Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The Psalm
98
The Readings
Isaiah 45:21-25 + Galatians 6:14-18 + John 12:31-36a
. . . I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.
~Galatians 6:17
"You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever." (BCP p. 308) These words are spoken following the baptism in water, as the bishop or priest marks the newborn Christian, tracing the sign of the cross in oil of Chrism on the forehead. The cross is the sign of God's victory, and of our salvation.
Holy Cross Day is a festival day--in a way, it is a complementary day, half a year on, to the appropriate solemnity of Good Friday. On this day, we are not enjoined to look upon the cross and sorrow at the suffering of Jesus, but to give full and joyful praise to the victory, to "glory in the mystery of our redemption," and to embrace the great paradox to which the church, following the Gospel of John, attests: that "the cross is the glory and the exaltation of Christ."*
Such a celebratory day may seem tempered by the day's collect, in which we pray for "grace to take up our cross and follow him." And certainly, that is a central act of discipleship for which we do need grace. It is also a charge that is frequently abused--"my cross to bear" is often a phrase trotted out when we feel like giving some glory to ourselves, or wallowing in self-pity, or casting ourselves as just really so much more selfless, so much better, than all those others. In other words, a phrase we can use to justify having the opposite attitude to which the charge calls us.
So, although we do each have unique lives in which we "take up our cross," today reminds us also that it is the cross of Christ, not our own, with which we have been marked. Our own "cross" is found in the grateful and grace-enabled living out of a life that has found salvation in the cross of Jesus. Like Paul, may we never boast in anything else.
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
~A Collect for Fridays, BCP p. 99
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| The San Damiano Cross in Assisi, Italy |
* From a homily by St. Andrew of Crete, for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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