CONGRATULATIONS OF HIS EMINENCE
METROPOLITAN YAROSLAW
ON EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
September 27, 2012 year of God
THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
THE FEAST OF OUR VICTORY
WE BELIEVERS ARE NOT ASHAMED OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST
"We bow in Worship to Your Cross! Oh Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection"
To His Holiness Patriarch Moisey, Most Reverend Bishops, Very Reverend Protopresbyters,
The Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Deacon, Sub-deacon, Monastics, Dobrodiyka's
And the Pious Faithful.
"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel(CROSS) of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the -wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1: 15-18).
On the Feast of the Holy Cross, Our Holy Mother Church sings in elations the songs of victory of the cross. Our Church is full of glory. For the Apostle Paul, the preaching of the Gospel was synonymous with "the preaching of the Cross" Paul writes in (1 Corinthians 15;55-57) Death is swallowed up in victory; O death, where is your victory, O death where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ".
How do we incorporate this victory into our daily lives? The disciples asked Jesus "how will they know we are you disciples"? John 13:35 " By this all men will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" One other way of expressing this is: how we TALK and ACT in the Name of Jesus Christ and the Cross. We are not to be ashamed of the Cross of Christ. We are made righteous, not of our own efforts, but what Christ has done for us at the Cross. There is power in the Cross unto salvation and not unto destruction.
The Church started tradition of worshipping the cross in the fourth century. In Mark 7:8-9, Jesus Stated , that traditions at times keep people from knowing Him. We who believe in Jesus Christ, need to preach Jesus Christ crucified. The world is falling apart. People are looking for answers, and that answer is Jesus Christ who conquered death by His death so we may have life and have it abundantly.
This new life is the very life of Christ. We are to live this newness to the fullest. We must surrender all and let Christ lead us.
We must preach the gospel and the cross to a lost world. My question is; what is each of us doing about this victory in the Cross. We do not need the wisdom of the world, we need the knowledge of the scriptures and use wisdom in proclaiming the Resurrection of the Cross to all who are willing to pay heed. We are to preach the Gospel and the victory of the Cross above all else. There is no one or whatever else that can save us except Jesus Christ on the cross. His victory is our victory.
As we the faithful celebrate the Feast of our victory, I pray that we too will place upon our lips. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in me, I have victory in Christ through the Holy Cross.
Blessings
Metropolitan, Yaroslaw Sereda
Orthodox Community of the Holy Spirit, Canada
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