Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate a feast of our Lord that is very central to our faith, it is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of Jesus. This feast commemorates the rescue of the relic of the true cross by emperor Heraclius in 629 AD after it had been captured by the Persians; it also marks the original dedication of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the relics of the cross were kept, in 335 AD.
This feast celebrates the cross, the instrument of our salvation, and in many ways an extension of Good Friday.
In the Holy Roman Empire at the time of Jesus, the most extreme form of punishment was crucifixion, which was reserved only for those who committed treason. It was the most shameful of punishments, so much so that those who had Roman citizenship were precluded from it. It is interesting that the cross, which was an image and emblem of suffering, pain, shame and death was radicalized and became the tree of life.
On the cross Jesus showed himself as the true ruler of all times when he not only forgave the good thief but also promised him instant paradise. At the cross Jesus established the first Christian community when he gave us his Mother Mary as our mother and gave us to her as her Children. And on this tree of shame, on the cross Jesus declared that it is finished. In Latin it is consumertum est, in Greek, it is tetelestai: it is finished. This simple declaration removed our guilt, won us salvation and fulfilled our hope.
The Jesuit Rupert of Deutz (1075 – 1129) said,“The cross of Christ is the door to heaven, the key to paradise, the downfall of the devil, the uplifting of human kind, the price of our freedom”.
This reminds us of Jesus’ invitation in all the synoptic gospels when he said, “If you want to be a follower of mine, deny yourself, take up your cross and come after me”. This invitation through the way of the cross is actually an invitation to enter into the glory of God. When Jesus got to Golgotha, God exchanged his cross for a crown glory, and so for us ,too, God awaits us at Golgotha to confer glory on us. Our suffering, pains, difficulties, disappointments, and failures are but for a moment if we take up our cross and come after Jesus. For St. Paul in 1Corinthians 1:18 says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who believe, it is the power of God”.
Parish Picnic:
Hope everyone is ready for a splendid time out, as a family of God, at our picnic come September 28th 2014. If you have not signed up, please try and do so for we heard last Sunday in the gospel that where two or three are gathered in my name I am there with them. When we play as a family, we build stronger bonds of love and friendship.
Online giving:
Just a gentle reminder that we have changed our online giving vendor, so we humbly request you to visit our website and enroll. We shall commence the use of this new vendor tomorrow, Monday September 15th 2014.
Thank you as you make a swift switch to our new vendor and please do encourage others to enroll. Please see the details of how to switch in the pastor’s letter in the bulletin.
May the cross of Christ bring us true freedom and salvation.
Fr. Theo
