be that I could hold out my arms before I became too tired to continue. As you can imagine, it's not a very long time. It's no wonder Aaron and Hur had to hold them up for Moses. Jesus did not need anyone to hold up His outstretched arms, because they were nailed to the cross. What I could only bear for a matter of minutes, he endured for hours, nailed to wood, left hand and right, His arms and His whole body wracked in a pain I'm sure I cannot imagine.

We are at a distance from the Cross of Christ in several ways. For example, unlike most, if not all the people of Jerusalem, we have never personally seen someone crucified. We have many icons, paintings and crosses to look upon, and more recently if you want, you can find pictures of Christians crucified on the internet by Muslim murderers, but it's not quite the same as people in the Roman empire 2,000 years ago who would often see people hung upon crosses. We have a distance of experience; the experience of knowing what this death was like.

We have a distance from the crucifixion by geography: Jerusalem is 7,000 miles away. We have a distance of time. It's easier to appreciate the events of the Vietnam War because they happened only 50 years ago and there are still many people living who are able to talk about it—making it easier to think about than the Revolutionary War, and much easier than an event which happened 2,000 years ago. When we think, or try to think, about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, these are some elements that can create a distance between us and Calvary, and naturally so.

But there are other things which can put a distance between us and the cross. Lack of faith can be one of them. To believe in Jesus with my whole heart, my whole mind, my whole soul and to live only according to His word is something I have not yet achieved. A lack of hope in His promises can create a space between me and the cross. If my hopes are largely centered only on my life in this world, and only on things that are temporary and passing, in that much I am standing apart from the cross.

And then there is a lack of love that can keep us from getting closer to the cross. When we consider that He Who created the entire universe, He Who created me, took on flesh and allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross in order to save me, it is a love that is difficult for my selfish heart to comprehend. The Son of God sheds his blood and endures all the suffering of the passion and crucifixion, the physical agony, the mental and emotional pain of Calvary; He Who is completely innocent is willing to undergo death in order that I, a guilty man, can be freed from the power of death—that is a love so great that it shows how absolutely small my own love is. He who is everything offers Himself for me. And how pitifully weak is my love for Him in return. My lack of love puts me away from the cross.

I am a busy person. We are all busy people, occupied in so many ways with the events and people that surround us, filled to the brim with things to do and people to see. It's no wonder that we may not stop often enough to think about the Crucified One. There are many natural reasons, and there are personal weaknesses and failings that serve to keep us at a distance from Christ on the cross. It is not easy to look on Him Who suffers for my sins. It is not easy to love Him when my heart is so small and so busy with trying to find my own satisfaction in this life. It is not easy to look on His death and think of my own death. That's why, twice a year, the Church puts the Cross out in front of us in a special way, so that physically we come up to kiss it, closing the distance between us and Christ crucified. And if we do that, we have a chance, and opportunity today, to close the spiritual distance between us and our Lord. So let's come close, let's draw near and kiss Him and honor Him, and thank Him Who has loved and saved us.

From the prayers for Matins today, it says:

“O Cross of Christ, you are the pride of the faithful and the strength of those who struggle…You are a source of mercy to the world…With unworthy lips we sing to You, O Christ, Who condescended to be nailed upon the Cross. And like the thief we cry out to you: 'O Lord, make us worthy of Your kingdom.'”