Holy Cross Day, 14 September 2014
Isaiah 45:21-25
Psalm 98
Philippians 2:5-11
Or
Galatians 6:14-18
St. John 12:31-36a
Background: Holy Cross Day
With the discovery of the true cross by Saint Helena in 326, a church was built (The Holy
Sepulcher) and was consecrated on 13 September 336, with the cross being
brought into the church on the following day, 14 September. Thus the feast was originally a two-day celebration. In the East it is known as the Raising Aloft of the Precious and
Life-giving Cross, and in the West it has been called The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, or The Triumph of the Cross. The
color for the day is red. Other days
that celebrate the cross are, Uncovering
of the Precious Cross and Nails, 6 March (Eastern Orthodox), The Feast of the Cross, 3 May (Galican
rite), and the Feast of the Procession of
the Venerable Wood of the Cross, 1 August (Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine
Rite Catholics).
Isaiah 45:21-25
Thus says the LORD,
Declare and present
your case;
let them take counsel
together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the LORD?
There is no other god
besides me,
a righteous God and a
Savior;
there is no one besides
me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the
earth!
For I am God, and there
is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone
forth in righteousness
a word that shall not
return:
"To me every knee
shall bow,
every tongue shall
swear."
Only in the LORD, it
shall be said of me,
are righteousness and
strength;
all who were incensed
against him
shall come to him and
be ashamed.
In the LORD all the
offspring of Israel
shall triumph and
glory.
The original title of this day, The
Exaltation of the Holy Cross, helps us with a context for the choice of
this reading on this day. It would be
helpful for you to read the verse preceding, name the first part: “Assemble yourselves and come, draw near
together, you survivors of the nations”
(emphasis mine). We are being led into
a court, and it is God who addresses the nations. And this is where it is important to
understand who is being addressed by the following verses (21-25). Israel is not being addressed here, but
rather Babylon, which by the time these verses were spoken would have been
facing its own enemies and doom. The
invitation is not for judgment, but rather something else. “Turn
to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!”
That this day celebrates the finding of the true cross (whatever that might have been) it certainly underscores
the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire, and its
sponsors in Constantine and Helena, his mother.
Salvation was available to the nations. Second Isaiah sees in his vision a universal
salvation that is not limited to the Hebrews, but that is now suddenly
available to any who would have it. The
reading also makes a line available that will be reflected in the reading from
Philippians, “to me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.” The tradition that this Isaiah establishes in
his word to the survivors (certainly meant to be overheard by the Hebrew
survivors as well) makes a stage upon which Jesus would begin to announce the
coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, and a table at which the Gentiles would be
urged to eat as well.
Breaking open Isaiah:
- What does “salvation to the nations” mean to you?
- Who is included in the “Kingdom of Heaven?”
- Are you an insider or an outsider?
Psalm 98 or 98:1-4 Cantate Domino
Sing to the LORD a new
song, *
for he has done
marvelous things.
With his right hand and
his holy arm *
has he won for himself
the victory.
The LORD has made known
his victory; *
his righteousness has
he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
He remembers his mercy
and faithfulness to the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the
earth have seen the victory of our God.
Shout with joy to the
LORD, all you lands; *
lift up your voice,
rejoice, and sing.
Sing to the LORD with
the harp, *
with the harp and the
voice of song.
With trumpets and the
sound of the horn *
shout with joy before
the King, the LORD.
Let the sea make a
noise and all that is in it, *
the lands and those who
dwell therein.
Let the rivers clap
their hands, *
and let the hills ring
out with joy before the LORD,
when he comes to judge
the earth.
In righteousness shall
he judge the world *
and the peoples with
equity.
This psalm also reflects the divine courtroom of second Isaiah in which
YHWH makes his case. That it is
universal is indicated to us in the latter verse of the psalm where the waters
(the sea, and the rivers) make a joyful noise – a reminder of the ancient
battle in which the Creator God brings order from the chaos of the world, and
which ancient waters now sing God’s praise.
However we do not need these esoteric clues – the psalm is quite open
about God’s universal intents. “In righteousness shall he judge the world
and the peoples with equity.”
Breaking open Psalm 98:
- What does it mean when we say God brought order from chaos?
