FOS Summary

The Veneration of the Holy Cross: “The Oasis”

25 March 2008

The focus of the third Sunday in Great Lent is Jesus’ mission to save us through His sacrificial death on the Cross. Therefore, on the third Sunday of Great Lent, we venerate the Cross thus acknowledging Jesus’ sacrifice.  This feast is specifically inserted at the mid-point of Great Lent in order for us to look to it for sustenance. 

The Israelites

Over a period of 40 years, the Israelites crossed the desert on their journey or Exodus into the Promised Land.  Israel left the land of slavery and bondage (Egypt) with their ultimate destination being Cannan, the land of milk and honey.

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The Israelites began to weary in the journey and to complain that they were better off in Egypt thus questioning their decision and efforts.  God leads them to the oasis at Elim after the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea.  (Exodus 15:22-27).  However, the water is toxic.  Moses asks God for help and God instructs Moses to throw a piece of wood into the pool at Marah and the water becomes sweet to drink.  (Exodus 15:23-25) The wood is symbolic of life and foreshadows Christ’s Life-Giving Cross.

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Us

The 40 days of Great Lent references the 40 years of the Israelites’ crossing.  During Lent, we too are wanderers crossing the desert into the promised land of Pascha, i.e. our passing over from enslavement to sin into the new life in Christ’s Kingdom.

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Just like the Israelites, the Church Fathers, knowing that we can become weary in our Lenten journey, through this Mid-Lenten Sunday, have us look to the Cross to inspire and sustain us in our journey.  We are to take up our cross and follow Christ, “dying to ourselves”, that is our ego and self-centeredness which leads to sinfulness, so that we may participate with Christ in His Resurrection and ours.

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The feast of the Veneration of the Cross

This feast reminds us to reflect on the hope to come at the end of Great Lent. This makes the Veneration of the Cross a spiritual “oasis”, refreshing and reassuring us.

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The Oasis

An oasis is that which we substitute for the Promised Land.  Its risk is that it causes us to miss what is ahead and much better for us, Christ’s Kingdom.

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An oasis is only meant to be a stopping point to rest and refresh.  The danger is that we can be tempted to tarry longer than we should; in effect, we stop our journey because we feel it is far enough and good enough. Progress or advancement on the journey may be delayed or, even worse, halted and negated.  Resting at the oasis, we can not only become stuck at a half way point, we can backslide to where we were.  This backslide can resemble self-righteousness, arrogance, ego thus enslaving us once again.

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Whereas the oasis is only one phase in our spiritual life, the risk is that the oasis becomes a permanent spiritual home and keeps us from reaching our ultimate destination.  An oasis can become like a mirage thus deceiving one spiritually.

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The oasis can also take the form of rejecting new information in favor of only retaining that which serves one’s own interests.  The lack of seeking knowledge and choosing not to know is a sin. What one values is what one seeks to know.  Sometimes we reject knowledge because it takes us out of our comfort zone and calls for us to change and grow.  Change can be scary.  Human nature is to stay with what is familiar and resist change.

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How does recognition of  an oasis change our lives?

a.       avoid mistaking the oasis for the final destination

b.       propel us to move on from the oasis

c.       push us to keep growing, expanding in order to come into our potential, become more of what we are for ourselves and others; for life and for God’s glory; we were created in the image and likeness of the Creator in order that we may also become little gods and create.

What can become an oasis?

a.       Spiritual knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Learning is good but it cannot remain at the intellectual level; it must be experienced. There has to be relationship between Creator and creature, Father and child; theology bends the knee to relationship.

b.       When praying or going to Church every Sunday becomes a mechanism, not a living, thinking communication between the individual and God. It may be good to be in church for two hours, but valueless if the attendee does not know who Jesus really is.

c.       The traditions, icons, music, the church itself, etc. enhance worship, but how many people can answer the question: What is the essence and meaning behind these?

According to St. John Chrysostom, the real Liturgy takes place after the distribution of the antidoron. It is what we do with our lives after the Liturgy; how we live and how we treat others.

Wood, water and bread (manna)

The wood opens the way for water; for life. During the exodus, water comes from the rock after God tells Moses to strike it. (Exodus 17:6).   Water serves as a life giving element in two ways:  for the sustenance of both physical and spiritual (by means of baptism) life. Wood is the element that changes the water.  At the Crucifixion, water flows out of Jesus’ side, signifying baptism, as He dies on the wooden cross for us.

In Old Testament theology, water was seen a symbol of death. The serpent that tempted Eve slithered from the water attempting to draw God’s creations (Adam and Eve) back to death. Also, there were many incidents where people drowned which is physical death.  Christ overturns this.

As with water, God also provides manna, the heavenly bread (Exodus 16:13-21).  The Jews did not have to work for it and this is expressed in the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. The bread and wine, having been sanctified at the Divine Liturgy the previous Sunday are already consecrated.  It is also spiritual nourishment for us when we partake of them at the mid-week Pre-Sanctified Liturgy (on Wednesdays).

God feeds and sustains us and helps us finish; we cannot do this on our own.

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On the theme of self interest:  How did ancient Israel wind up in Egypt :

a.       Joseph’s brothers driven by jealousy sold Joseph into slavery; then they lied about his death to Jacob.

b.       Joseph had the gift of prophecy. Had he not been sold into slavery, he may have been there to warn them of the impending famine.

c.       When the famine arrived, Israel had no choice but to go to Egypt.  Thanks to Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream of the seven cows, Egypt was prepared to survive the famine.

d.       Jacob and his people remain in Egypt; Jacob, fearful that more famine may come, trusts in man (Egypt and Egypt’s abundance) and not in God and thus does not return home.

Likewise, we find a pleasing repast and become fearful or lazy and decide not to move on.

e.       Jacob, his people and their descendants remain in Egypt eventually becoming dependent on Egypt for survival and wind up in bondage.

Relationship with God

Big sins vs. little sins:  In Orthodox theology, anything that separates us from God or interferes in our relationship with God is sinful.  Sometimes big sins can make a greater impact and provide impetus for repentance and change than smaller ones that we may think are not so significant but accumulate to destroy our spiritual fabric.

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Orthodox are experiential.  One does not just know about God, one must experience God.  However, people may be fearful of the relationship with God.

Once one has the knowledge and awareness of the relationship with God, one must have the will to change and to continue on the journey towards spiritual growth and communion with God.  One must make the decision and have the courage to stand by it. It is a question of “thelima” or will.   “The goal of Orthodox theology is relationship with God. One must seek the giver (God) more than the gift (eternal life)”.