The Cross is Christ’s Glory and Triumph
From a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete Bishop
We are celebrating the feast of the Cross (Triumph of the Cross Feast day
September 14) which drove away the darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with
the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the
things above. So great and outstanding a
possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the
fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for
on it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been
lost were restored to us.
Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could
not have been nailed to the tree. And if
life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality
pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be
canceled, we should not have obtained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed
the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand
open. Had there been no cross, death
would have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.
Monk Martyr Saint Andrew of Crete |
Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. It is great because through the cross the
many noble acts of Christ found their consummation—very many indeed, for both
his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honorable because it is both the
sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he
freely suffered unto death. But it is
also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and
death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became
the one common salvation of the whole world.
The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his triumph. We recognize it as the cup he longed to drink
and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ’s glory, listen
to his words: Now is the Son of Man
glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once. And again: Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came
to be. And once more: Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: I have
glorified it and will glorify it again.
Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the
cross. And if you would understand that
the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all
men to myself. Now you can see that
the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.
Taken from the
Liturgy of the Hours. Catholic Book Publishing Corp. New York 1975
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