- What is the nature of the order that God brings?
- Did other cultures have similar notions about God?
Philippians 2:5-11
Let the same mind be in
you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in
the form of God,
did not regard equality
with God
as something to be
exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a
slave,
being born in human
likeness.
And being found in
human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to
the point of death--
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also
highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every
name,
so that at the name of
Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue should
confess
that Jesus Christ is
Lord,
to the glory of God the
Father.
We have heard the word paradigm
used a great deal within the last couple of decades, always calling us to a new
business or educational model (although it always brings to mind my study of
Greek in college). This reading,
however, is a paradigm that Paul wishes to hold up for us. His intent in the bulk of his letter is to
outline what it means to live in a community that is formed in Christ. So he begins his exhortation, “Let the same mind be in you that was in
Christ Jesus.” That he may have quoted an early Christian hymn in this
pericope does not take away any of its power or grace. Listen to the verbs that are set up for us as
an example of living: “emptied”, “humbled”, “obedient”, and the verbs that
describe the results: “exalted”, “named”.
It is we then, living in such a manner as Jesus did, that then bends the knee and confesses what it is that we know and believe about this same
Jesus. The cross lies exactly at the
center of this journey of humiliation and then exaltation.
Breaking open Philippians:
- What does the image of Jesus “emptying himself” bring to your
mind?
- In what ways can you imitate Jesus’ humiliation?
- In what ways are you exalted with him?
or
Galatians 6:14-18
May I never boast of
anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who
will follow this rule-- peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of
God.
From now on, let no one
make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.
May the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
Again, in the letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks about being formed in
Christ, and what it means for him, and by extension for us as well, to be
marked and formed by Christ. Such a
marking is seen quite literally by Paul, when he says, “for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.” It is as if
the seraph carrying the coal from the altar to the mouth of Isaiah actually does the same
with Paul, marking him with a burning word.
Paul sees old things passing away, as he did in Philippians. There is a new model of life that does not
admit to circumcision or uncircumcision, but only to that which has been
created new. Thus he concludes his
arguments outlining life in a new community.
Not mentioned here, but certainly found in the markings on his Christian
body, Paul would see the cross.
Breaking open Galatians:
- How have you been marked by Christ?
- Have you seen the marks of Christ in others? How?
- What do people see in you?
St. John 12:31-36a
Jesus said, "Now
is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to
myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The
crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains
forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son
of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little
longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake
you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While
you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of
light."
Fr. Raymond Brown entitles the larger pericope that includes the reading for
this day as, “Scenes Preparatory to Passover and Death – the Coming of the
Hour.”[1]
Jesus anticipates, much to the dismay of the disciples, what is to come. As we have followed the readings for Ordinary
Time from Matthew, in the fifteenth chapter, through the eighteenth, this
dis-ease is palpable. So there is
revelation about the glory that is to come, and discomfort about the
consequences of Jesus’ actions – Light in Jesus, and darkness in the “ruler of this world.” There are two
directions indicated here. Jesus is
lifted up while the present age and its advocates are cast down. There is a definite sense of the “yet” and
the “not yet”. We are in a suspension –
as on a cross! Of course our mind
wanders back to Moses in the wilderness and the infestation of snakes (Numbers 21:4-9). The bronze serpent is lifted up for all to
see, and in this image we see Jesus as well.
There is a darkness here that fits in with the ebbing of daylight during
this time of the year. It fits well as
we wander slowly through the latter days of the Church Year, to be met at the
end of it by a Christ enthroned and inquiring of us about what we have
done. So John holds up the Jesus of the
cross, the Jesus of light. In my church,
the cross in the chancel is only visible when light is shown behind it. The light is present in our eyes, cast
through the image of the cross. Using
Paul’s idea of the changing paradigm, perhaps we need to be remade in the light
of this cross to become, as John states it, “children
of light.”
Breaking open the Gospel:
- What is dark in your life?
- What is light in your life?
- How are you a child of the light?
After breaking open the
Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
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.
Questions and comments copyright © 2014, Michael
T. Hiller
[1] Brown, R. (1966) The Anchor Bible, The Gospel According to John (i-xii) Introduction,
Translation, and Notes, Doubleday and Company, Garden City, New York, page
465.
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