As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church
Today we are celebrating the EXALTATION of the cross of
Christ. Who among us can really understand the folly of the cross. There are
many who have explanations for why we celebrate this cross and even all our
other crosses. Crosses usually indicate pain, suffering, loss. The particular
cross that is being exalted here is specifically the cross our lord and king
was hung upon until he died. It is the love God has for us that
ultimately caused Jesus to give up his life. That love is one reason we exalt
the Cross. Connected with the dying on the cross is Christ being raised from
death to life. That Resurrection gives us all hope that all the crosses in life
we endure give rise to our own eternal life in God. That hope is why it is said that death is
swallowed up by death. We live still, after we die.
This week we commemorated 9/11 and all who have suffered
and are still suffering from it. This past month we also commemorated the 400
years since the first black slaves landed on our shores. The unimaginable
suffering that has occurred because of these two happenings are very real. How
are we to deal with what history has shown us about these two happenings, as
well as the Holocaust and other genocides?
To passively accept
whatever comes our way might seem like the ascetical way to go. However, I am
reminded of one of the sculptures in the NYC chapel near 9/11. It is a bust of
Christ crowned with thorns but whose arms only extend half way to his elbows.
The artist’s intention is that we have to be Christ’s arms and hands to
bring about good in the world. There is no doubt that we should try to
alleviate suffering where and when we can. We can’t work miracles as Jesus did
but there is much that we can do. There must be a way to acquire a
contemplative mindset besides the necessary carving out time for private
prayer. Seeing God in every friendly face, every sunny day, every happy
occasion is an invitation to encounter God. That is easy. Seeing more difficult
people, places, and happenings as occasions for deeper, closer relationship
with God is not so easy.
Most of us have come to see that the created world is not
bad. It is what we do and what others do that can be bad. It is easy to
recognize the difficult situations and people that come our way. The
contemplative heart asks: are we open to letting these situations and people
change us, free us to let Christ lead us?
The irrationality of sin and evil against those who have
experienced abuse, slavery, and degradation leave behind timebombs of
antagonisms and hatreds. Nothing can heal these absurdities but love. Only love
can heal the deep scars of injustice on the soul, however they are acquired. Jesus
disappears at his Ascension but his Spirit does not. In the Acts of the
Apostles we see a lame man spring up and walk at the sound of Jesus’ name. We
hear of the angry mob stoning Stephen while Jesus appears to him in glory. We see
his disciples jailed, his apostles arguing policy, missionaries thrown out and
communities split apart. We see all the dark corners in which we find ourselves
even now some 2 millennia after Christ’s Resurrection. The power of the Spirit
works even to enlighten us to see things in new ways, to discover what it
really means to “love your neighbor as yourself”, to pick up pieces and put
them back together in innovative ways so the image of God can shine more
clearly in a world still held in the grip of darkness.
Hope encourages us that against present evidence, life is
worthwhile. Love is the only thing that
“will wipe every tear from their eyes”. Rev 21:4 When faith and hope pass away, love remains.
Love is the core of God’s very being, the heart of Christ’s incarnation, the
comfort of the Holy Spirit and the purpose of our Christian life as disciples
of Jesus. The cross is a symbol of our mission and the same as our goal: “Just
as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Jn
13:34b
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