Third Sunday of Lent: the Veneration of the Cross
Scripture: Mark 8:34-38; 9:1
Nutshell
Oops!
Recently, I read that it often takes more courage to wage peace than to wage war. As we look around the world, it seems that war is our answer to all conflict.
Even in our personal lives, it seems like we’d rather wage “war” with someone than admit we’re wrong or cede some “ground” to our “enemies.”
Ugh!
When the world wages war, people die—sometimes by the thousands, sometimes by the millions.
When we wage a personal war, we divide families, and we hurt people. Not only that, but we harden our hearts, cutting ourselves off from our humanity.
Once war has started, it’s hard to back down without losing face—we don’t have the courage for it.
Aha!
As we all know, the fallen world has waged war against God. We are, as some of the Church Fathers say, in rebellion. Outmatched by God, it would be easy for him to simply crush us and win.
However, Christ allows us to save face. He accepts the shame of the cross to put to death the real enemy—death. Instead of giving us what we deserve, he frees us so that we can reclaim the paradise that was lost.
Whee!
In other words, Christ has the courage to lose face in front of humanity. It wasn’t easy for him to set aside his divine glory and kingship to be treated as a common criminal. Yet, this is the path that allows him to pave the way for our salvation.
Yeah!
As Christians, today we’re being called to pick up our own crosses.
The question is whether we have the courage to follow Jesus—whether we have the courage to accept the shame of the cross, cede some ground in order to an end to the wars that are raging in our own corner of the world.
Full Text
Oops!
Recently, I read that it often takes more courage to wage peace than to wage war.
A few months ago, I listed all the major ongoing armed conflicts happening in the world right now. Currently there are five major wars (10,000 or more combated-related deaths), 17 wars (1,000-9,999 combated-related deaths), and 19 minor conflicts (100-999 combated-related deaths).
In my opinion, all wars are senseless—though maybe I’m just a romantic. However, for those that follow the news, the question that’s usually asked of a particular conflict is: Who will give in first to end the war? Will they accept peace if they can’t save face?
Major armed conflicts aren’t the only places where war is waged. At one time or another, we’ve all waged war, if you will, in our own lives: with our wives, our children, our neighbors, our co-workers … the list goes on.
Often times, when the dispute gets heated, we dig in, and the more we dig in, the more invested we become. Sometimes, if we’re stubborn enough, the dispute can last years, if not the rest of our lives.
And, even if we realize we’re wrong, we won’t end the dispute because we’re too entrenched. We don’t want to lose face and admit we’re wrong. God forbid we cede any ground to our enemy—it’d be too embarrassing.
Ugh!
Now, when the world wages war, it commit all sorts of atrocities. We destroy people’s homes making them refugees. People are scarred for life, and many end up living with physical deformities. Worst of all, people actually die—sometimes by the thousands, sometimes by the millions.
When we wage a personal war, the stakes probably aren’t as high—but they can feel like it.
When we draw lines in the sand and refuse to compromise or find a path to peace, we divide families, and we hurt loved ones.
We force friends and family to choose sides. Just think of family gatherings—such as birthday parties or Christmas get-togethers. They go from being joyous events to headaches for our loved ones, especially for the kids who may be caught between two divorced parents.
But, our own personal wars don’t just hurt those around us, we also end up hardening our own hearts. The anger we hold against someone boils up inside of us, inside our souls. Eventually, we cut ourselves off from our own humanity.
Once a war has started, it’s hard to back down without losing face—we just don’t have the courage to accept the shame of backing down.
Aha!
As we all know, the fallen world has waged war against God. We are, as some of the Church Fathers say, in rebellion. Outmatched by God, he could easily crush us and win: Put us in our place and stop our sinful, rebellious ways.
However, Christ allows us to save face. Instead of asking us to backdown, he accepts the shame of a humiliating crucifixion. By staying silent at his trial, and by voluntarily going to his death, he cedes ground to us. He backdowns and lets us to our worst. While we wage war against the Son of God, he looks on with compassion and simply says, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
The surprise, though—the Good News—is that through this shame, Christ puts death to death. Instead of giving us what we deserve, he frees us so that we can reclaim the paradise that was lost.
Whee!
In other words, Christ has the courage to lose face in front of humanity.
I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him to set aside his divine glory and his kingship to be treated as a common criminal. Yet, this is the path that allows him to pave the way for our salvation.
Peace is won through nonviolence. Peace is won without God waging war against us. Peace is won without God punishing us. Peace is won without an ounce of anger against us.
Instead, scripture tells us that God saves us through love.
And, this love that is shown is the path we are called to live by. We are called to pick up our crosses to follow Christ.
We are called to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39), go the extra mile (Matt. 5:41), and try to work things out with our brothers and sisters in person (Matt. 18:15-20)—without gossip, slander, or the courts (1 Co. 6:1).
In a society where war is the way of our government, and suing is the way of our culture, it’s not easy. It requires courage: Lot’s of courage to live by these values.
Yeah!
Perhaps a saint whose story most embodies today’s celebration—that of the holy cross—is a saint who lived hundreds of years before Jesus was even born: That is the patriarch Joseph.
Joseph, as we all know, was a son of the patriarch Jacob. Jacob loved Joseph, more than his other sons, and, so, he gifted him a coat of many colors, which made Joseph’s brothers angry.
To make matters worse, Joseph had a dream that his brothers would bow down to him. But, instead of keeping this dream to himself, he freely told them about it.
Well, because of Joseph’s pride, war was waged: His brothers ended up selling him as a slave to some Egyptians. This led to a hard life for Joseph. In fact, it eventually landed him in prison.
However, eventually, because of his skills of interrupting dreams, Joseph was able to ingratiate himself to the pharaoh, ending up as the the second in command in all of Egypt.
Soon, a drought led Joseph’s brothers to Egypt and before Joseph, whom they didn’t recognize, to seek food. This became a powerful display of humility. Despite his brothers’ betrayal and the suffering they caused him, Joseph forgave them and welcomed them back into his life. His humility allowed him to see beyond their past actions and recognize the greater purpose at work.
The question is whether we have the courage to pick up our crosses? Do we have the courage to accept humility like Joseph and Jesus? Do we have the courage to accept the shame of the cross, cede some ground to our enemy and bring an end to the wars that are raging in our own corner of the world?
With the example of Christ and Joseph, and with the prayers of the saints, and with the help of our community, I think we can.
Amen.