The Procession with the Holy Relics of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord; the Seven Holy Martyred Maccabees, Their Mother Solome and Their Teacher Eleazar
1 Corinthians 1:18-24; John 19:6-11,13-20,25-28,30-35
Beginning of the Dormition Fast (Spasivka)
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
If we seek to understand our faith in Jesus Christ crucified and risen according to the world’s purported wisdom it makes no sense. It cannot make sense according to any worldly measure, because according to that limited secular understanding the Cross is foolishness if not entirely nonsensical. How might a conversation with the Greeks of our day, among them the secular humanists or the agnostics or atheists, take shape?
“You mean your infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing god was killed by human beings by the means of one of the worst instruments of torture and death ever conceived?”
“Yes,” we reply.
“And then he was buried in a tomb and rose from the dead?”
“Yes.”
“That’s your god? That’s crazy!”
“Yes. He’s our God. And He’s your God too.”
That God became man in the person of Jesus Christ and that He died a human death on the Cross and that He rose again and so conquered death is the greatest affirmation of God’s infinite power and His will to save humanity. God is SO great and powerful that He became so small and weak in the infant Jesus, dependent upon His mother and St. Joseph for His very safety. God is SO loving that He allowed his Only-Begotten Son to die a brutal and agonizing public death out of love for us. God is SO merciful that He can forgive everything we do through Jesus Christ and His Cross if we simply return back to Him. Is this unbelievable in the eyes of the world? Is this too good to be true? No. It simply is the truth. He is the Truth. And so thanks be to God for the wood of the Cross, the nails, the lance, the sponge, the vinegar, and the tomb for through them the Truth has set us free through His Glorious Resurrection.