Third Sunday of the Great Fast – Veneration of the Holy Cross, Tone 7; The Holy Martyr Agapius and the Six Martyrs with Him (284-305)
Great Fast Day 21. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated today.
Read
Hebrews 4:14-5:6; Mark 8:34-9:1
Not only the Third Sunday of Great Lent, but the week that follows, are devoted to welcoming the Precious Cross of Christ. This adoration of the Cross does not have a penitential character, but rather the opposite: “through the Cross joy has come to the whole world.” Having reached the midpoint of Lent we take refreshment, as though at a spiritual oasis, in the shade of the Cross, which is the banner and emblem of Christ’s victory. The Cross is a sign of our joy in Christ’s triumph. The liturgical texts express this joy; all the hymns in praise of the Cross have a victorious note to them. The Canon of Sunday Matins resembles the Paschal Canon of Saint John of Damascus.
Saint Hippolytus of Rome teaches:
“This Cross is the tree of my eternal salvation, nourishing and delighting me. I take root in the roots of the Cross; I am extended in the branches of the Cross; the dew of the Cross is my delight. The spirit of the Cross refreshes me like a lovely breeze. The shade of the Cross shelters me in my tent; when I flee from excessive heat I find the Cross a refuge, moist with dew, The flowers of the Cross are my flowers. The fruits of the Cross delight me altogether; the fruits of the Cross are always reserved for me, and I feast on the fruits of the Cross unrestrainedly. When I am hungry, the Cross is my nourishment. When I am thirsty, the Cross is my fountain. When I am naked, the Cross clothes me, for its leaves are no longer fig leaves, but the very breath of life. When I fear God, the Cross is my safeguard. When I falter, the Cross is my support. When I go into battle, the Cross is my prize, and when I triumph, the Cross is my trophy.
“The Cross is the ladder of Jacob; the Cross is the path of angels; the Lord is truly enthroned at the summit of the Cross. The Cross is my tree, wide as the firmament. The tree of the Cross extends from earth to the heavens, with its immortal trunk established between heaven and earth. The Cross is the pillar of the universe; the Cross is the support of the whole world; the Cross is the joint of the world, holding together the variety of human nature and riveted by the invisible bolts of the Spirit, so that it may remain fastened to the divinity and impossible to detach. The top of the Cross touches the highest heaven; the roots of the Cross are planted in the earth, and in between the giant arms of the Cross embrace the ever present breaths of air. The Cross is wholly in all things and in all places.”
For us Christians, the Cross of Christ is our boast! Saint Paul said, “God forbid that I should boast, except in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” To show our pride in the Cross, just after the Great Doxology at Sunday Matins, we bring out the Cross into the nave of the church for veneration, and we adorn the precious Cross with flowers. Thus we express our faith that what might have seemed to be the “dead wood” of the cross became the bearer of Life. Dry wood is highly inflammable, yet in the Kondak we sing that:
“… no longer does the flaming sword guard the gates of Eden, for in a strange and glorious way, the Wood of the Cross has put out its flames, and My Saviour, You have stood on the Cross and called out to those in hell: ‘enter again into Paradise.’”
Our liturgical poetry about the Cross of Christ makes much of the many scriptural references to wood, since the Cross of Christ was made from wood. “The Tree of the Cross replaces the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.” Thus it is best to have a suitable wooden cross for veneration on these feast days. Many Christian cultures have a tradition of carved crosses; our Ukrainian carved wooden crosses are sometimes exquisitely beautiful.
The precious Cross remains in the nave of the church for veneration throughout the week, until Friday. Most of us are not able to come to church each day, but of course we can all pray at home, however briefly. So during this week, we should also have the cross in a place of honour in our home, with some flowers to adorn the cross, and be sure to kiss the cross and pray at least “We bow down before Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection!” Thus we keep the joy of the Cross throughout the week, and we strengthen the link between the family and the church.
(Our Paschal Pilgrimage by Bishop Basil Losten)