| Posted on June 9, 2013 at 2:05 PM |
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen!
Meskel
(The Feast of the Holy Cross)
Prior to the era of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a cross was used as an instrument of punishment. This method of painful execution was started in Persia (the present day Iran). During that time, the Persians were worshiping an “earth god” called “Ormuzd”. They believed that if an offender is punished while in con-tact with the ground, he would desecrate their “earth god”. As a result, they started crucifying criminals far above the ground on a cross. Execution by crucifix-ion slowly expanded and became a common practice of the Roman Empire. In addition, before the birth of Christ, victims of crucifixion were considered cursed. As God said to Moses, "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). We may then ask ourselves, “If a victim of cruci-fixion is considered cursed, why did our Lord Jesus Christ die on a cross?”
“Why Did Our Lord Jesus Christ Die on a Cross?”
Our Lord Jesus Christ willingly died for us on a cross and gave us His holy body and poured out His pre-cious blood. He did this to redeem mankind from the curse and save us from our sins. This is because the body and soul of all humanity was under the bondage of sin. Although we had fallen deeper and deeper into our sins, our Creator did not leave us to perish. He came down from heaven seeking for His sheep, us, who went astray (Matthew 18: 12-14). He was incar-nated of the Holy Spirit and of His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:35), became man by taking flesh of her flesh and soul from her soul, and was gloriously born in a manger in Bethlehem (Luke 2:7). Indivisibly, God became man and man became God (Matthew16:13, 1 John 1:1-2, 5:20). He grew and became strong in spirit (Luke 2:40). At the age of thirty, Christ went to river Jordan and was baptized in the hands of Saint John, the Baptist. He then left for the wilderness (desert) and embarked upon forty days and forty nights of fast (Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 3:21-23, Matthew 4:2). Thereafter, He appointed His 12 apostles, 72 disciples and 36 female saints (i.e. alto-gether the first family of Christ was hundred and twenty) (Luke 10:1, Acts 1:15). His teachings of the Gospel lasted for a total of three years and three months. Finally, to redeem us from our sins (curse), He willingly died for us on the Cross. (Mark 15:23-37). That day on the Cross, Jesus Christ completed the salvation journey He started while He was still in His Blessed Mother’s womb (John 19:30).
As stated above, our Creator came down to earth and died on the Cross to save us from our sins.
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He carriedour sins on the Cross and freed us from curse. As Prophet Isaiah said, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5). In addition, Saint Paul wrote in his epistle to the Galatians, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” ” (Galatians 3:13). Moreover, in his epistle to the Corinthians, Saint Paul also stated, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corin-thians 5:21). Furthermore, in his epistle to the Philip-pians, he said, “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8). Saint Peter the apostle also said, “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:22-24). Therefore, we have found numerous gifts through our Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross.
1. We Have Found the Gift of Life
As a result of our sins, death had reigned over our lives. Through Adam, sin entered the world and death was passed on to all mankind. Therefore, death reigned over mankind until it was destroyed through Jesus Christ and we were able to regain life (Romans 5:12-14). That is why it is said, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corin-thians 15:22). In addition, it is said, “among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:3-5). This is because our Savior Jesus Christ abol-ished death through His own death and gave us life and immortality (2 Timothy 1:10).
2. We Have Found the Bread of Life
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, sin entered the world and brought death upon us (Genesis 3:1-24). The man of God who had come from Judah died also as a result of eating what he was told not to eat (1 Kings 13:20-25). The manna that the forefathers of the Israelites ate in the desert did not save them from death either (John 6:49). There-fore, our Savior Jesus Christ gave us His flesh and blood as the bread of life and saved us from death.
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Heconfirmed this to us by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54). The Holy Eucharist that is consecrated in our church everyday and we faithfully receive in the form of bread and wine is truly Jesus Christ’s holy body and precious blood (Matthews 26:26-29). That is why Saint Paul the apostle said, “therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unwor-thy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).
3. We Have Found Peace
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you,” and He gave us this ultimate peace on the Cross. He confirmed this to His apostles when He resurrected from the dead and said, “Peace be with you.” (John 14:27; 20:19, 26). In reference to this, Saint Paul said to the Colossians, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20). He also said to the Ephesians, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:13-14).
4. We Are Born Again
Our body and soul ruined because of our sins are restored by the redemption done on the Cross. And this is why Saint Paul the apostle said, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:6). In addi-tion, on his epistle to the Corinthians, Saint Paul wrote, “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). As Saint Paul mentioned, our Lord has made us new through His grace, gave us the new testament, and prepared new heaven and new earth for us (Mark 1:15, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1).
5. We Are Reconciled
Due to our sins, we used to live separated from God. Yet, He paid for our trespasses and we were recon-ciled to Him. The apostle Saint Paul stated, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now re-ceived the reconciliation” (Romans 5:10-11).
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