Carrying my Cross

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God is one. Amen.

On this third Sunday of Great Lent we venerate the Holy Cross. The opening verses of the Gospel today from the Gospel of St Mark, chapter 8, verses 34 and 35 read; and I quote: “Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it,” said Jesus. Notice two important guidelines that Jesus Christ is giving in the first century that apply to each of us today. First, accepting and embracing the Cross is necessary for every Christian, not just important disciples but for everyone. Second, the cross that we are being asked to carry is not the painful Crucifixion of Jesus Christ who died for us, but whatever crosses and unresolved problems we have today in our lives.

We all carry our personal crosses, our personal sufferings, often quite private. This theme of bearing your own cross just cited from the Gospel of St Mark is repeated in the Gospel St Matthew, chapter 10, verse 38 and in the Gospel of St Luke chapter 14, verse 27. This interpretation is not something personal to me, but a clear Biblical teaching. Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross to frighten us about how difficult life is, but to save us and to draw each of us to Him.

St Augustine wrote; and I quote: “Hold out, be steadfast, endure, bear the delay, and you have carried the cross,” reflected St Augustine. The French Roman Catholic priest John Vianney (1786-1859), expressed the Orthodox idea; and I quote: “You must accept your cross; if you carry it courageously it will carry you to heaven,” he concluded. 

The Epistle today from the fourth and fifth chapters of the Book of Hebrews forms a unity with Gospel. The central message of both today’s Epistle and today’s Gospel is summed up in Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 14; and I quote: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [to] our confession,” concludes that verse. 

As The Orthodox Study Bible points out, “most biblical scholars today agree that the authorship of the letter [to the Hebrews] is uncertain.” It may have been St Paul, but was more probably St Barnabas or St Apollos, both of whom taught with St. Paul. However, it is clear for whom the Book of Hebrews was written—the new Jewish converts to Christianity, including the Jewish priests. The Book of Acts, chapter 6, verse 7 tells us; and I quote; “The word of God kept on spreading and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem and a great number of the priests were becoming obedient to the [Christian] faith,” concluded St Luke. However, as The New American Study Bible points out some of these new converts to Christianity were trying to bring too many Jewish practices, especially the strict dietary laws, with them, as St Paul noted in the Book of Galatians, chapter 2, verse 14 [p. 1781]. Therefore, it was important for all the new Jewish Christians, both lay people and priests, to understand that Jesus Christ, the High Priest could empower all Christians to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need,” as explained in today’s Epistle from Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 16.

The author of the Book of Hebrews knew that he was writing to Jews who knew the Jewish Bible, the Christian Old Testament, well. In a very real sense, they knew the Bible so well that they had come to see that the Old Testament was telling them that the Messiah, the Christ, was coming. Whether they called this Saviour the Hebrew word “Messiah” or the Greek word “Christ” these new Christians knew that the Saviour had come. They wanted to follow Him in their prayers and in their lives. Therefore, it was appropriate that in today’s epistle readings, two psalms are cited that prophesy the coming of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 2, verse 7, reads; and I quote: “Thou are my Son, today I have begotten you,” concludes that important verse. Like the apostles and the author of the Book of Hebrews, the third-century Bishop of Olympus, St Methodius, wrote of this verse; and I quote again: “[God] willed that he who existed before the ages in heaven [that is, the Son of God, Christ] should be begotten on the earth—that is, that he who was before unknown should be made known.” St Methodius pointed out that it was possible for anyone to; and I quote: “perceive the mystery of grace, then in them too, when they were converted and believed, [Christ] would be born in knowledge and understanding,” concluded St Methodius.

That experience of perceiving “the mystery of grace” and being born into a deep “knowledge and understanding” of the presence of Christ in our lives is an ongoing experience for all of us. St Augustine describes this process as; and I quote: “The first stage of understanding is to recognize that you are a sinner. The second stage of understanding is that when, having received the gift of faith you begin to do good by choosing to love, you attribute this not to your own powers but to the grace of God,” concluded St Augustine.

The second psalm cited in today’s epistle is verse 4 of Psalm 109/110; and I quote: “Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,” concluded that verse. Now, Melchizedek was the first priest to be mentioned in the Bible. Chapter 14 of the Book of Genesis tells of how Abram defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and rescued Lot, his nephew, who dwelt in Sodom. Then, in verse 14; and I quote: “Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed [Abram] and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” concluded Melchizedek.

Melchizedek is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament—in the citations given here from Genesis 14 and Psalm 109/110. However, in the Book of Hebrews, chapters 5 to 7, Melchizedek is mentioned seven times. So why does Melchizedek figure so prominently in the Book of Hebrews? St Cyprian, a martyr and third-century bishop of Carthage in Africa offers an answer; and I quote: “In the priest Melchizedek we see prefigured the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord…. Melchizedek [was] a type of Christ,” concluded St Cyprian. In other words, he was a person in the Old Testament who symbolized the Christ that was to be revealed in the New Testament. Melchizedek was King of Salem which means “King of Peace,” so he was preparing the way for Jesus Christ as the eternal King of Peace.

Melchizedek, who lived some 2,000 years before Jesus Christ was born on earth, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram. This foreshadowed how Jesus Christ was to bless the Apostles at the Last Supper, as well as how we today are blessed by partaking of the bread and wine of the Eucharist becoming the Body and Blood of Christ. Whether we are considering times past, times present or times future, the reality of Christ is with us.

Both for Jesus Christ and for us, accepting our crosses can involve great suffering. However, the Cross is also the beginning of the Resurrection. As the evangelist St John wrote in his Gospel, chapter 12, verses 27 and 32, Jesus Christ said of the Crucifixion; and I quote: “I have come to this hour…. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself,” he concluded. St Andrew of Crete, the 8th century Bishop and author of The Great Canon that we read in Lent, also emphasised the unity of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. He wrote; and I quote: “If you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself said, ‘When I am lifted up, then I will draw all people to myself.’ Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph,” concluded St Andrew of Crete.

For each of us today, our past, present and future merge into the challenge that Christ gave to his apostles. Just as He said, “I have come to this hour,” so we too have come to this day, this hour, this Eucharist when we can decide for ourselves whether we wish to accept the grace that Christ offers us NOW to be drawn closer to Him and His unique purposes for each of our lives. St Paul understood this challenge well when he wrote in Second Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 2; and I quote: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.” Amen.



And so, we ascribe as is justly due all might, majesty, dominion, power and praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, always now and ever and unto the ages of ages.          Father Emmanuel Kahn