I’ve been in two minds the last couple of days about which of the two sets of Australian Anglican lectionary readings for today to use. In the end I‘ve gone for marking the feast of the Holy Cross, for which incidentally there is no alternative in the Church of England’s lectionary for today. Does this perhaps perhaps a stronger Reformed emphasis in the Australian Anglican Church? If so, I have some sympathy. For there is a danger that the cross can become objectified, even venerated as an artefact, rather than being at the existential, metaphysical heart of Christian faith. The feast of the Holy Cross, in my view, is certainly one of those adiaphora, or non-essential, elements which are neither commanded nor proscribed by a healthy reading of holy Scripture. Yet, to that extent, it any yet assist us more deeply into the paschal mystery at the centre of our Faith. After my own theological wrestling with this, let me therefore briefly offer three, good Anglican, reasons for marking the feast today…
A first good reason to mark the feast of the Holy Cross is to connect ourselves more deeply with the long and wide history of Christianity of which we are a part. For, historically speakng, the feast of the Holy Cross commemorates three important events: the finding of the ‘true’ Cross of Jesus by Helena, the mother of the great emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Calvary in Jerusalem; and the subsequent restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in the year 629 by the emperor Heraclius after it had fallen into the hands of the Persian unbelievers in 614. Now all of that can take us into the realms of the kinds of ecclesiastical worldliness, unhealthy honouring of relics, and spiritual tourism, which the Reformers, among others, rightly sought to save us. Yet it also reminds us that we are part of a much, much bigger and broader tradition than we often allow. Whilst some of this may be problematic, other aspects offer us rich pathways through which the grace of God manifestly works. Not all will find these things helpful. Others however have always found that the image of an actual cross can point to and strengthen their faith in the Christ who died on a cross on Calvary. It is possible to make a distinction between the symbol and that which is symbolised, and to direct prayer and attention accordingly. So marking the feast of the Holy Cross today connects us deeply into the powerful spiritual depths of other parts of the Christian Church, not least the churches of Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy.
A second, and arguably even more scriptural, reason, to mark the feast of the Holy Cross is that it places prayer around, or at the foot of thr cross, at the centre of our life today. What a difference that can make! As an example, I still remember my first year in Toowoomba, after the trials of the floods and the struggles of a parish trying to find its feet again in other ways. At this very time of year, Brothers from the Taize Community came to lead prayer among us. In the midst of our worship time, they laid a large Taize-style cross in the centre of St Luke’s, inviting others to pray around it. For me, it was the turning point in our parish’s journey from past dysfunction to spiritual health. Indeed, whenever I would begin to despair of anything in the parish, I would recall that evening and the mark of the cross and its redemption which it laid at the heart of the Church.
In that same spirit, a third, and arguably most pressing, reason for the feast of the Holy Cross is connecting us more deeply with the suffering Church. For as we remember the suffering of Christ, and that of martyrs in the past, so our hearts, minds and souls may be more closely united with the sufferings and martyrdoms of our own days. Indeed, when the emperor Heraclius recovered the true cross, his intention was to carry it to Jerusalem himself. He could only do so however when he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrm with others. So may the broadening of our faith connections and the deepening of our understanding of the cross of Christ at the centre of lives thus result in fruits of mercy and compassion for all. In the name of the Crucified, Resurrected and Ascended One, Amen.
by Jo Inkpin, for the Feast of the Holy Cross, Thursday 14 September 2017
A second, and arguably even more scriptural, reason, to mark the feast of the Holy Cross is that it places prayer around, or at the foot of thr cross, at the centre of our life today. What a difference that can make! As an example, I still remember my first year in Toowoomba, after the trials of the floods and the struggles of a parish trying to find its feet again in other ways. At this very time of year, Brothers from the Taize Community came to lead prayer among us. In the midst of our worship time, they laid a large Taize-style cross in the centre of St Luke’s, inviting others to pray around it. For me, it was the turning point in our parish’s journey from past dysfunction to spiritual health. Indeed, whenever I would begin to despair of anything in the parish, I would recall that evening and the mark of the cross and its redemption which it laid at the heart of the Church.
In that same spirit, a third, and arguably most pressing, reason for the feast of the Holy Cross is connecting us more deeply with the suffering Church. For as we remember the suffering of Christ, and that of martyrs in the past, so our hearts, minds and souls may be more closely united with the sufferings and martyrdoms of our own days. Indeed, when the emperor Heraclius recovered the true cross, his intention was to carry it to Jerusalem himself. He could only do so however when he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrm with others. So may the broadening of our faith connections and the deepening of our understanding of the cross of Christ at the centre of lives thus result in fruits of mercy and compassion for all. In the name of the Crucified, Resurrected and Ascended One, Amen.
by Jo Inkpin, for the Feast of the Holy Cross, Thursday 14 September 2017
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